Mead upsets U-Hi, creates tie at top

A box score rarely tells the whole story.

It certainly didn’t Tuesday night at University High, because there’s no column labeled grit.

“Our whole team did a great job of playing gritty, tough basketball,” said Mead girls coach Regan Freuen after her Panthers had shot down U-Hi 58-53.

The win kept the Panthers (12-4 overall, 7-2 Greater Spokane League) in the league’s title hunt. It dropped the Titans (13-3, 8-1) into a three-way tie for the top spot with Gonzaga Prep and Lewis and Clark.

There is a spot in the box for shooting percentage, and the Panthers’ was phenomenal in the deciding fourth quarter as they converted 75 percent of their attempts. Center Kelli Valentine scored 12 of her 20 points in the stanza, hitting 5 of 6 from the field and two game-clinching free throws with 13 seconds left.

But the Panthers’ shooting was stellar the entire game (they shot 48 percent from the floor), helping them overcome deficits in rebounds (32-27) and turnovers (13-12).

The poster child for Mead’s shooting acumen was junior Alysha Green, starting in the place of the Panthers’ injured leading scorer, Nikki Nelson. All Green did was hit her first three shots, connect on five 3-pointers – including one from 25 feet to give Mead a 41-37 lead with 6 minutes left – and finish with a career-best 25 points.

“Hitting the first shot always boosts my confidence,” the 5-foot-6 guard said afterward, hardly able to contain her emotion. “We wanted this game so bad. We saw Prep beat LC last week and we wanted to do it, too. This shows we can play with the big dogs.”

The top dog for U-Hi is Angie Bjorklund, and she almost shot the Titans over the top in the fourth after struggling for three quarters. Bjorklund was 4 for 15 from the floor after three, but nailed 4 of 5 jumpers down the stretch, twice helping the Titans get within two points.

G-Prep 50, Central Valley 49: The host Bullpups (14-2, 8-1) jumped out to a 19-6 lead at the end of one, fell behind by one at the half, then rode Tara Cronin’s 12 second-half points to move into a first-place tie. Georgia Burke matched Cronin’s 14 points overall. Heidi Heintz paced the Bears (10-6, 6-3) with 23.

LC 79, West Valley 23: The Tigers (15-1, 8-1), coming off their first loss, raced out to a 47-17 halftime edge and breezed past the visiting Eagles (2-14, 1-8). LC’s Heather Bowman led all scorers with 22.

Shadle Park 43, Cheney 32: The host Highlanders (9-7, 4-5) pulled away in the fourth quarter behind Lexi Bishop, who scored eight of her 19 in the final stanza. The Blackhawks fell to 6-10, 2-7.

Mt. Spokane 47, Ferris 34: Sam Patrick scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to pace the host Wildcats. With the win, Mt. Spokane (8-8, 5-4) moved into a tie with Ferris (8-8, 5-4) for the sixth 4A district berth.

East Valley 77, NC 73 (2OT): The host Indians (3-13, 1-8) missed three free throws in the final 15 seconds of regulation and the Knights (7-9, 2-7) rallied for a double-overtime victory behind Kelsey Hentges’ 23 points.

Clarkston 57, Rogers 47: Balanced scoring (three players in double figures) lifted the visiting Bantams (9-7, 5-4) past the Pirates (2-14, 0-9).