Enumclaw Puts Hurt To Cheney
Enumclaw’s hobbled team beat Cheney’s hobbled team Saturday in a game that perfectly summed up the 1995 girls State AA basketball tournament.
Enumclaw senior guard Dawn Tinney, bound for Western Washington University, shook off an ankle injury she sustained Friday and made five 3-pointers during a 50-48 Hornets win at the Tacoma Dome. Tinney, who finished with game highs of 24 points and 20 rebounds, set a tourney record with 60 rebounds.
Jenny Hoots, playing with an ankle injury that occurred Thursday, led Cheney with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Cheney’s Erin Soliday, stiff-necked and headachy from landing on her head during a game Friday, had 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Cheney lost its second straight game after starting the season 25-0. The Blackhawks also played their second game without point guard Anna Getz, who severely injured a knee Thursday.
Enumclaw played without secondleading scorer Shannon Hoyt, who tore up her knee on Thursday. It was one of nearly a dozen serious injuries at the event that many blamed on the wellworn basketball floor.
“Luck and injuries didn’t go our way, but it was not from a lack of effort,” said Cheney coach Marty Jessett.
The No. 8 Hornets (22-4) placed third, their best showing at state. Thirdranked Cheney (25-2) added a sixthplace trophy to the fifth- and seventhplace awards it had earned before.
“It was a great season,” Jessett said. “We had two games end up on the wrong side, but that’s nothing to complain about.”
Cheney had a chance to tie or win the game with 6 seconds left. Hoots rebounded Rachael Watkins’ missed free throw and tossed an outlet pass to Kasey Richer, who had started in place of Getz. Soliday couldn’t handle Richer’s pass near the Blackhawks’ baseline; the Hornets needed only to inbounds the ball with a fraction of a second left.
Cheney trailed by seven points with 1:09 left, but senior Melissa Krogh made three baskets during a 35-second span to cut the Hornets’ lead to 49-48. Cheney fouled Watkins, who made one free throw but missed the second after a Blackhawks timeout.
Cheney led 19-18 at halftime after Soliday guided an 8-0 run with two baskets and two assists.
Tinney put Cheney in a 42-32 hole with five 3-pointers, matching a careerbest. Three of the five came during Enunclaw’s 18-9 third quarter.
“Other teams are usually tired in the third quarter,” Tinney said. “That’s when we get going.”
Jessett tried a zone defense on the Hornets, but stuck Lisa Anderson on Tinney after the bombs-away performance. Anderson bottled up Tinney, but Hornets reserve Kristy Merriman made a pair of baskets to stop Cheney’s first comeback try in the fourth quarter.
Soliday, 4 of 24 from the floor, had a 3-pointer and Hoots added a threepoint play preceding Krogh’s flurry.
Jessett, teary-eyed after a lockerroom speech, hated to see the season end discouragingly for seniors Soliday, Hoots, Krogh, Richer and Jamie Day.
“It was really hard because of (Friday) night and that tough game,” said Jessett, referring to a 44-39 loss to Franklin in a game Cheney led by 17. “We didn’t know until warmups how they were going to respond. Sometimes you have adversity. That shows how great these girls are. It’s easy to be a happy person when things go well.”
Enumclaw 50, Cheney 48
(3rd, 6th places)
Enumclaw 9 9 18 14 -50 Cheney 4 15 9 20 - 48
ENUMCLAW Rogers 1 0-2 2, Watkins 0 2 -4 2, Tinney 9 1-1 24, Annas 0 0-0 0, Merriman 2 0-1 4, Joubert 1 4-7 6, Youngquist 1 0-2 2, Arnett 0 0-0 0, Johanasson 5 0-0 10, Poe 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 7-17 50.
CHENEY Soliday 4 2-2 11, Richer 0 0- 2 0, Anderson 4 0-1 8, Krogh 5 2-6 12, Reagan 1 0-0 2, Hoots 7 1-1 15. Totals: 21 5-12 48.
3-pointers - Tinney 5, Soliday. Total fouls - Enumclaw 18, Cheney 16. Fouled out - Youngquist.