Ferguson Steps Up

GSL girls

No one lost faith in Courtney Ferguson, least of all Courtney Ferguson.

The Mead senior broke out of a shooting slump with all her 14 points in the second half to lead the Panthers to a 55-39 win at Central Valley Friday night.

“I know I’m a good shooter. I know it will fall in sometime,” she said. “You have to keep putting up shots, one of them has to hit.”

It was when Ferguson hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter that CV’s five-game winning streak was history. The Bears were knocked out of a tie for first in the loss column in the Greater Spokane League girls basketball standings and into a tie for third in that category with Mead.

With most everyone except Ferguson contributing, Mead built a 38-31 lead over the Bears through three quarters. Then the Bears quickly cut it to three. After Leah Gonnella’s driving layup pushed the lead back to five, Ferguson hit 3-pointers 32 seconds part and followed with a drive to make it 48-35 with 2:32 to play. Her 10 points in the fourth quarter matched her output for the last two games.

“In practice, it hasn’t been clicking for me,” Ferguson said. “This morning at the shoot-around I started hitting every shot. I just had that confidence coming in. In the fourth quarter, I kind of felt it. Sometimes your shot gets off. It was more in my arm; my follow through.”

Gonnella carried the Panthers first, getting eight of her 15 in the first quarter and then adding a buzzer-beating NBA 3-pointer at halftime for a 30-25 lead.

Adrian Ferguson contributed seven of her 10 in one stretch.

“It’s probably the best feeling ever,” the freshman said after playing a big role in a big game with her big sister. “I’m definitely happy. Every game I’m getting more and more confident in my shot. … I try to contribute any way I can.”

And Melissa Brodsky grabbed 12 rebounds while helping limit Raeanna Jewell, the league’s leading scorer, to 12 points, six below her average.

“This was a huge win for us, beating CV on their home court. That doesn’t happen very often,” Mead coach Lou Dunham said. “I’m really proud of the defense. For us, defense sets the tone.”

It was quite a turnaround. Tuesday, the Panthers were losing big to Lewis and Clark on their home floor while CV was knocking off league-leading Gonzaga Prep.

“I think we did a much better job with ball movement,” Dunham said. “We had a good shot and gave it up to get a better shot. We did a good job limiting their second shots.”

No one picked up the slack for Jewell as the Bears hit just 17 of 62 shots.

“We didn’t play as intense,” CV coach Dale Poffenroth said. “I don’t know why; they’re kids. It’s my job to get them ready and I didn’t do a very good job.”

Mead 55, Central Valley 39

Mead 16 14 8 17 - 55

Central Valley 11 14 6 8 - 39

Mead (11-4) - L. Gonnella 5 2-3 15, C. Ferguson 4 3-6 14, Brodsky 2 0-0 4, G. Gonnella 2 0-0 4, Adams 0 0-0 0, Bailey 3 2-4 8, A. Ferguson 3 4-6 10, Wilson 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 11-19 55.

Central Valley (10-4) - Hatcher 0 0-0 0, Heinen 2 1-2 5, Rodgers 2 0-2 4, K. Ferguson 1 1-2 4, Wing 1 2-2 4, Rae. Jewell 6 0-0 12, Loss 3 0-2 6, Wagner 0 0-0 0, Moore 2 0-0 4. Totals 17 4-10 39.

3-point goals - L. Gonnella 3, C. Ferguson 3, K. Ferguson. Total fouls - Mead 9, Central Valley 16. Fouled out - Rae. Jewell. Technicals - None.

Gonzaga Prep 57, North Central 36

Juliann Laney had 12 assists for the 10th-ranked Bullpups, who jumped on the visiting Indians early.

North Central 5 4 11 16 - 36

Gonzaga Prep 15 13 12 17 - 57

North Central (1-14) - Hare 0 0-0 0, Graesser 1 3-6 5, Davis 1 0-0 2, Eschenbacher 2 0-0 4, Weber 0 4-6 4, Kennedy 5 2-4 12, Cressey 0 0-0 0, Warnock 1 2-2 4, Huntley 0 1-2 1, Holdren 2 0-1 4. Totals 12 12-21 36.

