Ferris boys, LC girls dominate
Experience counts. It especially counts in the Rubber Chicken.
But a fast start and some tough rebounding don’t hurt.
The Lewis and Clark girls and the Ferris boys, each ranked in the state’s top five, used the same formula to come out victorious in the 25th Rubber Chicken matchup at the Arena before 5,673 loud, rambunctious, orange- or red-clad fans Thursday.
Experience must have counted in the annual spirit matchup as well, as the Saxons took Chuckie up the hill for the second consecutive year.
Ferris went with a disco theme, and the boys took it to heart, dancing out to a nine-point lead in the nightcap’s first 3 minutes en route to a 57-36 win. The Tigers (2-7 overall, 1-1 in Greater Spokane League play) never got closer than three (21-18 on Andre Jennings’ 3-pointer 11 minutes in) the rest of the way.
“It’s so important to start fast,” said Saxons senior point guard Jon Clift, who had two assists and a 3-pointer in the 11-2 opening run. “You can’t get behind because it’s tough to climb back into it in this environment, with all the noise and stuff going on. We wanted to jump on them early.”
When the Tigers did cut the lead, one of the Ferris seniors – Jace Mattinson (11 points, six rebounds), Caleb Rath (eight and seven), Bryan Hallett (nine of both) or Clift (a game-high 14 along with seven assists and five rebounds) – seemed to make a big basket or grab a key rebound – especially after halftime.
“They did a good job of getting second shots and that slowed us down,” Ferris coach Don Van Lierop said of LC’s early second-quarter spurt. “They wanted it in the first half, and they got after it, that’s a good way to put it.”
“Coach talked to us about our rebounding at half,” said Mattinson, who came off the bench to hit two big first-half 3-pointers. “He said he was leaving it to us and we would see how we would feel after it was over. We’re not happy, but we are a little more satisfied.”
The Saxons, who are 10-0 for the first time since the 1996-97 season (they have been 9-1 five times in the interim), had a 17-16 rebounding edge at the break – and a 27-20 lead. They had a 26-14 edge after the long intermission, and a 30-16 margin on the scoreboard.
“We’re not the tallest team,” Van Lierop said, “so that effort piece is an important part of our rebounding. We don’t have a really tall guy who is going to get every rebound. That edge we had in the second half? They really made us work for it.”
Doing most of the lifting for the Tigers inside was senior T.J. Lee-Hill, who elevated his way to 10 rebounds and 10 points.
With the Tigers’ nautical theme revolving around an SOS, the Tigers could have used some free-throw help, as they finished just 6 of 19 from the line.
Free throws weren’t a problem for the LC girls, who hit 6 of 10. They didn’t need many with the start they got.
How fast was it? How about 19-4 at the end of a quarter and 31-7 midway through the second of their 63-33 rout?
“We all came into it so pumped up, especially the six seniors,” said LC senior post Heather Bowman, who came in averaging 15.5 points a game. “We came out ready to play. It’s Ferris, that Hill rivalry, you know?”
LC (8-0 and ranked second in the state, 2-0 in the GSL) started five of seniors and they responded – led by Bowman. The 6-foot-2 Gonzaga signee scored nine of LC’s first 11 points, finishing with a season-high 21 points (on 9-of-11 shooting in less than three quarters of play). She also was one of four Tigers with six rebounds, helping them to a 40-26 edge.
When informed LC had converted 16 of 31 first-half shots, coach Jim Redmon had a simple reason: “That’s because we got the ball in to Heather.
“I’ve actually had some people ask me why her scoring is down this year. She could score more, but she’s only been playing about half of the game. But I’ll tell you, she is the most consistent player I’ve ever seen or coached. Nothing ever seems to faze her.
“That doesn’t mean she doesn’t care. She may be calm, but she wants to win as bad as anyone I’ve had.”
But Bowman was quick to deflect credit for the win and for the Tigers’ third consecutive 8-0 start.
“Tonight was one of best passing games of the season,” she said. “We got some easy baskets on the fast break, got some confidence and just kept going. It’s easy to score when you get the ball down low on the break and when your teammates set such good screens.”
The Tigers had 11 players score, even though two starters didn’t. Linse Seidensticker came off the bench to add 10 points, part of 38 points from the reserves.
Ferris (4-5 and 1-1) had seven players score, paced by Jenna Galloway’s eight.