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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Freeman girls drop opener to Granger

Mike Anderson Special to The Spokesman-Review

YAKIMA – In the long grind of the high school basketball season, the Freeman Scotties picked the wrong time to take a day off.

The third-ranked Scotties were stunned by seventh-ranked but lightly regarded Granger 51-35 Wednesday in the first round of the State 1A girls basketball tournament.

The loss – the first this season against an opponent other than league rival Colfax – drops Freeman (23-4) into today’s 10:30 a.m. loser-out contest against Rainier. Granger advances to the quarterfinals against Seattle Academy, the path the Scotties presumed they would have to the semifinals.

Freeman had entered the game with a succession of easy wins, beating four postseason opponents by a combined 76 points. Despite an opponent with just one senior on its roster, the Scotties looked tentative in their opener.

“We didn’t show up,” a surprised Freeman coach Matt Gregg said. “You can’t come out here, have one of your worst games of the year at state, and expect to win.”

Pretty much anything that could go against Freeman did.

The Scotties shot just 29 percent (13 of 45) from the floor, hit just 2 of 9 from 3-point range and only 7 of 20 from the free-throw line.

Granger hit 5 of 12 3-pointers, nearly all of them seeming to come at one crucial juncture or another.

Colfax 62, Zillah 53: The Bulldogs (22-4) marked time in preparation for today’s anticipated 7:30 p.m. quarterfinal showdown with top-ranked Lynden Christian, handling the Leopards.

The final score is a bit deceptive. After amassing a huge first-half lead, the Bulldogs’ offense shut down in the third period, allowing the Leopards to pull even.

After a couple of spirited dead-ball conversations with coach Corey Baerlocher doing most of the talking, the Bulldogs ramped up the defensive intensity and pulled away thanks to an 11-0 run over a stretch of 1:50 midway thru the fourth period.

The win extends four-time defending champion Colfax’s state tournament win streak to 19. The Bulldogs sport a 32-5 record in state tournament play since 1999.

The Bulldogs and Lyncs have some history. Colfax rallied to beat Lynden Christian in last year’s title game, avenging a 51-33 LC win in the 1999 state title contest.

Baerlocher didn’t believe his team’s uncharacteristic lapse of attention was because of having one eye on the looming match-up with Lynden Christian.

“We never talked about it,” he said. “But we’re gonna talk about it now.

“We’re going to have to play a helluva lot better to beat a team as good as Lynden Christian.”

Lakeside 48, Bellevue Christian 37: The Eagles (16-12) broke a two-year first-round losing streak and moved into today’s 9 p.m. quarterfinal against Connell (18-6).

The win was keyed by Lakeside’s stifling defense, which held the Vikings to 24 percent shooting from the field (12 of 50) and 9 percent (1 of 11) from 3-point range.

“We rarely talk about offense before a big game like this,” said Lakeside coach Jeff Pietz. “Defense is a job for us. We enjoy our job.”

Leslie Stillar led the Eagles with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Lexie Zappone added 15 points.

After a brief absence from the quarterfinals, the Eagles are back. From 1995 thru 2002, Lakeside advanced to at least the quarterfinals eight straight times.