(Spokane, WA) The girls 2B Hardwood Classic at the Spokane Arena will be followed start to finish on this post. We will update daily the scores and short re-caps with links to the game replays, updated bracket and the WIAA’s Tournament Central.
The NW Christian Crusaders are state Champs! Below is our coverage of the entire tournament from last year’s winners to the Regional scores and re-caps to our trophy day stories. All stories and re-caps written by Jamie Council, photos by Lane Mathews.
Anything can happen at the Spokane Arena, and the #8 seed Northwest Christian made a fourth quarter comeback to force overtime and claimed their first ever state title with a 73-66 overtime finish.
Early in the game, the Pirates had trouble getting into the interior, but the long ball became their best friend. Thirty six of their 66 total points came from the long ball. Adna buried threes while Macey Shamblin went to work on the block, finishing with a team high 23 points and 14 rebounds. Juliana Pope also recorded a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Down the stretch, Karsyn Freeman made back to back three pointers to maintain an 8 point lead for the Pirates. Down by one point with 14 seconds left in regulation, Freeman hit a 3 pointer to up 60-58. Kaitlyn Waters hit another level. With three seconds in the game, Waters drove to the paint to tie it up at 60 apiece, forcing overtime.
In overtime, Waters set her feet, and took a hit from Freeman that resulted in her 5th personal fouls. Freeman had a game high 27 points. Without their leading scorer, Adna was overcome by the Crusaders in the seven point game that took overtime to decide.
9:30am 4th/6th Place Game (10) Liberty 64, (3) Brewster 50
Coming into the tournament as the #10 seed, Liberty outkicked their coverage with a 4th place finish. It came down to basics as the Lancers scored 22 points from the free throw line. Tyla Tiegs finished with a game-high 19 points, joined in double digit scoring by Jordyn Jeske (16) and Kendall Denny (12).
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Basic physics. With 36 total free throws in favor of the Lancers, the Bears found themselves in foul trouble. Pepper Boesel finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and Paige Wulf finished with 12 points before the two leading scorers for the Brewster fouled out.
1pm 3rd/5th Place Game
(5) Napavine 59, (4) Reardan 47
Napavine has struggled to put points on the board, but found their depth to claim third place. Hayden Kaut finished with a double double (17 points, 10 rebounds) and went 6/6 from the charity stripe. The Tigers had 15 points from the free throw line. Taylen Evander was the depth that Napavine needed. Evander had a game high 19 points at Napavine scored more than 50 points for the first time this tournament and claimed third place.
Consoltion Round (Loser Out) (10) Liberty 45, (6) Mount Vernon Chr 39
Tied 23-23 at half, Jordyn Jenske went to the bread and butter in the second half. Tough play on the post and running jays secures the win and ultimately hardware for Liberty.
The #3 Brewster Bears were able to overcome a bracket busting Mabton team to make sure they walk away from the Spokane Arena with a trophy. Pepper Boesel pit up 15 points in the second half in the eight point win.
The Bears and Lancers will square off on Saturday for 4th/ 6th place.
Semifinals (Winner to Championship, Loser to 3rd place game) (8) NW Christian (Colbert) 61, (4) Reardan 57
As the #8 seed, Northwest Christian has overcome Rainier, Liberty, and now #4 Reardan to make it to the big dance. Kaitlin Waters hit game-sealing free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining to make it happen.
Meanwhile Tenice Waters hit a first quarter buzzer beating three and delivered multiple highlight worthy dimes. Overcoming a 24 point performance by Platt, NW Christian will play Adna for a state championship while Reardan will play Napavine for 3rd/ 5th.
The defending state champions and #5 Napavine couldn’t overcome #2 Adna in the low-scoring affair. A tight physical first quarter was fun to watch Freeman and Evander match up. That was a battle Evander won early, but Karsyn Freeman would not be denied. A 10 point third quarter en route to a 20 point performance did the job.
