CV Adds Spice To Race, Trips Mead In Showdown Bears, Panthers Tied Atop Gsl After CV Wins Thriller At Home

Crystalizing Mead wasn’t enough but when Central Valley added a dash of Ginger, the Bears got what they wanted.

Andrea Kallas swished two free throws with 17 seconds left and then Jen Bennett missed two with no time on the clock as the sixth-ranked Bears tripped No. 5 Mead 56-55 at CV Tuesday night.

Bennett, despite missing large chunks of the game because of foul trouble, made back-to-back shots to put Mead up 55-54 with 35 seconds left. The second bucket was a tremendous play when the Panthers had to inbound the ball from in front of their bench with just 3 seconds on the shot clock.

Kallas put the Bears back in front but Mead never got a quality look at the basket before forcing the ball into Bennett, who was fouled at the buzzer. Bennett, who finished with 16 points, including two perfect free throws earlier, put both shots off the back iron.

CV’s win, avenging an early season 61-50 loss at Mead, tied the teams atop the Greater Spokane League standings at 11-1. Both teams are 14-2 overall with preseason losses to top-ranked Kamiakin.

But despite the heroics of Kallas and the misfortune of Bennett, the difference was Crystal Lee carrying the Bears to a 35-30 lead in the first half while becoming CV’s all-time leading scorer and No. 2 in the GSL and Ginger Clark taking over in the second.

Clark’s effort was particularly impressive. The 5-foot-9 senior started the second half with three fouls but still scored seven of CV’s nine third-quarter points to keep the Panthers from taking over.

Twice in the first 2 minutes she drove past the 6-3 Bennett, who also had three fouls, on the right baseline for layups. Her offensive rebound, good for 1 of 2 free throws, gave Bennett her fourth foul a minute later.

She also gave CV a 44-43 lead at the break by driving for another basket in the final minute.

“I think I was just too excited, too aggressive in the first half (four points, three fouls). I had the game on my mind for so long,” said Clark. “I knew I was quicker and I could beat (Bennett) one-on-one to the hole. With their two big kids, it really helped when she was on the bench.

“I kind of kicked myself in the butt at halftime. I knew I was capable. It was a matter of talking myself into doing it.”

Clark had a season-high 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while battling the 6-3 Bennett.

“She played really hard,” Mead coach Jeanne Helfer said. “It was the best game I’ve seen her play. Give Ginger a lot of credit. We emphasized (stopping) other people and she took advantage. They played a great game.”

CV coach Dale Poffenroth said of Clark, “I’ve seen sparks the last three or four games. She’s faster, they’re bigger. If she goes to the hoop and gets fouled, we have a chance.”

Lee had 10 of her 22 points in the first quarter when CV stunned Mead by racing to a 22-11 lead. She had 19 points at the half, including a 3 at the buzzer that extended the Bears’ lead to 35-30.

By the end of the night, Lee had also made history. With 1,132 points in her career, she passed Courtney Hepton (1,113 points) on the all-time Central Valley list.

In GSL games, Lee has 755 points with four games remaining. She trails Dory Reeves, who had 803 at Lewis and Clark from 1986-89 after going past Gonzaga Prep’s Lisa Oriard, who had 727 from 1982-84.

“I’m shocked,” Lee said. “I had no clue (where she ranked).”

Central Valley 56, Mead 55

Mead 11 19 13 12 - 55

Central Valley 22 13 9 12 - 56

MEAD Zelinski 2 0-0 5, Turner 2 4-4 9, Bailey 4 1-3 9, M.Bennett 1 0-0 2, Leaf 0 5-6 5, Wakefield 1 1-2 3, Schuerman 3 0-1 6, Myers 0 0-0 0, J.Bennett 7 2-4 16. Totals 20 13-19 55.

CENTRAL VALLEY Grafos 0 0-0 0, Clark 6 3-4 14, Kallas 3 2-2 9, Coyle 2 2-2 6, Jackson 2 0-0 5, Lee 8 4-5 22, Bragdon 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 10-13 56.

