District 8 championships: Jamil Miller’s halfcourt shot lifts Gonzaga Prep in 4A boys; Mead girls continue perfect season in 3A girls
The eight teams from the Greater Spokane League and Mid-Columbia Conference that played at the Spokane Arena on Friday had already punched their tickets for the regional round of state next weekend.
But calling yourself a district champion means something – the satisfaction of accomplishment and the practical application of a better seeding at state.
All four District 8 championship games brought out the best the teams had to offer under the bright lights at the Arena and provided a good test for the upcoming state tournaments.
Boys
Gonzaga Prep 57, Kamiakin 54: Gonzaga Prep’s Jamil Miller is good at halfcourt shots. You never know when it’ll come in handy.
He hit one at the third-quarter buzzer against University on Jan. 28, but the stakes were higher on Friday.
Tied with Kamiakin at 54 with 2.7 seconds left, Jayden Stevens inbounded the ball from G-Prep’s baseline, leading Miller in stride down the right sideline.
Miller took off just past the center line and lofted it high off the backboard and in, lifting the Bullpups to a win in the boys 4A title game.
“I knew I was making it,” Miller said.
“I threw it in and I gave it to my guy, my brother,” Stevens said. “I’ve known him since like the third grade. Put all my trust in him.”
“That might be his shot,” Gonzaga Prep coach Matty McIntyre said.
Miller finished with nine points. Stevens led the Bullpups with 19 points, Henry Sandberg added 12 and Carter Collins had 10 – including a 3 from the corner that tied it at 54.
“I thought we went toe-to-toe with them and nobody backed down,” McIntyre said. “It wasn’t like one team was wore down more than another team, but I thought Carter Collins’ shot in the corner was huge to get us to a tie game.”
Tyler Bilodeau, headed to Oregon State in the fall, led Kamiakin with 19 points and Peter Dress added 14.
“I thought Jaden and Jamil both did a tremendous job on (Bilodeau),” McIntyre said. “We made him work for almost all of them. He had a couple of dunks around the rim, but we were making him at least at times uncomfortable.”
Stevens and Bilodeau both picked up their fourth fouls with more than 3 minutes to play. Bilodeau’s leaner put Kamiakin up 54-51 with 52 seconds left, but Collins tied it with 20.8 to go.
Kamiakin held for the last shot, but it was rushed and went out of bounds, setting up the dramatic finish.
Dress had 11 points in the first quarter as the Braves got out to a 15-12 lead.
Bilodeau picked up his second foul early in the second quarter and went to the bench. Stevens immediately took advantage with an inside bucket for G-Prep’s first lead at 19-17. It stayed back and forth and Kamiakin took a one-point lead into halftime.
Bilodeau got going in the third quarter. He got a tip-in, then converted a three-point play. Nate Grey hit a 3 and a fadeaway and Bilodeau’s jumper put the Braves up 45-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
Kennewick 45, Ferris 43: Charlie Tipke-Henry scored 19 points, Ayden Knapik added 10, including some big free throws late, and the Lions (15-8) edged the Saxons (14-6) in the boys 3A title game.
AJ Newcomb led Ferris with 16 points and Alec Roland added 10.
“(Newcomb) was great tonight on both ends,” Ferris coach Sean Mallon said. “I thought he made some big shots for us as well. He’s been doing it all year.”
Neither team found its offensive footing all game.
“I think rhythm’s the right word – there was none.” Mallon said. “It was a really choppy game. There would be little miniruns, and that was the difference. (Kennewick) kind of got the right one at the right time. And yeah, we could never get anything going.”
“I mean, it’s this court, this environment,” Newcomb said. “We were kind of hot in the first half and we kind of went away from it. Both teams were really tough, it was a great matchup. I think our big guys were going at it battling for boards inside, and there were good hacks both ways.”
After the Saxons’ defense created a turnover, Newcomb converted a three-point play to give the Saxons a one-point lead with 90 seconds left.
Knapik, a 6-foot-7 post, made a contested layup to make it 44-43 but missed the free throw. Both teams missed inside shots, then Knapik went back to the line with 20 seconds left and hit one for a two-point lead.
Ferris called timeout with 16.6 seconds remaining. Kruz Wheeler drove to the hoop and lost the handle, but it went out off Kennewick and the Saxons had the ball under the basket with 3.8 seconds left.
Trayce Atkins was fouled and went to the line for a 1-and-1. He missed the first and time expired on the Saxons.
“Next week’s gonna be a tough week and we didn’t really put ourselves in a very good spot with the way we played tonight,” Mallon said. “But, you know, they’re a resilient group. Hopefully, we bounce back.”
A slow start for both teams resulted in a 10-7 lead for Ferris after one quarter. Kennewick used a 6-0 run in the second quarter to take its first lead, but Dylan Skaife answered on the next possession with a 3.
Scoring remained at a premium, though, and Tipke-Henry hit a late 3 in the quarter to tie it at 23 at halftime.
Atkins made a fingertip pass off a loose ball to Ray Ray Bergersen for a layup and Ferris went up six midway through the third quarter. Tipke-Henry went on a personal 10-point run and Kennewick led 37-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
The teams combined for eight points in the first 5 minutes of the fourth quarter.
Girls
Mead 66, Hermiston 47: Teryn Gardner totaled 25 points, eight rebounds and five steals and the Panthers (22-0), ranked No. 2 by state media, topped the Bulldogs (12-10) in the girls 3A championship game.
Olivia Moore added 12 points and Alicia Suggs had 11 for the Panthers.
“We had a team win even though I had 25 points,” Gardner said. “It was just really fun to be a part of it, playing as a team.”
“I was like super, super stoked to play in the Arena,” Moore said. “Super excited to come in here and get a win with my team, for sure.”
“Teryn came out hot – crazy to see how well she shot in this arena,” Mead coach Quantae Anderson said. “She got us started and then when (Hermiston) started to trap, Olivia took control, slowed things down and started pointing people to where they’re supposed to be.”
Gardner had the hot hand in the first quarter, hitting three 3-pointers for 13 points as the Panthers jumped out to a 20-10 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Hermiston got 3s from Adrianna Coleman and Izzy Simmons to get the deficit to five and Anderson asked for timeout. Moore responded with a 3 from the wing and a short jumper and Mead led 36-24 at halftime.
“It’s not always about scoring the most points,” Moore said. “I just have to get my players the best shots and do what it takes for us to win.”
In the third quarter, Gardner and Teayonna Hoard got loose for fastbreak layups and the lead grew to 15. Moore picked up a couple of buckets late in the quarter and the Panthers led 50-33 entering the fourth.
Ellie Heideman led Hermiston with 13 points.
Richland 42, Chiawana 30: Kaylee Fox scored 20 points and the Bombers (14-5) beat the Riverhawks (15-6) in the girls 4A title game. Malia Ruud led Chiawana with 17 points.