No Stopping Stacy Clinesmith Leads Mead To Third Title In 1990s

When you gamble everything on Stacy Clinesmith, it’s not a bad bet.

Mead’s senior point guard dominated both ends of the court to lead the Panthers to the State AAA girls basketball championship with a 44-41 victory over rival Kamiakin Saturday night at KeyArena.

“That’s the best way to go out,” Clinesmith said after winning her second straight tournament MVP award. “I don’t know what to say. It’s a dream come true.”

Clinesmith played the lead role on a defense that baffled the Braves (26-2), holding Big Nine MVP Carmel Lampson, the Braves’ leading scorer, to six points. On the other end, she poured in 26 points and had only three turnovers against Kamiakin’s vaunted press. And she played the whole 32 minutes in leading Mead to its third state title in the ‘90s.

But to Mead coach Jeanne Helfer, it wasn’t a gamble to have Clinesmith do it all.

“I know how big her heart is,” said Helfer, after her team won the school’s seventh straight top-five finish. “I know how bad she wanted it. We also had the benefit of TV timeouts.”

Helfer, who coached state champions in 1990 and ‘92, put the Panthers (26-3) in a triangle-and-two with Allison Beatty, among others, defending Kamiakin guard Willis. Lampson and Willis still were named to the all-tournament first team with Clinesmith, Jennifer Swinton of Ferris and Tatum Brown of Foss.

“It’s all execution,” Helfer said. “It’s not anything we did. We don’t practice here, we rest and talk. We made a couple adjustments, got into a couple of new things, and they ran it perfectly.”

Kamiakin coach Kevin Estes said, “They knew what we did well against them and made adjustments. We didn’t have the answers. They were just a little too big for us inside tonight. It was more physical than in the past.”

It was the first time in Clinesmith’s three years the Panthers beat the Braves, a streak that included two double-figure losses this year.

“It was worth it. I could have lost to them 10 million times to win this one,” Clinesmith said. “It was the best game of my life. It was a lot of fun.”

Clinesmith led the tournament in scoring for the second year in a row with a 21.8 average in four games.

Kamiakin’s only lead was 14-12 early in the second quarter, but Clinesmith answered with a 3-pointer and then fed Beatty for the basket that allowed the Panthers to lead 18-17 at halftime.

Though the Panthers led by six, 33-27, entering the fourth quarter, they were never able to put away the Braves. Yet they answered every Braves threat.

When the Braves pulled within 34-33 with 5:37 to go, Clinesmith drilled another 3 from the top. Then Jennifer Bennett and Jennifer Clark scored. But when the Braves were within two, at 41-39 with less than a minute left, Clinesmith got the ball and made 3 of 4 foul shots in the last 25 seconds.

She forced the Braves to go for a tying 3 at the end and was in Lampson’s face as she missed her shot.

“I just didn’t get my feet underneath me,” said Lampson, who will play at Santa Barbara with Clinesmith next year. “I’m proud of her. She took charge. I wish it would have been us and she would have been proud of me. I got shut down, actually, by Stacy.”

Kamiakin shot just 27 percent (14-52) and never made a 3-pointer a night after burning Foss with nine 3’s.

“We confused them and actually came to play this time,” Beatty said. “We ran ‘Cougar.’ It’s their offense and I don’t think they expected it at all.”

The Panthers got a scare when 6-foot-3 post Bennett was helped to the locker room at halftime and later left the bench. She was told she may have a mild concussion after crashing to the floor in the second quarter. She came back to grab a game-high 10 rebounds.

“I couldn’t concentrate,” Bennett said. “The doctors said I could play. I knew if I came back I couldn’t let it affect me. I knew the team needed rebounds and that was the one thing I could do.”

Bennett and Clark combined for 16 rebounds and 13 points.

“We’ve played well against (Clinesmith) in the past,” Estes said. “If it was just her, we would have won the game.”

