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3A girls: East Valley survives 2 OTs

Posted by Greg

March 11, 2010 3:25 p.m. • 2 comments

Try as they might to give it away in regulation, the East Valley Knights prevailed over the Mount Rainier Rams 77-72 in double overtime in the State 3A tournament Thursday at the Tacoma Dome.

Jenni White and Kimmie Thatcher led the Knights with 22 points apiece.

More later.

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rawkmandale on March 11 at 3:31 p.m.
From the Tacoma newspaper:

FINAL (in two OTs): East Valley of Spokane 77, Mount Rainier 72.

1st Qtr: Second-chance points against the Rams’ zone defense have been the difference in this close game. East Valley of Spokane leads 16-13 after one quarter.

The Knights took their biggest lead, 16-11, on Shelby Bollman’s putback bucket with 54 seconds remaining.

Halftime: A late surge, led by guard Marisa Blair’s aggressive drives to the basket, has given the Rams a slim 32-31 advantage at the intermission.

Blair, a senior, scored seven points in the quarter – five coming in the final 2:46. Her two free throws gave Mount Rainier its first lead, 30-28, with 52.3 seconds to go.

East Valley was hurt by Jenni White’s foul trouble. She picked up her third personal foul with 2:46 to go, with the Knights leading 27-21.

3rd Qtr: Five lead changes, and a whole lot of back-and-forth action. Both teams are playing as if they want to stick around until Saturday.

Kimmie Thatcher’s 14-foot jumper has given the Knights a 48-45 lead heading into the final stanza.

East Valley had back-to-back three-point plays to take a 46-42 lead with 2:42 to go.

4th Qtr: Tied at 58. Marisa Blair’s one-handed runner on the baseline in the final second sends the game into OT. Don’t think she saw the basket.

1st OT: Sydney Codd’s game-winning 3-point attempt for Mount Rainier bounced off at the buzzer, and the teams are tied at 66 entering a second OT.

The Rams held a 66-62 lead with 1:02 to go, but a key steal by East Valley’s Jenni White led the Knights back.

In the end, it was Jenni White’s heady plays for the Knights that overtook a fine individual performance by Marisa Blair – a game-high 30 points.

White’s steal and layin keyed East Valley’s strong start in the second OT as the Knights scored on their first three possessions to grab a 72-67 lead with 2:14 remaining.

White made two free throws with 39.5 seconds to go to put the Knights up, 75-69.

Blair sank a long 3-pointer to slice it to 75-72, and the Rams had one final possessions to tie after Sammie Grater missed a pair of FTs, but White ended up fouling Blair with 2.6 seconds to go.

White fouled out, but Blair missed the first attempt. The Rams tried to intentionally miss the second one, which hit only the bottom of the backboard, giving the Knights possession – and the victory.
rawkmandale on March 11 at 3:34 p.m.
From the Seattle Times:

East Valley (Spokane) 77, Mount Rainier 72 ( 2 OT)

Marisa Blair scored a career-high 31 points, including a runner at the end of regulation to force the first over time, but the Rams had their stay in the tournament cut short.

E-V (10-18) trailed by five in the first overtime, but tied it on a late steal and basket by Jenni White, who finished with 22 points. The Knights made 7 of 8 free throws in the second OT, including two by White with 39.5 seconds to play for a 75-69 lead.

Junior Caroline Codd had a big game for Mount Rainier with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and sophomore Kiana Gandy added 11 points and five boards (five offensive).

The Rams, who move to 4A next season, finish the season 18-8.

E-V, which made 30 of 43 free throws), got 22 points from Kimmie Thatcher, while Amber Swyers added 12 points and 15 rebounds.