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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Area Teams Now Face Tall Task

3A basketball

A season’s worth of drama was packed into two scintillating boys basketball games at the first 3A state-qualifying regional tournament among Border and Mid-Valley league teams.

Moses Lake (19-6) refused to wither under a second-half Cheney (17-6) barrage, rallying from a 10-point deficit with 1:54 remaining in regulation to win 75-73 in overtime.

West Valley-Yakima (21-3) edged Mid-Valley foe Hanford (17-8) 54-53 in the first semifinal contest.

In girls games, WV-Yakima (22-0) defeated Cheney (18-7) 67-47 and Ellensburg (17-7) topped East Valley (10-13) 60-38 for a Mid-Valley sweep of the action.

Today, the scene shifts to Eastern Washington University, where the three Spokane-area teams must win twice to reach state.

Boys

Moses Lake 75, Cheney 73 (OT)

Cheney led 68-66 and had the ball under the Chiefs’ basket with 6 seconds remaining in regulation.

A muffed inbounds pass gave Moses Lake a chance to tie, and reserve Bo Maygren, who finished with 18 points, made good.

Moses Lake then rallied from a three-point deficit in overtime to win on Roger Sandberg’s basket with 1:33 remaining. The point guard also banged home two of three treys by the Chiefs in the final minute of regulation to give them a chance.

“Hand it to their point guard,” said Cheney coach Denny Humphrey. “He basically won this game.”

Sandberg scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter.

The patient Chiefs had chewed up Cheney’s zone defense with easy inside baskets to lead 42-35 with 2:28 remaining in the third quarter.

Cheney went to a man-to-man defense and changed the tempo. Hot shooting by the Blackhawks, particularly Chris Bond, who had 18 of his 26 points in the second half, and James Kiger, who added 10, put Cheney up 62-52 late in the game.

Cheney’s missed free throws and forced shots down the stretch kept Moses Lake close enough to eventually get the win.

Moses Lake 8 21 15 24 7 - 75

Cheney 11 12 21 24 5 - 73

MOSES LAKE - Sandberg 22, Cain 1, Swanson 0, Ferguson 7, Geier 0, Jackson 0, Kast 14, Getzinger 0, Green 14, Weaver 0, Maygren 18.

CHENEY - Stiffler 12, Eggart 0, Oyolokor 5, Goetz 3, Donnelly 2, Ervin 2, Caskey 0, Malisani 10, Kiger 13, Bond 26.

WV-Yakima 54, Hanford 53

Free throws spelled the difference in this taut semifinal.

WV-Yakima hit 12 of 14 in the fourth quarter while Hanford made 3 of 11.

Dylan Aamodt scored nine of his 15 points in the third quarter and was 4 for 4 from the line in the fourth for West Valley. WV’s Chad Chronister hit 5 of 6 free-throw attempts to offset Matt Kincaid’s floor-length, game-ending basket for Hanford.

Girls

WV-Yakima 67, Cheney 47

Once a trio of 6-foot West Valley posts began to finish their shots, the Rams finished off Cheney.

The Blackhawks stayed within seven points for the better part of three quarters while the Rams missed easy inside opportunities.

Midway through the third quarter, with the score 37-31, primarily due to WV’s transition game, Ram size began to tell.

Sophomore Teresa Borton, at 6-1, senior Shannon O’Connor and junior Cerena Laurence combined in the second half for 21 of their 28 points while the Rams went on a 25-10 tear.

Outside players Alison Eldridge and 6-foot Katie Borton were in double figures and spearheaded WV-Yakima’s fast break.

Cheney 12 10 13 12 - 47

West Valley-Yakima 13 16 19 19 - 67

CHENEY - Fockler 2, Conrath 8, Weitman 10, Getz 10, Urdahl 0, McLaughlin 0, Birchler 7, Van Matre 4, Boline 2, Krogh 2, Schade 2.

WEST VALLEY-YAKIMA - Smart 6, Gutierrez 4, K.Borton 11, Riojas 2, Chase 0, Jones 1, Eldridge 12, Hopkins 2, O’Connor 11, Laurance 9, T.Borton 9, Leabon 0.

Ellensburg 60, EV 38

The Bulldogs broke a 7-7 tie with 13 straight points.

They hit nearly 50 percent from the field while 6-foot-plus point guard Tami Standish orchestrated the attack.

“When they got that spurt it was hard to come back,” said EV coach Darsi Frazier. “Any time you shoot like that you’re going to win.”

Wing Maureen Canterbury, the game’s only double-figure scorer, had 15 points to lead 11 Ellensburg scorers.

Ellensburg 14 13 20 13 - 60

East Valley 7 6 12 13 - 38

ELLENSBURG - Preppernau 4, Bowman-Dunham 3, Faire 0, Chrimsmer 6, Canterberry 15, Panattoni 3, Oltman 4, Hall 2, Ulmer 8, Ring 8, Standish 5, Whippel 2.

EAST VALLEY - Conard 2, Schumacher 4, LeGrant 2, Werner 0, Birdsbill 5, Tomblin 2, Neal 8, Tonani 3, Schultz 8, Shogren 4.

, DataTimes