Mead 44, Kamiakin 41

Mead 11 7 15 11 - 44 Kamiakin 8 9 10 14 - 41

MEAD Beatty 2 0-0 4, C.Clark 0 0-0 0, Turner 0 0-0 0, Clinesmith 7 9- 15 26, Roberts 0 0-0 0, Wakefield 0 1-2 1, J.Clark 3 1-2 7, Bennett 3 0-0 6. Totals 14 11-19 44.

KAMIAKIN J.Keatts 0 0-0 0, E.Keatts 1 0-0 2, Erickson 0 0-0 0, Ramsgate 1 0-0 2, Lampson 2 2-4 6, Willis 2 6-6 10, Cox 1 1-1 3, Shaw 3 1-2 7, Autrey 4 3-7 11. Totals 14 13-20 41. 3-point goals - Clinesmith 3. Total fouls - Mead 16, Kam 14. Fouled out - Beatty.

Mt. View 52, Lake Washington 42

Karrin Wilson, Stacy Brough and Angelina Wolvert combined for 38 points as the top-ranked Thunder (25-1) beat the Kangaroos (25-6) in the game for fourth and seventh places.

Lake Washington 10 16 7 9 - 42 Mountain View 17 12 9 14 - 52

Lake Washington - Sciola 3, Chen 2, Middlesworth 5, Erickson 0, Devine 2, Yarbrough 10, Sturing 3, Geddes 9, Morrison 8.

Mountain View - Brough 12, Boehm 0, Abrahamsen 3, Beveridge 6, Newton 2, Wilson 16, Wolvert 10, Schott 3.

Eastlake 53, Sehome 39

Center Shera Looney totaled 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Wolves (23-8) beat the Mariners (19-11) in the game for fifth and eighth places.

Sehome 8 10 13 8 - 39 Eastlake 7 11 19 16 - 53

Sehome - DeSpain 0, Kauffman 14, Binning 11, Miller, Teig 4, Swindell 0, Brown 6, Jones 4.

Eastlake - Cushman 9, Omatsu 1, Patterson 3, Sorenson 12, Huffman 3, Looney 15, Ingalls 10.

Notebook

Finishing third in the girls AAA tournament is something the Ferris Saxons will remember the rest of their lives.

For Amy George, the feeling runs much deeper.

One of the things pushing the Saxons in their run to get to state was the desire to fulfill a dream for Amy’s brother, Andy.

Andy, 19, has Down’s syndrome. As the Saxons inched closer and closer to state, he kept saying, “Space Needle.”

Before the third-place, winner-to-state game at the regional last weekend, the Saxons were getting so emotional because they wanted to win one for Andy. Ferris coach Janet Skaife was worried they wouldn’t play their game.

“It was really a good feeling,” Amy said after the Saxons captured third place Saturday afternoon. “It’s like he was accepted (by the team) … they just love him. “

The Saxons got to state and Andy went up in the Space Needle on Friday, although Amy had to pass on the trip up to rest for a semifinal game. Andy picked up a Space Needle hat that Amy said he called his good-luck charm for the Saxons and some books he couldn’t wait to show her.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” she said, emotionally drained. “(Andy) played a big role, I guess, for the whole team, especially me. Everybody did their best.”

One of the most impressive sophomores in the AAA boys tournament was Mount Vernon’s 6-foot-6 forward Grant Leep, who led the Western AAA in scoring (19.7) and rebounds (nine), numbers he matched in the Bulldogs’ three games.

Mount Vernon coach Mac Fraser said Leep is ahead of Washington State star Mark Hendrickson at the same stage of their high school careers for the Bulldogs.

As sophomores, they both had “a shooter’s touch for a big man and were thinking basketball players,” Fraser said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos (1 color)

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: TEAM OF THE ‘90s The girls State AAA basketball tournament placings for Mead during the 1990s: 1990: First 1994: Third 1991: Second 1995: Fifth 1992: First 1996: First 1993: Fourth