Adna and NW Christian will play for the state championship and Napavine and Rearden will play for 3rd/ 5th on Saturday.
Thursday, March 6 (Winner to Semifinals, Loser to Consolation)
(4) Reardan 50, (6) Mount Vernon Chr 29
Reardan screamed to an early lead and opened up their tournament on a high note. Chasyn Waters recorded 21 points while Tenice Waters added 14.
The Screaming Eagles only put up 16 points in the second half, but their dominance in the first frame was enough to coast into the semis where they will face NW Christian. MV Christian will face Liberty.
This one was all Crusaders. The longest scoring run ran the length of the first quarter as NW Christian outscored the Lancers 24-2 through the first frame.
With a 46-24 rebounding difference, Macey Shamblin displayed her body of work on both sides of the ball with 14 points, 21 rebounds, and three blocked shots. Leah Platt had a game high 16 points.
NW Christian will face Napavine in the semis while Liberty will head down to the 4th/ 6th place bracket where one more win will guarantee hardware. They play Mount Vernon Christian.
In such a low scoring affair, every possession mattered. That’s what made the 14 point, 12 rebound performance by Hayden Kaut a game-changer. The Tigers feel when she’s not on the floor, but that was only for 31 seconds. Kaut recorded 31:29 minutes in the six point win. She also added two blocked shots.
Napavine will face Adna while Brewster and Mabton will face off Friday.
The Cinderella story ended with Adna for Mabton. After knocking off the top-seeded Rainier, Mabton ran into the too tall of task in the Pirates.
Adna out-rebounded the smaller team by 20 and Karsyn Freeman went 14/26 from the field in a 34 point performance. Bailey Chapman was the facilitator on defense with 12 total rebounds (10 defensive) and four blocked shots.
Adna will see Napavine Friday while Mabton will square off with Brewster.
Wednesday, March 5 (Winner to Quarterfinals, Loser Out)
(6) Mount Vernon Chr 50, (11) Columbia 41
Despite ball control plaguing both teams to start the game, Mount Vernon Christian was able to control their own turnovers while staying strong on defense in the low-scoring game.
MV Christian called their own number to start the second half, creating distance from the Coyotes in the third quarter and never looked back en route to the nine point win.
Mount Vernon Christian will face #4 Reardan in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
In a game that had zero lead changes, the Lancers refused for Wednesday to be the end of their season. Paced with four steals, Jordan Jeske led Liberty in their effort to score 17 points off turnovers. Kendall Danny also scored 13 points while Tyla Tiegs had a game high 25 points — 9/17 from the field including 5/9 from distance. Tiegs also grabbed 7 rebounds while Brenna Tiegs recorded a game high 11 rebounds.
The Lancers will face #8 Northwest Christian Thursday in the quarterfinals.
The Bulldogs thought their was a chance at an upset against the defending state champions. However, a third quarter push by Napavine put the game out of reach.
Not many players in the state, regardless of classification can go toe to toe with 6’2″ junior Hayden Kaut. Kaut is a defensive disrupter with a velvet touch on offense Kaut was responsible for 19 Tiger points in the low-scoring affair.
The biggest upset in the tournament so far came in the nightcap in an exciting come from behind victory by a Mabton team that refused to five up. Rainier lead by 10 points at the break, but the Vikings outscored the Mountaineers by four in the third quarters and 22-11 in the fourth quarter.
It can down to the very end as the Mabton defense came up with five points off turnovers to finish the game out. While they might lack size, their defense by committee and never-ending motor make them a tough contender.
Esmerelda Sanchez paced Mabton with four steals while contributing 14 points. Meanwhile Alana Zavala and her deadly ability to take it coast to coast in a floater shot had a game high 21 points. Zavala went 8/12 from the field.
(Spokane, WA) The girls 2B Hardwood Classic at the Spokane Arena will be followed start to finish on this post. We will update daily the scores and short re-caps with links to the game replays, updated bracket and the WIAA’s Tournament Central.
