Titans topple Tigers

It was the kind of game you hoped would never end. At least, if you were a fan.

But as Mark Stinson watched his University girls basketball team cut down the net Friday night after finally defeating season-long rival Lewis and Clark 67-61, it seemed apparent the Titans’ head coach was glad it was over.

“It’s nice to beat them,” Stinson said. “We had a two-game (losing) streak stopped in a tough scenario.”

The Titans (20-2) overcame an early Tigers lead and held off a late Tigers rally to defeat LV (20-2) in the District 8 4A championship game at Central Valley.

Freshman Jazmine Redmon had 16 points and six rebounds, and teammates Kami Clark and Kelli Valentine added 10 points apiece, as Mead rolled past Shadle Park 56-41 to capture the third seed to regionals.

U-Hi 67, LC 61: Angie Bjorklund picked up two fouls and was pulled with 7 minutes left in the first quarter. The Tigers led 16-9 with 8 seconds left in the quarter when Bjorklund re-entered and was fouled on a 3-pointer. She went 2 of 3 from the line to pull the Titans within five.

Bjorklund, who led all players with 28 points, had 12 points the next quarter as the Titans held off a full-court press and muscled their way to a 40-29 lead at the half.

“When somebody puts pressure on you like they did, if you can get the ball past them you can find a lot of open shots,” Stinson said. “We knocked down some tough shots at the right time.”

More accurately, the Titans knocked down most of their shots at the right time. They shot 14 of 20 (70 percent) from the field. Bjorklund was 5 of 5, and 9 of 10 from the line, in the first half.

LC was 12 of 29 from the field and 2 of 4 from the line.

“They did a good job of getting the ball over our press and we gave them some good looks,” LC coach Jim Redmon said. “They picked up and we didn’t match their intensity.”

Trailing 58-52 midway through the fourth quarter, LC’s Kiki January forced Bjorklund’s fourth foul to give LC the bonus. January was 1 of 2 from the line. On the next play, January drew another foul, this time Dara Zack’s fourth, and was 1 of 2 from the line again. Katelan Redmon and Ula Tauala hit back-to-back buckets and the Tigers were within one point, 58-57.

But U-Hi’s Leah Archibald came up with two huge baskets and LC’s Brittany Kennedy fouled out to give the Titans the momentum shift and a 62-57 lead heading into the final 2 minutes.

“I thought the intensity was how playoff basketball should be,” Redmon said. “We have to do a better job of getting back in the game when we are down. We played well, but we just didn’t get it done.”

The Tigers had one last opportunity when Lyndi Seidensticker, who finished with 17 points to lead the Tigers, was fouled on a 3-pointer and finished the four-point play.

Bjorklund scored again and Zack, who finished with 18 points, went 2 of 2 from the line to seal the victory.

Archibald finished with 12 points for the Titans.

“It’s been very close all year between these two teams,” Redmon said. “If you can’t go into games like that and learn something then that is a mistake. It’s nice we have an opponent like (University) to play against.”

Tauala and Redmon had 13 points apiece for the Tigers.

Both teams will host regional openers Tuesday at their home sites. Opponents from the Columbia Basin League will be determined tonight.

Mead 56, Shadle 41: The Highlanders (15-8), who are seeded fourth into next week’s regional tournament, were led by 23 points from Lexie Pettersen. Only four players scored for Shadle, opposed to a nine-player scoring attack for the Mead Panthers (18-5).

Both teams will travel to sites in the Columbia Basin League in Tuesday’s first round of regional play.