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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

GSL girls: Aaliyah Pauling helps Mead holds off Lewis and Clark in overtime

Quantae Anderson, the Mead Panthers girls basketball head coach, has some not-so-fond memories at the Lewis and Clark High School gymnasium.

The past two seasons, whenever his Panthers traveled to take on the Tigers, his team would jump out to a hot start only to crumble late in the game for a loss.

The game had a similar script on Tuesday at LC, as Mead fumbled away a 13-point fourth-quarter lead, but the Panthers (4-2, 2-2 Greater Spokane League) ultimately hung on to beat the Tigers (2-4, 2-2) in overtime, 72-67.

“It just felt good to finally pull out the win and show them we can beat them,” said senior guard Aaliyah Pauling, who finished with 26 points and seven rebounds.

The Tigers outscored Mead 17-6 in the fourth quarter to cut the Panthers’ lead all the way to two and eventually tied the game on Jacinta Buckley’s putback layup as time expired in regulation.

Mead weathered the storm and took advantage of a scrappy, but foul-happy LC defense by making the Tigers pay at the free-throw line, where the Panthers went a perfect 8 for 8.

“I was proud of the resolve we had,” Anderson said. “We didn’t let it get to us.”

Mead assembled a 13-point lead by halftime, largely in part from its prolific 3-point shooting. The Panthers drilled 8 of 12 from beyond the arc, including a 4-of-5 first-half 3-point performance from their star, Pauling.

“She’s a dynamite scorer,” LC head coach Chad Kimberley said. “We played a little zone, we played a box-in-one, we played straight man-to-man, you mix up everything and she still buries one three feet behind the line.

“At the end of the day, you tip your hat to a scorer like that.”

The Tigers ramped up the defensive intensity on Pauling, limiting her to only five points in the second half. But even without her shooting impact, her decision making down the stretch was a difference maker for the Panthers, according to Anderson.

“I wanted to make sure she had the ball in her hands,” said Anderson of Pauling, who scored six points – all on free throws – in overtime. “She’s one of our best decision makers and in overtime she did just that: she made really good decisions.”

Seniors Alyse Jackson and Lindsey Russell joined Pauling in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Buckley led the Tigers with 26 points, a season high, and nine rebounds. Dominique Arquette added 18 points, also a season high, and Peyton Howard chipped in seven points and seven assists.

Central Valley 50, North Central 25: Lexie and Lacey Hull scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, to help the Bears (4-0, 4-0) defeat the visiting Indians (0-5, 0-4).

Central Valley made 8 of 13 free throws, while North Central went 0 for 2 at the line.

Mt. Spokane 75, Ferris 38: Aspyn Adams scored 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting to help the Wildcats (4-0, 4-0 ) defeat the visiting Saxons (1-4, 1-3).

Miahna Waters had 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Mt. Spokane, while Jaidyn Lyman added 16 points with four assists.

Gonzaga Prep 48, University 43: Molly McDermott scored 13 points as the visiting Bullpups (3-1, 3-0) topped the Titans (3-2, 2-1).

U-Hi’s Claire Dingus tied it at 42 late, but the Titans hit just one more free throw and were forced to foul down the stretch.

McDermott had a pair of 3-pointers in her six makes for the night. G-Prep also got 12 points from Olivia Mayer.

University was led by Elłie Boni’s 11 points and Dingus added 10.

Rogers 58, Shadle Park 48: Atyzha Upton scored 17 points, Marijah Christen had 15 and the Pirates (2-4, 1-3) knocked off the visiting Highlanders (0-5, 0-4).

Brooklyn Paul added 10 points for Rogers. Makenna Grier led Shadle Park with 24 points and Emilie Tangeman chipped in 11.