Dragons Survive, Will Face Tigercats
All Wenchi Liu had been hoping for was a hard game.
The St. George’s senior talked about it Sunday at the draw for the girls State B high school basketball tournament, and repeated it after play began at the Arena.
She got her wish Friday night.
Napavine often broke the Dragons’ press. It shut down the Dragons’ inside game, and even flustered Liu, the Dragons’ do-everything point guard. It held the Dragons to almost half their season scoring average.
About the only thing the Tigers couldn’t do against the tournament’s favorite is win. St. George’s (29-0) converted 4 of 4 free throws in the final 33.1 seconds to escape with a 44-40 victory and reach today’s 9 p.m. title game against Whitman County upstart LaCrosse-Washtucna.
“This was definitely a challenge,” Liu said after a 14-point outing that also included seven turnovers and only two assists. “You just had to play your heart out the whole time.”
It was the Dragons’ closest game since they beat Class 2A Lakeside 53-49 early in the season.
LaCrosse-Washtucna (22-7) was a 55-47 winner over Lyle in its first state appearance.
Lyle (22-3) and Napavine (21-5) will play for third and sixth at 4:30 p.m. today.
“We knew we had a good group of kids, but as far as being in the championship game at state, I did not imagine that,” said first-year LaCrosse-Washtucna coach Mike Jones. “We’re dealing with a new coach, six sophomores and a senior.
“It’s a thrill.”
St. George’s coach Ross Thomas wanted his team to feel that same kind of excitement for advancing to the title game.
“It’s so hard for the favorite,” he said. “There’s no emotion and no adrenaline bursts when you get the win. There are no emotional locker rooms. But I told them for this (Napavine) game there might be an ecstatic locker room. If we beat them, it would be a big, big get.”
In the third quarter, the Dragons switched from their relentless trapping zone press to a man press for the first time in Thomas’ 16 years coaching the team. Using two players to trap Napavine’s 6-foot-3 center Carrie Spencer wasn’t effective because Spencer was able to pass over the defenders to an open player, Thomas said.
Alyssa Henley and Katie DePonty both were guilty of forcing shots inside against Spencer, whose 17 points and 14 rebounds were game-highs. Henley managed just eight points - nine below her average - but made a three-point play with 3 minutes left for a 38-34 lead.
St. George’s routed Napavine 68-37 in last year’s semifinal, but shot only 20 percent in the second half Friday and 33 percent for the game.
“We learned a lot from last year,” said Napavine senior Faith Winslow. “We came in and didn’t know what to expect. We played a lot calmer (this time). I’m so exhausted. They’re so hard to play. I’m emotionally drained.”
Thomas knew the Tigers would be well-prepared.
“I told them as soon as it was over that we’d see them again,” Thomas said, recalling his words to his players following the ‘99 game. “And that they’d be working on (breaking) the press every day. We weren’t sure about the draw, but it turned out to be true 365 days later on semifinal night.”
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