State 4A Girls: Mead runs into angry top-seeded Davis, falls in Round of 12 game 81-58

The Davis Pirates girls team entered the State 4A tournament as the undisputed No. 1 seed with just two losses – both of which came against out of state opponents in a holiday tournament. 

So when they were upset by eighth-seeded Sumner 67-62 on their home court in an opening round game, it opened a lot of eyes and sent a ripple through the entire tournament. 

Those ripples turned into waves on Wednesday against Mead.

Cheyenne Hull led four in double figures with 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and the Pirates overwhelmed the young Panthers 81-58 in a State 4A Round of 12 game at Tacoma Dome. 

Addison Wells Morrison scored 18 points to lead four in double figures for Mead. Reese Frederick scored 13 points, Julie Thoet had 12 and Ellie Thornton added 10.

Davis (21-3) advances to a quarterfinal against second-seeded Lake Washington on Thursday at 9 p.m. The Pirates finished three points shy of the single-game points record and outrebounded Mead (17-8) 40-19 – with 21 offensive boards.

“They wanted the ball, and they got it,” Mead coach Quantae Anderson said. 

Mead has played on the Saturday of the State 3A tournament each of the past three seasons, with second-, third- and fifth-place trophies.

“It’s weird to be done this early,” Anderson said. “We’re not used to this, and we’re not going to ever get used to this. And let’s hope this is the last time.”

Davis got a pair of 3s from Averie Brandt and six points from Hull as the Pirates opened with a 19-5 run, after which Anderson called for timeout. 

The lead got to 17 before Morrison scored back-to-back buckets. But Davis pressed after every make, and sometimes after misses, and the Pirates led 29-17 after one.

“We came out a little shell-shocked,” Anderson said. “We were prepared for it. All we talked about was pressure, pressure, pressure. And, you know, hats off to (Davis). They played their butts off.”

Thoet, one of just two seniors on the Panthers, opened the second with a 3 to make it a 10-point game. 

But Davis answered with a 10-2 run, with Hull picking up another six points, to put the lead back to 17 midway through the quarter. 

Hull had 10 in the quarter, 18 in the half, Davis shot 60.6% and led 52-29 at the half.

The Pirates called off their press in the third quarter and Mead was able to bite into the deficit a bit, winning the third quarter 17-11, and the Panthers trailed 63-46 entering the fourth. 

But Davis hit three consecutive 3s to start the fourth to push the lead past 20 again. 

The only drama remaining was if Davis would hit the single-game scoring record. The Pirates went to the bench with a minute to go and they fell just short.