Two-Time Champs Edge CV Prairie Earns Return To Girls 4A Final, Leaving Bears To Play For Third Place

Central Valley did almost everything it could to reach the championship game of the girls State 4A high school basketball tournament.

The Bears took a couple solid blows from two-time defending champion Prairie but came back to push the Falcons to the limit before losing the semifinal game 54-48 Friday night in the Tacoma Dome.

“We worked hard all year,” said Lindsay Wing, who rallied the Bears with 11 points off the bench. “We got close as a team and pulled together here.”

The Bears play Snohomish, which lost to top-ranked Kennewick 59-40 in the other semifinal, for third place at 3:30 p.m. today. CV doesn’t plan to let down.

“We’ve played good basketball here as a team,” said senior reserve Angela Wagner, who helped battle the bigger Falcons to a standstill. “We knew we could do this.”

They did it against Prairie, except for some rebounds at the end that bounced more like a football than basketball and some clock management when they were forced to foul down the stretch.

The Bears (21-9) trailed the whole game, but never quit battling the taller Falcons (22-3), who start 6-foot-3 and 5-10 sophomores inside and bring a 6-2 sophomore off the bench. Those three combined for just 13 points and nine rebounds.

With CV down 12 points entering the fourth quarter, Katie Rodgers hit two free throws with 2:07 to play to bring the Bears with three at 49-46. Then everything went Prairie’s way.

After a late shot to beat the shot clock and after two missed free throws, Prairie ran down long rebounds. Eventually, a total of 1:21 went off the clock, and the Falcons had made three free throws for a 52-46 lead with 46 seconds remaining.

Wagner quickly countered for CV, but after Brenda Pickup hit just 1 of 2 free throws, it took the Bears 17 seconds before Wagner’s forced shot and the Bears’ hopes were dashed.

“I’m really proud of my kids. They finally found out over here they can play with anyone,” said CV coach Dale Poffenroth. “(The rebounds) were just one of those things. If you’re to foul, you have to foul early in the shot clock, not late.”

Prairie’s press rattled the Bears in the first quarter. CV missed its first eight shots, had eight turnovers and it’s only two baskets were 3-pointers by Jayme Heinen. The Falcons led 16-6 after scoring the last eight points. Prairie scored nine points after turnovers.

“The press got us going,” longtime Prairie coach Al Aldridge said. “It bothered them, but it runs your legs down, that’s why we got out of it.

Maybe we got out of it a little too soon.”

CV shot better in the second quarter, going from 2 for 13 to 7 of 14. Wing hit three 3s and Raeanna Jewell had all seven of her points. Wing’s 3 just before halftime made it 33-28.

The Bears avoided getting hurt inside, but let junior Jessica Jones go for 14 of her 16 points as she hit 6 of 9 shots. She also had nine rebounds and six assists.

“We were too worried about the posts and didn’t find Jones,” Poffenroth said. “She’s their best player.”

The Bears struggled again in the third quarter, again hitting 2 of 13 shots. Prairie scored the first nine points for a 42-28 lead before Rodgers and Heinen, who both finished with 13 points, converted three-point plays. But the Bears didn’t score for the final 4 minutes and trailed 46-34.

Heinen opened the fourth quarter with a basket and 2 of 3 free throws and Wing scored from the left baseline to make it 46-40. Rodgers made layups to counter a Prairie inside basket and free throw before getting her two free throws.

Emily Faurholt scored 24 points for Kennewick, which is 28-0. The Lions could become the first perfect big-school girls team since CV went 29-0 in 1993.

To do that, they’ll have to stop Prairie from becoming the first team to win three straight girls titles. The same year CV won state, Prairie won the AA title and then won the AAA crown the next year.

Prairie 54, Central Valley 48

Central Valley 6 22 6 14 - 48

Prairie 16 17 13 8 - 54

Central Valley (21-9) - Heinen 4 3-4 13, Rodgers 5 3-3 13, Ferguson 0 0-0 0, Wing 4 0-0 11, Jewell 1 5-5 7, Wagner 2 0-0 4, Moore 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 11-12 48.

Prairie (22-3) - Short 1 0-0 2, Pickup 5 1-3 12, Anderson 2 1-2 6, English 2 0-0 5, Wriger 0 0-0 0, Jones 6 2-2 16, Sitton 1 0-0 2, Spooner 2 2-4 6, Cushing 2 1-2 5. Totals 21 7-13 54. 3-point goals - Heinen 2, Wing 3, Pickup, Anderson, English, Jones 2. Total fouls - Central Valley 15, Prairie 15. Fouled out - Jewell. Technical fouls - none.