Sowers Powers Eagles West Valley Stops Franklin Pierce, Earns Quarterfinal Date With Stanwood

West Valley didn’t wear false bravado Wednesday after matching a season high in scoring during a 79-65 win over Franklin Pierce.

“To tell you the truth, we’re good actors,” WV senior wing Kiesha Sowers said after leading the Eagles (19-4) with 19 points and 11 rebounds. “Of course we’re nervous. You don’t want to be, but it hits you when you walk into the Tacoma Dome.”

Tenth-ranked WV, absent from the girls State AA basketball tournament since 1988, finds itself in the quarterfinals at 5 tonight against No. 6 Stanwood (20-5).

“We knew this was (Franklin Pierce’s) backyard,” WV coach Mark Kuipers said of playing the Tacoma school. “But since we found out we were coming to state, we didn’t want to get into the glad-to-be-here attitude.”

Cheney, the Frontier League’s other tourney representative, went 2-1 against WV this year but won’t join the Eagles in the quarterfinals. The third-ranked Blackhawks (20-3) shot 15 percent from the field in the first half and lost to fourth-ranked Prosser 60-43.

Cheney plays a loser-out game at 1:30 p.m. today against West Valley-Yakima (12-10), which lost to Lakeside 54-42.

West Valley 79, Franklin Pierce 65

The Cardinals (17-7) led 29-28 late in the second quarter. Stacey Roberts hit four consecutive free throws, and Sowers added a putback basket and two free throws during a 13-0 Eagles run to close the half.

WV built a 13-point, third-quarter edge. FP guard Megan Merz opened the final quarter with two 3-pointers and eight points, cutting WV’s lead to 55-52 with 5:45 left.

WV secured the win with a 12-0 run, during which Sowers banked in a 3-pointer and Roberts cherry-picked and scored off Gabby McClintock’s pass.

“We just needed to settle down and knock down some free throws,” Kuipers said. “We’ve been through (close games) so many times.”

WV made 32 of 47 free throws, led by McClintock’s 13-of-18 effort. The Cardinals were 6 of 11 from the line.

Sowers, Roberts, McClintock and Angela Kallas combined for 64 points.

“The team with fundamentals will get the job done,” Sowers said. “Not the showboaters.”

West Valley 17 21 15 26 - 79

Franklin Pierce 19 10 15 21 - 65

WEST VALLEY Angela Kallas 2 8-10 13, McClintock 2 13-18 17, Salfer 2 4-7 9, Sowers 8 2-4 19, Roberts 5 5-8 15, Shollenberger 2 0-0 6. Totals 21 32-47 79.

FRANKLIN PIERCE Merz 6 0-0 16, Jo. Sargent 5 1-5 12, French 3 2-2 8, Juma 7 0-0 14, Thomas 3 1-2 7, Je. Sargent 2 2-2 8. Totals 26 6-11 65.

3-point goals - Shollenberger 2, Kallas, Salfer, Sowers. Merz 4, Je. Sargent 2, Jo. Sargent. Total fouls - WV 14, FP 29. Fouled out - Jo. Sargent, Merz. Technicals - FP bench.

Prosser 60, Cheney 43

The Mustangs (23-3) stung Cheney with runs of 13-0, 12-0 and 10-0 before halftime.

“We didn’t play with any confidence in the first half,” said Cheney coach Marty Jessett. “We didn’t attack the basket or go to the offensive boards.

“We just thought we would react better over here (than last year’s 0-2 showing). We had two bad days of practice before state and it just carried over.”

Prosser had several options: Meredith Walker inside, for 7-of-10 shooting; Holly Seymour from the outside for a pair of early 3-pointers that opened the inside; and Chrissy Reade from around the perimeter. Four Mustangs had seven or more rebounds.

The Blackhawks had one option: Frontier scoring champ Anna Getz, scoring 20 of her 27 in the second half. Kara Weitman (12 ppg) went scoreless until she made a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, then hit nothing else.

“I was thrilled our girls came out and played like that,” said coach Mark Little, whose Mustangs lost their district opener and had to win four straight to reach state.

“We still have a chance at three more days,” said Jessett, 65-11 at Cheney. “They have to decide whether they want to do it.”

Prosser 15 18 13 14 - 60

Cheney 9 2 13 19 - 43

PROSSER McKeown 2 1-2 6, Seymour 5 1-2 13, Reade 4 3-4 11, Walker 7 1-1 15, Linton 3 3-5 9, Hartley 1 0-0 2, Schell 2 0-0 4. 24 9-14 60

CHENEY Ewing 0 0-0 0, Conrath 1 1-0 2, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Weitman 1 0-0 3, Getz 12 0-0 27, Pischel 0 0-0 0, Edgett 0 0-0 0, Birchler 0 0-0 0, Van Matre 2 1-3 5, Boline 1 0-2 2, Krogh 1 2-4 4. Totals 18 3-10 43

3-point goals - Seymour 2, McKeown, Getz 3, Weitman. Total fouls - Prosser 14, Cheney 12. Fouled out - None. Technicals - Cheney bench.