Wv Girls, Cheney Boys Capture Berths To State

Frontier League

The Cheney boys didn’t provide much drama Saturday night in qualifying as the Frontier League’s No. 2 seed to the State AA Tournament, but West Valley’s girls more than made up for it.

The Blackhawks (20-2) won their second straight trip to Tacoma, defeating West Valley 63-47 to join the Cheney girls, who qualified Friday night, as the district’s top seed.

In the nightcap at East Valley, though, WV wrote a new finish to a familiar script and beat Riverside 53-47 to earn the girls’ No. 2 spot. Colville, the regular season champion, qualified Friday night as the boys’ No. 1.

Girls

WV 53, Riverside 47

On Friday night, the Eagles (18-4) lost in double overtime after leading by two points down the stretch in regulation, missing three free throws to open the door for Cheney.

So on Saturday, when Gabby McClintock stepped to the foul line with 14 seconds left and the Eagles leading by two, WV fans and coach Mark Kuipers weren’t exactly breathing easy.

But McClintock buried both free throws and added a rebound basket 6 seconds later as WV hung on against the persistent Rams, who had trailed by 13 points early in the second period.

“It was the exact same scenario,” Kuipers said outside a noisy Eagles locker room, “but Gabby gave it a different look. Those were two big free throws.

“It was amazing that we found a way to deal with Friday’s loss and tonight’s comeback. I was hoping we’d be able to regroup after last night, and we did.”

The Eagles were on fire early, hitting five straight 3-pointers in the first quarter on their way to a 21-11 lead. They extended it to 26-13 on Angela Kallas’ third 3 of the game 2 minutes into the second period, but the Rams hung around, shooting well themselves and taking advantage of WV turnovers.

WV’s lead was as big as nine, 38-29, in the third period, but Riverside scored 15 of the next 19 points for a 44-42 lead with 6:30 to play. Kallas’ running layin tied it at 44, and with 3:20 to go, senior reserve Chantelle Frost banked in a 3 from the corner for a 47-44 Eagles’ lead.

After Eagle Dawn Salfer’s drive and three free throws by Riverside’s Bernice Stime, the Rams were down 49-47, setting the stage for the wild finish, where the Eagles missed three FTs in the final 37 seconds but made the ones that counted.

Kallas led WV with 18 points, Salfer scored 17 and McClintock had 12 rebounds as the Eagles made nine 3s. Abbey Wood scored 11 and Stime had 10 points and 13 boards for the Rams.

Riverside 11 14 13 9 - 47 West Valley 21 9 12 11 - 53

RIVERSIDE - Lamarche 0 0-0 0, N.Snyder 1 0-0 3, Koesel 1 0-0 3, Rizzuto 3 0-3 7, H.Wood 3 0-0 6, Stime 3 3-5 10, A.Wood 4 3-3 11, McMurphy 3 0-0 7. Totals 18 6-11 47.

WEST VALLEY - Monasmith 0 0-0 0, Kallas 7 0-0 18, Nihoul 0 0-0 0, Shollenberger 1 0-1 3, Simpson 0 0-0 0, McClintock 1 4-6 6, Frost 1 0-2 3, Salfer 7 0-2 17, Sowers 2 0-0 4, Roberts 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 4-11 53.

3-point goals - N.Snyder, Koesel, Rizzuto, Stime, McMurphy, Kallas 4, Shollenberger, Frost, Salfer 3. Total fouls - Riverside 15, West Valley 12. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None.

Boys

Cheney 63, WV 47

Tied at 14-all, the Hawks scored seven straight points, and after Tucker Urdahl canned a pair of 3s and a baseline drive, Cheney was up 29-21. The Blackhawks led 32-23 at halftime.

Cheney started the second half the same way, scoring seven points in the first 2 minutes for a 39-23 lead. The Eagles trimmed it back to eight, 41-33, before the Hawks, on an Urdahl drive, pushed it back to 10 with a quarter to go.

Cheney started fast again - six straight points this time - including another Urdahl 3 - and the Hawks’ lead was safe the rest of the way. The closest the Eagles got, after Jade Cardwell’s steal with 1:20 left, was eight. Cheney was 11 for 14 from the foul line in the fourth quarter as WV scrambled to come back.

Urdahl led Cheney with 20 points, Paul Malisani had 14, Eric Sobotta 13 and August Parker 10. Cardwell and Austin Gerrells had 11 each for WV.

West Valley 14 9 10 14 - 47 Cheney 17 15 11 20 - 63

WEST VALLEY - McLachlan 0 0-0 0, Hilsabeck 0 0-0 0, Cardwell 5 0-2 11, Sweet 2 0-0 5, Deno 2 0-0 5, Sorensen 0 0-0 0, Groh 1 0-0 3, Mortensen 2 0-0 4, Gerrells 4 1-4 11, Pecht 2 4-5 8. Totals 18 5-11 47.

CHENEY - Stiffler 1 2-4 4, Eggart 0 2-2 2, Waller 0 0-0 0, Urdahl 7 2-2 20, Goetz 0 0-0 0, Donnelly 0 0-0 0, Reser 0 0-0 0, Parker 3 4-7 10, Malisani 5 4-4 14, Stoddard 0 0-0 0, Sobotta 5 1-2 13. Totals 21 15-21 63.

3-point goals - Cardwell, Sweet, Deno, Groh, Gerrells 2, Urdahl 4, Sobotta 2. Total fouls - West Valley 17, Cheney 9. Fouled out - Sobotta. Technicals - None.