Lewis and Clark surge buries Kamiak

TACOMA – For a half and a little beyond, the Lewis and Clark-Kamiak girls basketball game Saturday at the State 4A tournament resembled a game of Pong.

Bodies and basketballs were bounding around as teams struggled with continuity.

Then a calm came over the Tigers, as of old. They closed out the game with an impressive 38-2 rush over the final 13 minutes to win 69-26.

The Tigers play for fifth and eighth places today at 11:30 a.m. against Bellarmine Prep. It will be LC’s fifth straight trophy and sixth in seven years.

“We’ve had a number of games where each time you’re not sure which team’s going to show,” LC coach Jim Redmon said. “But everyone’s just assuming this is the same old team and this isn’t. There are a lot of young kids and the process takes a lot of time.”

Beginning with Jeneva Anderson’s basket with 5 minutes left in the third quarter and the Tigers (27-3) ahead 31-24, the process appeared to kick in.

LC reeled off 27 straight points for a 58-24 lead. Doing what seniors are supposed to, Anderson was the catalyst with 11 of those points. She capped the run with a three-point play with 4:51 remaining in the game.

There was also a glimpse of the future. Six-foot freshman Nakia Arquette scored seven down the stretch to finish with 11 for the game, and sophomore Hayley Hendrickson scored nine in the game, five in the second half.

They are among eight players expected to return, including junior Mary Blevins, who totaled 11 points. She had nine during the ragged first half to help keep the Knights at arm’s length.

Blevins and Anderson scored twice each as LC raced to a 10-3 start and led by as many as nine points in the first quarter. Though never truly threatened, the ball and players bounced back and forth and a seemingly comfortable 12-point halftime lead was reduced to seven in the third quarter.

Just like that, the Tigers became dominant. Their 43-point victory margin was a basket away from the tournament record.

“I think in the beginning it’s always hard,” Blevins said. “There’s a lot of excitement and a lot of energy. I think we noticed yesterday Kamiak’s strategy was to be crazy and put on a lot of pressure. It kind of got us out of our game.”

Blevins said the Tigers were running the press break wrong, but once they adjusted they got into their offense and into a rhythm. Blevins scored in double figures in each of three regional games and again on Friday.

“If we want to shoot an outside shot and they want to kick it out, I’ll be there,” Blevins said. “I feel that’s lately been more my role.”

The Tigers kept Pepperdine-bound 6-foot guard Kelsey Patrick under wraps. Patrick, who averages 17 points per game, finished with eight.

“What we saw was if you let (Patrick) dictate a game, they’re in it,” Redmon said. “Our focus was to shut her down and I think we did it as a team.”

Redmon added that the seniors, as few as there are, have been the driving force behind LC’s trophy march. He said he can count every game on Anderson, who had team highs of 19 points and seven rebounds. He also praised Emily Travis in particular for her defensive effort and nine points.

“They really don’t want their last game to be a loss,” Redmon said.

Snohomish 47, Moses Lake 28: Katie Benson scored the Panthers’ first 15 points and Emily Guthrie made six 3-pointers to drop the Chiefs into today’s game for third and sixth places. Both finished with 18 points. Snohomish led 29-7 by halftime.