Russel’s 3 Advances Ritzville
Shannon Russel picked quite a time to rediscover her jump shot.
Russel, 3 of 11 from the field to that point, nailed a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left Thursday to lift Ritzville over Reardan 45-42 in a winner-to-state girls game at the District 7-B Tournament.
“She’s clutch, you can say that,” Ritzville post Megan Yerxa said as teammates congratulated Russel at Spokane Falls Community College.
The Broncos (21-3) needed Russel’s lift after the 6-foot-1 Yerxa fouled out with 2:20 left. Ritzville led 42-38 at that stage, but the Indians (16-8) tied the game with two free throws apiece by Kami Soliday and Janelle Krupke.
“That was the first jumper (Russel) hit all night,” said coach John Foulkes, whose Broncos beat Reardan by 17 and 19 points this year.
Reardan wanted to work a late 3-pointer to Krupke or Kristen Turner, but Soliday took a chance with 4 seconds left. Megan Wellsandt secured the rebound.
Reardan led 26-23 midway through the third quarter when post Katie Supinger sat because of her fourth foul. The Broncos closed the quarter with a 9-0 run.
The score was tied at 34 when Supinger fouled out with 5:02 left.
Yerxa responded with five of her 15 points, then fouled out.
“We’ve dealt pretty well with foul trouble before,” Russel said.
Ritzville, 6-0 in district title games, meets Wilbur-Creston (20-4) Saturday night. Ritzville is 2-1 against W-C this year. Reardan meets Sprague-Harrington today for a state berth.
Ritzville 45, Reardan 42
Ritzville 8 13 11 13 - 45
Reardan 7 12 7 16 - 42
RITZVILLE Kramer 0, Weber 7, Horpedahl 1, M.Wellsandt 8, Russell 10, Yerxa 15, Alspach 4.
REARDAN Jayne 2, Schwartz 2, Krupke 14, Rinker 0, Soliday 2, Plummer 0, Turner 8, Supinger 14.
NWC 51, St. George’s 48
In a loser-out, Jana Huston hit 8 of 11 field goals and added nine rebounds as the Cruaders (12-13) beat the Dragons (14-12) for the first time in 10 years.
St. George’s made a late charge but had three turnovers in the final minute. Miranda Routh-Corker had 10 rebounds for St. George’s, which had played at five straight state tourneys. NWC meets Northport (22-3) today for a state berth.
NW Christian 9 16 12 14 - 51
St. George’s 10 9 17 12 - 48
NORTHWEST CHRISTIAN Nicolai 1, Moen 0, Ogle 11, Montague 9, Casimir 0, Strandy 0, Clouse 12, Huston 18.
ST. GEORGE’S Liu 10, Davis 8, DeNiro 0, Boutz 2, Webster 1, Routh-Corker 14, Appling 13.
BOYS
ACH 40, Republic 32
Topher Goodwin and Kevin Evers powered inside for a combined 25 points and the Warriors (19-4) used a stifling defense to beat the Tigers (22-3) for a return trip to state.
Goodwin and Evers combined for nine points during an 11-0 first-half run that gave ACH a 22-11 lead it never surrendered.
“We thought they’d be tough, but we didn’t think it’d be as rugged as this,” Evers said after Republic limited the Warriors to 33 field-goal attempts.
ACH held the Tigers to 25-percent shooting from the floor. Tigers Jason Baldwin and Mark Rickard, who typically combine for 40 points, were held to 17 on 6-for-30 shooting.
“We knew in order to win that we had to stop those two kids,” said Warriors coach Jim Wacker. “We knew Evers is too good on defense to allow (Kris) Kuchenmeister to score 20 points (as he did at district against Valley Christian).”
ACH plays Reardan (24-0) Saturday for the district title the Warriors last won in ‘91. Reardan has beaten ACH 53-49 and 52-44 this year.
“We’ve had two barn-burners,” Wacker said. “I expect the same thing, I hope.”
Republic, absent from state since ‘86, plays Curlew (18-7) today for a berth.
ACH 11 11 6 12 - 40
Republic 9 4 10 9 - 32
REPUBLIC Dinkins 0, Dav.Hanks 4, Baldwin 11, Rickard 6, Grimm 4, Kuchenmeister 7.
ALMIRA/COULEE-HARTLINE Pierce 5, Leander 5, Pate 5, Goodwin 14, Evers 11.
Valley Christian 63, Springdale 54
Michael Spuler and Brian Sears combined on 10-for-18 shooting from the floor, and Jared Evans added 11 rebounds as the Panthers (16-10) eliminated the Chargers (17-9).
VC meets Ritzville (22-4) today for a chance at its first state berth.
Springdale 10 12 6 26 - 54
Valley Chr. 20 12 18 13 - 63
SPRINGDALE Gardiner 6, Brisbois 5, Farnsworth 6, Klemish 0, McCurdy 12, B.Peterson 12, Canfield 5, Lozano 8.
VALLEY CHRISTIAN Dahl 1, Schlafmann 0, Decker 9, Evans 15, Teterud 0, Spuler 11, Meyer 0, Sears 15, Gass 3, Sandin 7, Smith 0, King 2.
, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: NORTHEAST B Today’s games Northwest Christian girls vs. Northport, 1:30 p.m. (winner to state, loser out) Valley Christian boys vs. Ritzville, 3:15 (winner to state, loser out) Sprague-Harrington girls vs. Reardan, 6 (winner to state, loser out) Curlew boys vs. Republic, 7:45 (winner to state, loser out)