Clarkston posts upset of Hounds
Len Kelly knew someone, sooner or later, would hand the Pullman Greyhounds their first loss of the girls basketball season, and he kept reminding his Clarkston Bantams it could be them.
Wednesday at Eastern Washington University, it was.
Clarkston handed its archrivals a 52-51 loss at Reese Court in the District 7 2A girls championship game, punching their own ticket to the state tournament in the process.
“I kept telling them that someone had to beat them,” Kelly said. “Pullman is a great team and was 21-0 coming in, but our girls played harder.”
The Bantams (17-5) got 21 points from senior Misty Atkinson and another 15 from freshman guard Kelli McCann-Smith. Only five Clarkston players scored.
“This is the game I really wanted,” Atkinson said. “I really wanted to beat them after they beat us twice during the regular season. I’ll trade those two games for this one any day.”
It was Atkinson who righted a Clarkston ship listing mightily in the third quarter.
In one stretch, the Bantams committed turnovers on four consecutive possessions, allowing Pullman to erase a five-point deficit and take the lead going into the final quarter.
“We talked at halftime about how our own mistakes were keeping us from having more than a one-point lead in this game,” Atkinson said. “When it came down to the end, we were all emotionally one player. We were just so together.”
Atkinson powered to the basket again and again for Clarkston, scoring a pair of three-point plays and a total of nine points in the final quarter.
While the senior forward provided the offense, it was a freshman guard who provided the rudder down the stretch.
McCann-Smith, a freshman, wanted the ball when it counted.
“I saw how much our seniors wanted this game and I decided that, since I was the guard, that I had to take the ball,” she said. “This game meant so much to our seniors.”
The Greyhounds were led by the 20-point effort of Jessica Thomas.
Pullman plays Cheney in a loser-out/winner-to-state game at 6 p.m. Friday at West Valley High School. The game had been scheduled for Cheney High, but tournament rules require the game to be played on a neutral court, forcing the move.
Cheney’s Blackhawks broke away in the second half of their loser-out game with West Valley at Medical Lake, outscoring the Eagles 32-22.
Ceri Palk came off the Cheney bench to drill a pair of 3-pointers to spark a 21-point effort in the fourth quarter. She finished with a team-high 10 points while MacKensie Lauber added eight points and seven rebounds.
“West Valley captured the boys tournament championship, holding off a determined Clarkston squad 63-55.
Senior Maverick Counts came up off the Eagles bench with the game of his career, scoring 13 points and grabbing a team-high nine rebounds to send his team on to the state tournament.
“It was senior determination,” Counts said. “I was nervous coming in, but I got into rhythm. I was just looking for rebounds and putbacks.”
Junior James Cahalan came off the bench to drill a pair of first-half 3-pointers for the Eagles
Bryan Peterson scored 17 points to lead West Valley (19-3), with Parker Flynn adding another 13.
The Eagles missed a chance to put the game away late, shooting a frigid 12 of 27 from the line.
Clarkston tried to capitalize on the momentum left over from its girls team’s upset, leading by a field goal after a low-scoring first period, 9-7.
Junior Cary Conklin, a 6-foot-5 forward, scored 16 points to lead Clarkston, which falls to 11-12.
The Bantams will regroup Friday and battle Pullman for the district’s one remaining state berth.
Pullman’s Greyhounds knocked off Medical Lake 56-51 in overtime at Cheney High.
Guard Ray Erwin scored 34 points and turned in a big fourth quarter to bring Medical Lake and into the lead, but Pullman’s Marty Guettinger, fouled attempting a game-tying 3-pointer, converted three straight free throws with 8 seconds remaining in regulation to force the extra period.
T.C. Peterson took control in overtime, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and scoring eight points to power Pullman.