Ferris Downs CV For Rare State Berth

Girls AAA Regional

And they still had enough energy to dance.

The Ferris Saxons earned their first trip to the State AAA tournament since 1984 behind a marathon 32-minute performance from four starters. And, after the 47-37 victory over Central Valley, they congratulated their family and fans in the stands and danced in the locker room.

“Since we were freshmen this has been our plan,” senior standout Jennifer Swinton said after scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

The Saturday night game at the Tri-Cities Coliseum was the second of the day for both Greater Spokane League teams since only three teams from the Eastern Regional AAA Tournament advance to next week’s state tournament in Seattle.

“We don’t play many girls, but we told them this was it,” Ferris coach Janet Skaife said before joining her players in the locker-room dance. “Play 32 minutes for a lifetime of memories.”

The Saxons are going to state for the first time since the 1984 team finished third. Last year, they lost the regional third-place game to Shadle Park.

Earlier, Big Nine champion Kamiakin dumped Mead 57-42 in the championship game. Both teams earned their state berths with semifinal wins on Friday.

In the morning loser-out games, CV dumped Walla Walla 67-51 behind Crystal Lee’s 25 and Ferris pulled away from Wenatchee 54-51.

Third place

Ferris 47, Central Valley 37

The Saxons (21-5) won the game in the third quarter, going on a 12-2 run to the buzzer, with four points coming from the only reserve they used, Beth Rasmussen. Swinton’s basket on a feed from Jayme Morrisette capped a 10-0 run 10 seconds into the fourth and made the score 34-25.

Central Valley, hampered by foul trouble, was never able to make the defensive stops to make a run.

Swinton and Morrisette and sophomores Karie Pruett and Amy George played until the final seconds. Morrisette had 15 points, hitting 9 of 11 free throws, and George had nine rebounds as Ferris had a 29-20 advantage on the boards.

Swinton set a regional record for career rebounds with 90.

Central Valley 10 9 6 12 - 37

Ferris 10 8 14 15 - 47

CENTRAL VALLEY Kallas 1 0-0 2, Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Ault 0 0-0 0, Clark 1 0-0 2, MacPhee 0 2-6 2, Sanders 3 3-3 9, Shoquist 0 0-0 0, Dahlgren 0 0-0 0, Lee 4 0-0 9, White 1 0-0 2, Coyle 0 0-0 0, Jackson 3 2-2 11. Totals 13 7-11 37.

FERRIS Pruett 1 0-0 2, George 0 3-4 3, Jay.Morrisette 3 9-11 15, McCaffery 0 0-0 0, Martin 0 0-0 0, Watkinson 0 0-0 0, Rasmussen 2 0-1 4, Brown 0 0-0 0, Curry 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 0-0 0, Swinton 6 2-4 14, Jan.Morrisette 4 1-2 9. Totals 16 15-22 47.

3-point goals - Lee, Jackson 3. Total fouls - Central Valley 20, Ferris 10. Fouled out - Clark. Technicals - None.

Championship

Kamiakin 57, Mead 42

The third-ranked Panthers (22-3) dug themselves into an early hole and, after they almost got out, ran out of steam against the Braves (23-1).

“I think we really worked hard to come back,” Mead coach Jeanne Helfer said. “Sometimes when you get back you tend to relax. Against Kamiakin you can’t do that, they’re too explosive.”

The Braves closed out the first quarter with a 13-4 run to go up 15-8 and closed the half with a 5-0 surge to make it 25-16. The margin got to 11 before the Panthers rallied. They had chances to tie to take the lead several times and closed within 30-29 with 38 seconds left in the third.

Kristen Willis then made the play of the game, pulling up on the left baseline to swish a jumper and converting the free throw after being fouled by Chelsea Clark with just 3.2 seconds on the clock.

Kamiakin 15 10 8 24 - 57

Mead 8 8 13 13 - 42

KAMIAKIN J.Keatts 0 0-0 0, E.Keatts 1 0-0 2, Erikson 3 3-4 10, Ramsgate 0 0-0 0, Lampson 5 3-7 14, Willis 2 13-13 17, DeCoria 1 0-0 2, Cox 4 0-3 8, Shaw 2 0-0 4, Autrey 0 0-0 0. Totals - 18 19-27 57.

MEAD Beatty 1 2-2 4, C.Clark 0 4-4 4, Turner 2 1-1 6, Clinesmith 4 0-0 8, Leaf 0 0-0 0, Roberts 1 0-0 2, Wakefield 3 0-1 6, Edburg 0 0-0 0, J.Clark 2 0-0 4, Bennett 3 1-1 7. Totals - 16 9-11 42.

3-point goals - Erikson, Lampson, Turner. Total fouls - Kamiakin 13, Mead 22. Fouled out - Clinesmith, Bennett. Technicals - none.

Ferris 54, Wenatchee 41

The Saxons buried the Panthers (17-8) when Pruett sandwiched two 3-pointers around a George basket to push the Ferris lead to 34-18 in the second half.

Wenatchee 4 14 11 12 - 41

Ferris 15 11 18 10 - 54

WENATCHEE Sparks 1 1-6 3, Schuenemann 2 0-0 4, Schooler 4 1-1 9, Lowe 2 0-0 4, Walker 4 0-0 10, Isaacson 2 3-4 7, Vertrees 2 0-0 4. Totals - 17 5-11 41.

FERRIS 3 4-4 13, George 6 2-2 15, Jay. Morrisette 2 0-0 6, Watkinson 0 0-0 0, Rasmussen 2 0-0 4, Brown 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 0-0 0, Swinton 4 4-6 12, Jan.Morrisette 2 0-0 4. Totals - 19 10-12 54.

3-point goals - Walker 2, Pruett 3, George, Jay. Morrisette 2. Total fouls - Wenatchee 16, Ferris 11. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none.

Central Valley 67, Walla Walla 51

The Blue Devils (17-8) could not stop Lee, who scored 25 points for CV.

Walla Walla 11 5 21 14 - 51

Central Valley 17 13 20 17 - 67

WALLA WALLA Maher 0 0-0 0, Angley 1 1-2 4, Erlebach 2 2-6 7, Watkins 5 2-3 12, Avery 1 0-0 2, Ocampo 1 0-2 2, Martin 4 3-5 11, Kress 6 1-2 13. Totals - 20 9-19 51.

CENTRAL VALLEY Kallas 1 0-1 2, Carpenter 0 2-2 2, Ault 1 3-6 5, Clark 5 2-3 12, MacPhee 2 3-9 7, Sanders 3 2-2 8, Lee 8 5-6 25, White 1 0-0 2, Coyle 0 0-0 0, Jackson 1 1-2 4. Totals - 22 18-31 67.

3-point goals - Angley, Erlebach, Lee 4, Jackson. Total fouls - Walla Walla 20, Central Valley 18. Fouled out - Watkins. Technicals - none.

, DataTimes