Gonzaga Prep (12-3) - Gillum 1 1-2 3, Laney 2 3-4 7, Umbdenstock 1 2-4 4, Heitman 2 2-5 6, Weir 1 0-1 2, Barnes 5 1-2 11, Gibbon 3 0-0 8, O’Brien 0 0-0 0, Solan 0 1-2 1, Housam 4 1-2 9, Wood 2 2-2 6. Totals 19 13-24 57.

3-point goals - Gibbon 2. Total fouls - North Central 17, Gonzaga Prep 18. Fouled out - Davis, Holdren. Technicals - None.

University 71, Rogers 38

Vanessa Shelton had eight steals and four assists and was one of three players in double figures as the Titans defeated the Pirates at U-Hi.

Megan Owen added seven rebounds and Robin Silvey had six off the bench as the Titans dominated the boards.

Rogers 5 12 9 12 - 38

University 22 25 19 5 - 71

Rogers (0-14) - O’Shogay 0 2-2 2, Lehman 0 1-2 1, Tucker 1 2-2 4, Schock 1 0-0 2, Abrahamson 4 1-2 10, Jones 1 0-0 2, Smith 1 0-0 2, Francis 0 0-0 0, Bayne 4 4-6 12, Taylor 1 1-1 3, Totals 13 11-15 38.

University (10-5) - S. Steblaj 6 0-0 13, Owen 0 2-2 2, Murray 1 0-0 3, Poole 4 0-0 10, Buchanan 0 0-0 0, Valkenaar 5 3-9 13, Shelton 3 3-3 10, Bachmeier 0 1-2 1, L. Steblaj 2 1-2 5, Silvey 2 2-2 6, Lochmiller 0 3-4 3, MacDonald 2 0-0 5. Totals 25 15-24 71.

3-point goals - S. Steblaj, Murray, Poole 2, Shelton, MacDonald, Abrahamson. Total fouls - University 16, Rogers 21. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None.

Shadle Park 67, East Valley 57

The Highlanders grabbed an early lead and made 22 of 34 free throws to turn back the visiting Knights.

The balanced Highlanders had three players in double figures to offset a 25-point outing by EV’s Sarah Shogren.

East Valley 8 11 21 17 - 57

Shadle Park 18 18 13 18 - 67

East Valley (5-9) - Douglas 0 0-0 0, Kline 1 1-3 3, Orton 1 0-0 3, Nead 0 0-0 0, M. Frazier 2 2-2 7, J. Frazier 2 0-0 4, Shogren 10 5-8 25, Tonani 2 1-2 5, Girven 2 0-0 4, Clift 0 2-2 2, Younker 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 11-17 57.

Shadle Park (9-5) - Ridings 5 4-6 15, Stockman 2 2-2 6, Runkel 0 0-0 0, Jones 4 5-7 13, Osborn 3 0-0 6, Warren 2 5-12 9, McGrath 4 4-5 14, Flemming 1 2-2 4, Malmquist 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 22-34 67.

3-point goals - Orton, M. Frazier, Ridings, McGrath 2. Total fouls - East Valley 25, Shadle Park 17. Fouled out - M. Frazier, J. Frazier, Tonani, Jones. Technicals - None.

LC 47, Mt. Spokane 31

Sarah Travis had eight rebounds and scored six of her 14 points in the third quarter when the Tigers took the lead for good against the visiting Wildcats.

Sarah Bassett had six assists and two steals for LC and Molly Gill added eight rebounds.

Mt. Spokane 10 6 10 5 - 31

Lewis and Clark 12 14 15 6 - 47

Mt. Spokane (5-10) - L. Amistoso 3 0-2 6, Bertholf 1 0-0 2, Monroe 1 0-0 3, T. Amistoso 0 0-0 0, Horobiowski 1 1-2 3, Patrick 1 1-2 3, Brumleve 1 0-0 2, Wetzel 3 1-3 7, Wyrick 1 3-5 5. Totals 12 6-14 31.

Lewis and Clark (6-9) - Gill 2 00 4, Bassett 3 0-0 8, Malone 1 0-0 2, Andrews 0 0-0 0, Soden 0 0-0 0, Wohl 2 0-0 5, Travis 5 3-4 14, Chase 0 0-0 0, Saulsberry 1 1-2 3, Woodruff 2 0-1 5, Bowman 1 0-0 2, Nagy 1 0-0 2, Maua 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 4-7 47.

3-point goals - Monroe, Bassett 2, Wohl, Travis, Woodruff. Total fouls - Mt. Spokane 10, Lewis and Clark 16. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None.