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

Motivated LC reaches regionals

Lewis and Clark coach Jim Redmon spent Friday worrying about how his team would respond 24 hours after their 54-game winning streak was snapped.

The players spent the day picking each other up.

The result?

Don’t worry, be happy.

The Tigers are headed to regionals because they put an early beat-down on Central Valley and then survived a rally when the Bears beat back.

The three-time defending State 4A champs turned back the Bears 49-40 the District 8 loser-out game at Squinty Hunter Fieldhouse.

“We were motivated by the loss,” LC senior Jeneva Anderson said. “We had plenty of support. We sent lots of texts (messages) early in the morning. We talked at lunch. We encouraged each other.”

The Tigers (21-1) scored the first 14 points of the game and led 17-3 after one quarter.

LC’s closest game of the season until losing 59-57 to Mead Thursday night was a 46-44 home win over CV (15-8). It helped the Tigers focus.

“We knew they were strong,” Anderson said. “We knew they would give us a good game.”

Anderson, who is headed to Washington, led the Tigers with 15 points and Portland-bound Sarah Kliewer added 12.

LC boosted the margin to 20 in the opening moments of the second quarter before CV had an 8-0 surge to make it 26-15.

“The emotion of losing something they wanted and wanting to prove they were better than they showed yesterday,” Redmon speculated. “The team came back angry and hungry. I think that’s what we saw.”

The Bears held their ground in the third quarter and with a 9-2 run managed to get within six, 41-35, with just less than 2 minutes left.

“That could be a little tired legs,” Anderson said. “After a big game, you tend to have tired legs.”

The Tigers had battled back in the closing minutes of their loss to Mead.

“What I was concerned about was we put so much energy into that comeback in the fourth quarter,” Redmon said. “I don’t think you know what you’re going to get after something like that.”

He got a team that still wasn’t polished on offense, so it made a statement with its defense.

Five different players scored before Brandy Johnson made a free throw for the Bears with 2:21 left in the first quarter. That meant nothing as freshman Nakia Arquette scored four quick points. Johnson got CV’s lone field goal with 16 seconds remaining.

CV coach Freddie Rehkow kept encouraging his girls to fight back and they finally did.

Freshman Brooke Galloway had 10 points and classmate Katie Estey had all seven of her points in the fourth quarter.