It Isn’T Pretty, But Win Over ‘98 Champs Earns Cheney Shot At A Trophy

3A

Under atypical circumstances, the Cheney Blackhawks played a typical Friday state tournament girls basketball game.

Their 37-34 victory over last year’s champion, Shorewood, was a struggle, but assured a date today with a trophy. The Blackhawks hadn’t made it to the third day of the State 3A tournament since their semifinal appearance five years ago.

Cheney (19-10) plays Eastmont (24-3) at 12:30 p.m. for fourth or seventh place.

“The third game of a tournament sometimes can get ugly because every one is tired,” said Cheney coach Marty Jessett. “This wasn’t pretty, but we figured out a way to get it done.”

After building leads of 14 points in both the second and third quarters, Cheney experienced long shooting lulls that enabled the Thunderbirds to get back into the game.

It wasn’t until Meghan Conrath sliced across the key for a layin with 58 seconds remaining, and Shorewood let most of the last 10 seconds elapse before fouling, that Cheney was assured of victory.

“We were just trying to spread the floor because we weren’t getting any looks off our screens,” said Jessett. “Meghan made a good cut.”

Her basket put Cheney ahead 36-32. Shorewood made a couple of free throws with 9.5 seconds remaining and called timeout.

On Cheney’s ensuing in-bounds play, the Thunderbirds had ample time to foul, but allowed a long pass to Kara Weitman. Weitman dribbled down the time and made a free throw with 1.2 seconds left for the game’s final point.

Left unattended early, Weitman scored three 3-point baskets and a pair of free throws while the Blackhawks took a 20-6 lead. Then she didn’t score for 5 minutes and Shorewood closed to 20-14 despite horrendous shooting statistics. The team finished with 11 baskets in 54 attempts and were 8 of 18 from the free-throw line.

Cheney regained a 30-16 lead, but didn’t score for 6:48 in the second half and Shorewood closed to within three points. A basket by Tanya Birchler and free throws by Weitman forced the defending champs to rally again. They only trailed by a basket when Conrath hit the winner.

“We have a shot for our best-ever finish,” said Jessett. “This is not one of my most talented teams, but the chemistry is great and they’re fun to work with. They deserved to get a trophy.”

Cheney 37, Shorewood 34

Shorewood 6 8 8 12 - 34

Cheney 13 9 8 7 - 37

Shorewood (20-8) - Bresback 4 5-6 14, Burman 1 0-0 3, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Hart 2 0-3 4, Simonson 0 1-6 1, Lowe 1 0-2 3, Grumley 0 0-0 0, Webb 3 2-3 9. Totals 11 8-20 34.

Cheney (19-10) - Conrath 3 1-3 7, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Weitman 3 5-6 14, Urdahl 1 0-0 2, Birchler 3 1-1 7, Krogh 1 0-0 2, Oyoloker 1 1-3 3, Schade 1 0-1 2. Totals 13 8-14 37.

3-point goals - Bresback, Webb, Lowe, Weitman 3. Total fouls - Shorewood 16, Cheney 15. Fouled out - Bresback. Technicals - None.