GSL girls: Lewis and Clark proves ready for district tourney; Central Valley wins 4th straight league title

Every coach wants their team to be peaking at tournament time. The Lewis and Clark girls showed they are ready.

Jacinta Buckley, Andie Zylak and Dominique Arquette all scored 16 points and the the visiting 4A No. 5-ranked Tigers (17-3, 12-2) pulled away from University (14-6, 9-5) in the second half for a 73-50 win.

LC will be the Greater Spokane League No. 2 seed at the District 8 tournament next week, as Central Valley secured its fourth-straight league title with a 63-35 win over Gonzaga Prep.

“I was real pleased with the way they attacked,” LC coach Gabe Medrano said. “They way they moved to find the open people.”

Buckley was happy with the team effort to spread the ball around.

“We knew what we needed to do and we’re going to continue this momentum into the tournament,” she said.

“We’re ready to go now. We’re motivated.”

It was a torrid first quarter with the teams combining to go 17 of 30 with with six 3-pointers. U-Hi’s Jacksen McCliment-Call drilled a 3 from the left corner at the horn to put the Titans up 23-22 after one.

LC’s Sativa Rogers had five of her 10 points in the frame.

“The last seven, eight games (Rogers) knows she needs to come in and play defense, come in and take care of the ball when she’s running the point and just be an energizer and spark,” Medrano said.

LC stayed hot into the second quarter with Dominique Arquette scoring six points in the frame to help LC lead 37-32 at intermission.

The Tigers turned up the defensive pressure and held U-Hi to three baskets in the second and four in the third to build a 53-42 lead.

“We buckled down a little bit,” Medrano said. “Got some stops, played some defense and kept scoring.

“We talked at halftime about the rebounding. We were making them take tough shots, now you’ve got to finish and secure the ball. We can’t just wait for one person to do it, we have to do it together.”

Buckley nailed a 3 at the start of the fourth to make it a 14-point game. Zylak made baskets on back-to-back possessions midway through the quarter to push the lead to 20.

Kinsley Barrington led U-Hi with 15 points. Ellie Boni and Megan Taylor added 11 points apiece.

Central Valley 63, Gonzaga Prep 35: Tomekia Whitman scored 17 points and the 4A No. 3-ranked Bears (18-2, 13-1) downed the visiting Bullpups (11-9, 6-8). Camryn Skaife scored 13 points and Mady Simmelink added 11 for CV. Rowan Cusack led G-Prep with seven points.

Mead 58, Ferris 44: Erica Nessan scored 15 points and the Panthers (9-11, 5-9) topped the visiting Saxons (7-13, 2-12). Lindsay Tucker added 11 points for Mead while Mayson Younger led Ferris with 16.

Mt. Spokane 55, North Central 31: Averi Adams scored 20 points and the visiting 3A No. 3-ranked Wildcats (19-1, 11-1) beat the Indians (11-9, 6-6). Quincy McDeid led NC with nine points.

Shadle Park 48, Rogers 39: Katelyn Pomerinke scored 11 points and the Highlanders (2-18, 2-10) beat the visiting Pirates (0-19, 0-12) to earn the third seed to the 3A district tournament. Ziona Combs led Rogers with 12 points.