Girls 3A: Mt. Spokane goes cold in second half in loss to Garfield

Dalayah Daniels scored 14 points with 16 rebounds and five blocked shots and No. 3 seed Garfield (21-7) eliminated No. 14 seed Mt. Spokane (14-11) 58-36 in a state 3A first-round elimination game at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday.

Garfield faces No. 4 seed Kamiakin in a quarterfinal on Thursday at 3:45 p.m.

Aspyn Adams led Mt. Spokane with 19 points, including 5 of 11 on 3-point attempts. The Wildcats shot 24 percent for the game and were outrebounded 44-29.

“We turned the ball over a couple of times early on,” said Mt. Spokane coach David Pratt. “We knew they were going to come in and be physical. We were in the game in the first half.”

The Wildcats came in with Adams hobbling in a full-length leg brace, without her twin sister, starting point guard Averi out with leg injuries, and with post Emily Nelson back on the court for just two days after recovering from concussion symptoms sustained in district play.

Nelson finished with four points and three rebounds – one-third of her averages.

“I’m proud of them,” Pratt said. “You have that many injuries and we get back here and get to play on that stage, it’s awesome. Our kids battled and I’m proud of them as can be.”

It was a 3-point shooting contest in the first quarter. Garfield hit three consecutive to run up a 9-0 lead, then the Wildcats’ Adams answered with three in a row.

Garfield’s Jayla Howard had the last in the frame just before the horn and the Bulldogs led 19-13 after one.

“According to what we studied (Garfield wasn’t) great from the perimeter and they were today,” Pratt said. “They did a great job on the perimeter in the first half.”

Nelson’s short jumper at the start of the second quarter drew Mt. Spokane within two points, but Garfield scored the last five points of the half – including a three-point play by Samaiyah Tolliver – and the Bulldogs led 30-22 at intermission.

Mt. Spokane cooled off – considerably – in the second half. Its third quarter production consisted of one field goal by Averie Carlson and one free throw by Emma Main. Meanwhile, Garfield posted 16 points and led 46-25 at the conclusion of the frame.

Adams drilled a couple of 3s in the fourth quarter, but the damage had been done. Mt. Spokane shot 3 of 25 in the second half.

Pratt was succinct about Mt. Spokane’s trouble after intermission.

“In the second half we didn’t follow the game plan and we threw the ball all over the place. Couldn’t score.”