3-point goals - Zelinski, Turner, Kallas, Jackson, Lee 2. Total fouls - Mead 11, CV 16. Fouled out - Clark.

G-Prep 64, Shadle Park 53

Lisa Bradley scored 14 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Bullpups (11-4, 8-3) past the Highlanders (6-10, 3-9) at the Arena.

Prep hit 15 of 27 free throws, including Bradley’s five in the final period. Theresa Palmer finished with 19 points for Prep.

Vanessa Larkin scored 15 and Sara Harchuck added 14 for Shadle.

Shadle Park 12 22 13 6 - 53

Gonzaga Prep 22 6 10 26 - 64

SHADLE PARK Larkin 7 0-0 15, Caldwell 0 0-0 0, Potter 1 0-1 3, Harchuck 5 3-4 14, Stockman 0 0-0 0, Olzendam 1 1-2 3, Drake 1 5-6 7, Nelson 4 0-0 8, Etter 0 1-2 1, Blagojevic 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 10-15 53.

GONZAGA PREP Bloom 0 0-0 0, Green 0 0-0 0, Bradley 5 7-12 18, Kendrick 2 2-4 6, Jordan 3 0-0 8, Williams 5 1-2 11, Nadeau 1 0-0 2, Palmer 7 5-9 19. Totals 23 15-27 64.

3-point goals - Larkin, Potter, Harchuck, Bradley, Jordan 2. Fouls - SP 18, Prep 17. Fouled out - none. Technicals - SP bench.

Ferris 59, North Central 31

Christy Martin scored 12 points, including three 3-pointers, as the Saxons (9-6, 7-5) defeated the Indians (2-14, 0-12) at NC.

Martin made 4 of 5 from the floor and Amy George added 13 points for the Saxons.

Ferris 10 17 14 18 - 59

North Central 6 7 8 10 - 31

FERRIS J.Johnson 0 0-0 0, Pruett 1 1-3 4, Lytle 1 0-0 2, George 5 2-3 13, Morrisette 3 4-11 10, B.Johnson 0 5-6 5, Brazzle 0 0-0 0, Martin 4 1-1 12, Meeker 1 0-0 3, McCaffery 0 2-4 2, Benzel 3 0-1 6, Blevins 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 15-28 59.

NORTH CENTRAL Harris 0 0-3 0, Emery-Cloy 1 0-0 2, White 0 0-0 0, Neilson 3 1-2 7, Hammond 3 1-4 7, Stearns 1 0-1 2, Hayes 0 0-2 0, Bibb 2 1-3 5, Brockie 0 0-0 0, Ellenwood 2 0-0 5, Carter 1 2-2 4. Totals 13 5-17 31.

3-point goals - Pruett, George, Martin 3. Total fouls - F 9, NC 18 .

LC 46, University 40

Becki Huddle hit a 3-pointer to end the first half and went on to score 15 of her 20 points in the second half to lead the Tigers (7-8, 5-6) past the Titans (3-12, 2-9) at University.

Lewis and Clark 11 14 6 15 - 46

University 8 11 9 12 - 40

LEWIS AND CLARK Marquess 1 0-0 2, Giebel 0 0-0 0, Wendle 3 0-0 8, Huddle 7 5-5 20, Davey 0 0-0 0, Weiler 1 1-2 3, Hansen 0 0-0 0, Thompson 0 3-4 3, Oeljen 2 0-2 4, Storey 0 0-0 0, Ford 3 0-2 6. Totals 17 9-15 46.

UNIVERSITY Gazaway 0 2-2 2, Schroeder 3 4-6 10, Frost 3 0-1 6, Whitney 1 0-0 2, Fryer 4 0-0 8, Conant 3 0-0 7, Nelson 1 1-2 3, Oglesbee 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 7-11 40.

3-point goals - Wendle 2, Huddle, Conant. Total fouls - LC 15, U-Hi 11. Fouled out - none.

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