Lancers capture district

The Liberty Lancers continue to roll.

They’ve done so all year – dropping only two games and winning 24 – and Saturday’s 41-38 victory over familiar foe Reardan (18-9) was no exception.

The Lancers led early and held off a late scoring run to defeat Bi-County opponent Reardan in the District 7/9 2B championship basketball game at Mt. Spokane High School.

Trailing 40-25 in the fourth quarter, the Indians scored 13 of the final 14 points of the game.

Brook Ferderer, who led Reardan with 15 points, scored two quick buckets, picked up a steal and assisted a Sarah Wilke layin to spark the Indians down the stretch.

Caitlin Jeske was fouled and made 1 of 2 free throws for the Lancers’ final point of the game.

Ferderer scored five more points, and Alyx Peone added a bucket, but the Lancers grabbed a final rebound and held on as time expired.

“I thought we stayed pretty well-composed,” Liberty coach Christy Henning said. “When certain players go off for them, there isn’t much we can do but keep playing our game. I’ve got five seniors out there, and I have a lot of trust in them … they get it done.”

Jeske finished with 15 points and seven rebounds to lead the Lancers. Shawn Hennessey and Cami Bullock combined for 16 points and Laura Davis added six to round out a balanced scoring attack.

Reardan’s leading scorer Jen Christerson was held to 10 points.

“It’s always important to shut down Jen,” Henning said. “Even if she’s not scoring, she’s going to do other things.

“Reardan is a very well-coached team. They have improved more than anyone this year in my opinion, and they’ve really come on late. They have girls who can shoot the ball well and their coach is fantastic, so we knew it would be a good game.”

Henning’s Lancers are now heading to state as a No. 1 seed.

“We just took it one game at a time this year, we didn’t talk about state,” Henning said. “We had a lot of goals – winning league, winning districts, and now regionals – and now a big goal of ours is to get a trophy at state. These girls have worked harder than anyone and made so many sacrifices, they deserve it.”

Reardan will be a No. 2 seed.

DeSales 43, St. George’s 35: The Dragons went into the locker room at halftime with a 13-12 lead, but the Irish outscored St. George’s 17-10 in the third quarter and held on for the victory to claim the No. 3 seed to the state tournament.

Lizzie McQuade notched a double-double for the Dragons (18-10), finishing with 13 points and 15 rebounds.

The Dragons turned the ball over 23 times, which St. George’s coach Allie Bailey called the difference in the game. DeSales had 13 turnovers.

Neither team shot well from the field. DeSales finished 14 of 53 while the Dragons made just 12 of 37.

“We played great defense,” Bailey said. “But we couldn’t score and they blew it open in the third quarter. They hit some 3-pointers and made some fast-break buckets and we just didn’t get it.”

Freshman Chessey Thomas added 10 points for the Dragons, who will be a No. 4 seed.

The State 2B championships begin Wednesday at the Spokane Arena. Boys and girls brackets are scheduled to be available online this afternoon at wiaa.com.