Shadle will play for title

TACOMA – It’s not every game a team can shoot 32 percent, commit 27 turnovers and win – especially in the semifinals of a state tournament.

But that’s just what Shadle Park did, advancing to the championship game of the State 3A girls basketball tournament by making sure the Holy Names offense was more ineffective in a 43-28 win it the Tacoma Dome Friday night.

“We all know our jobs really well – we work on them daily in practice,” Highlanders point guard Tori Dezellem said. “We do a drill where you have to get two completely perfect (defensive) stops to get out and get to play offense. When we get to a game we know how to hold teams, completely lock them down.”

The Highlanders held Holy Names (23-5) to 22 percent shooting with 30 turnovers – two more than the number of points scored by Cougars – and didn’t allow a scorer in double figures. They even outrebounded the taller team 36-22.

The Highlanders (22-6) play top-ranked Kennedy (27-0) in the championship game at 7 tonight, which will be on FSN.

“They have a really good defense. I don’t know what to say,” Holy Names coach Lee Adams said. “I was more impressed with their execution on offense. They hit baskets when they needed them.”

It’s not that the Highlanders were in high gear, but they scored the first five points of the second half to open a 24-15 lead and then dominated the fourth quarter.

Senior Bianca Pope had eight of her game-high 11 points in the second half.

“I could just sense my team needed me to (score),” Pope said. “We just had jitters, played a little too tight. At halftime we got a very inspirational talk from our coach.”

“What I told them is they were playing so tight, they were not doing what they were told,” Chad Dezellem said. “They were standing around and when you (move) good things happen.”

Chelsea Chandler scored off the opening tip of the game and the Highlanders had turnovers on their next five possessions. They missed the next four shots, then had three more turnovers before Amanda Carlson made a layup at the 3:28 mark.

But that dry spell of 4 minutes, 15 seconds was nothing. After Claire Conricode of Holy Names hit a shot from the left wing to tie the game at 15 5:45 before the half, the Cougars didn’t score again. The way this game played out, Shadle Park only led 19-15.

The Highlanders shot 26 percent and had 16 turnovers while Holy Names shot 27 percent and 16 turnovers in the opening half.

Holy Names made just four free throws in the final 4 minutes of the third quarter – after going 3½ minutes at the start without scoring – as the Highlanders built a 32-23 lead.

Senior defensive stopper Lindsay Niemeier, one of three Highlanders hoping to add a basketball title to the volleyball championship they won in November, hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter to put the lead in double figures.

From that point, Shadle went more than 4 minutes before Tori Dezellem hit her only shot of the game. But Holy Names didn’t score until Chelsea Gonzales made two free throws with 1:58 left and then didn’t score again after Erika Johnson banked in a 3 from the top of the key at 1:15.

“I was not very impressed with our offense,” Tori Dezellem said. “We rushed it. We found a way to score. We didn’t give up at all. Overall, we played well. It paid off.”

Pope, who is 5-10, 5-9 freshman Aleisha Hathaway, who matched Niemeier with eight points, and 5-7 sophomore guard Kendra Knutsen each had seven rebounds.

The Highlanders last won a state trophy in 1989 when they captured the second of back-to-back championships.