Ritzville Does It Again Broncos Get Repeat In Girls B Title Game
Ritzville, behind the 18 points of long-bomber Shannon Russel, fought off the Wilbur-Creston Wildcats 50-37 Saturday night at the Arena and put the final touches on a perfect 29-0 season with its second straight State B girls basketball tournament championship.
“It feels great,” said a beaming Russel. “Two is definitely better than one.” The Broncos joined the 1992-93 Davenport Gorillas as the only girls teams to win back-to-back titles.
Russel’s long-range marksmanship was the difference in this one. The senior guard tied a tourney record with six 3-pointers.
“Shannon is the heart and soul of this team,” said Broncos coach Howard Manke. “She’s our leader and deserves all the accolades she gets. She works hard, and even more than that she has tremendous character.”
It was the second straight year that Wilbur-Creston (19-8) fell to Ritzville with the title on the line.
“They’re just a great team,” Wildcats coach Bethany Hopkins noted. “We played them five times this year and they beat us five times. They just have so many weapons. You can’t concentrate on shutting down one or two players because they’ll just go to someone else.”
Wilbur-Creston came out firing early.
Ronee Deahl nailed a 15-footer and Alyssa Erickson added a pair of free throws to give the Wildcats a 4-0 lead.
The Wildcats’ lead was 8-4 when Russel hit the first of her 3-pointers with 2:11 left in the opening period.
But Cherie Dreger’s 3-point play at the 1:51 mark was the quarter’s final points and put W-C up 11-7.
Senior guard Erin Weber hit a pair of 15-footers early when the Broncos were struggling.
“I don’t usually look to score,” said Weber. “But every time we play Wilbur-Creston they make an effort to shut down our big scorers. I had a couple of good looks early and they went down for me.”
The Broncos righted the ship in the second period with their defense. Ritzville held the Wildcats scoreless over the first 5:22 and Russel buried a pair of 3-pointers to spark a 10-0 Broncos run.
All of a sudden Ritzville was up 17-11.
“We know we have to get through the tough spots,” said Russel. “We had some problems early, but we kept battling. We came out in the second quarter, grabbed the lead and never gave it up again.”
Wilbur-Creston hung tough, though, staying within striking distance.
Allyssa Erickson scored a pair of baskets in the final 2 minutes and the Wildcats trailed just 21-17 at the half.
Ritzville struck quickly to open the third quarter. Amy Fitch buried an 18-footer and Russel knocked down a 3 and just like that the Broncos had a 26-17 lead.
Russel’s fifth 3-pointer, a Megan Yerxa layup and a jumper from Weber added up to a 7-2 Ritzville run. The Broncos closed out the third quarter leading 33-22.
Jamie Alspach opened the final 8 minutes with a layup to stretch the Ritzville lead to 35-22.
That’s when W-C’s Lisa Arden stepped to the forefront.
The senior guard, who was scoreless through three quarters, tossed in nine points to spark an 11-4 run and pull the Wildcats to within 39-33 with 4:25 left.
But Fitch found Alspach wide open underneath for a layup and Russel nailed her sixth 3-pointer to put an exclamation point on the victory.
“What a way to end my basketball career,” Weber said. “It’s an indescribable feeling, but it’s perfect.”
W-C’s Erickson has scored 172 points in three trips to the state tourney. Arden ended her W-C career with 102 points in four appearances at state. Ritzville’s Yerxa hit the Century Club with 103 points in two trips, while Russel just missed with 96.
The Broncos also set a tourney record by giving up just 29.2 points per game.
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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: State B online Complete coverage of the tournament can be found at http://www.spokane.net/stateb