State B girls semifinals: Northwest Christian outlasts ‘arch rival’ Reardan 61-57
With 6.4 seconds left and her team up by two, Kaitlyn Waters absorbed a foul and headed to the free-throw line with a chance to ice a victory for Northwest Christian.
In a game in which Waters had already done a little bit of everything, the NWC junior came through one more time in the clutch, draining both free throws.
And finally, as the last 6 seconds ticked away, the Crusaders could breathe, having outlasted the Reardan Screaming Eagles for a 61-57 victory in the first State 2B girls semifinal Friday at the Arena.
“We’ve been building,” NWC head coach Nikki Nelson said. “We’ve handled being the underdog by just continuing to improve.”
It was another upset for the eighth-seeded Crusaders (22-4), who beat No. 1 Rainier in a seeding game last weekend to earn an automatic spot in the quarterfinals. The fourth-seeded Screaming Eagles (23-3) defeated the Crusaders in two of their earlier three matchups this season, most recently in the Northeast 2B District championship game on Feb. 22.
“They are a very aggressive team,” NWC senior Leah Platt said. “They are basically our archrival.”
Reardan sophomore Tenice Waters followed up a 14-point performance on Thursday with a better one against Northwest Christian, hitting 8 of 16 shots from the field – including 4 of 11 3-pointers – for a game-high 25 points. Freshman Chasyn Waters, her sister, scored eight points and led the Screaming Eagles with six rebounds.
But the Crusaders countered with a balanced offense, getting 18 points from Platt, 17 from junior Macey Shamblin and 16 from freshman Julianna Pope, plus a great all-around night from the junior Waters. She finished with seven points, seven rebounds, seven assists, four steals – and those last two free throws.“She’s such a mentally tough player, and she’s the fiercest competitor I know,” Nelson said of Kaitlyn Waters. “She steps up to any challenge. It was really awesome to see her nail those.”
After trading the lead nine times in the first half, Northwest Christian held the lead for all of the second half. But Reardan never trailed by more than eight, and it drew within a point two times.
Senior Mackenzie Bjornberg hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds remaining to pull the Screaming Eagles within 59-56. Seven seconds later, the Crusaders turned the ball over.
But Reardan gave the ball back on the ensuing inbound pass – only for Northwest Christian to do the same. Chasyn Waters was fouled and then hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 59-57 with 9.3 seconds left.
But unlike the previous play, Reardan couldn’t get its hands on the next inbound pass and was forced to foul.
Platt said the last time she played in the Arena was as a sophomore when Northwest Christian lost a Round of 12 game. Saturday night, her final game with the Crusaders will be playing for the program’s first state championship.
“We just want the best for each other,” she said. “This is so fun.”
Adna 44, Napavine 33: Senior Karsyn Freeman scored 29 points to lead the Pirates to a semifinal victory and into their first state championship game.
No. 2 seed Adna (24-2) will play No. 8 Northwest Christian (22-4) at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Freeman made 10 of 23 shots from the field and 6 of 7 free throws, accounting for all but five of her team’s made field goals and one of its made free throws. Adna senior Gaby Guard added nine points and nine rebounds.
Napavine junior Hayden Kaut scored 18 points and added 15 rebounds. Five of her teammates scored, none more than four points. The Tigers (21-8) will play Reardan (23-3) in the third-place game at 1 p.m. Saturday.
1B girls
Neah Bay 53, Wellpinit 30: The two-time defending champion Red Devils built a double-digit lead in the second quarter and cruised past Wellpinit and into another title game.
Top-seeded Neah Bay led 11-10 after one quarter but outscored No. 5 Wellpinit 15-2 in the second to take control. The Red Devils held Wellpinit (23-3) to six points in the third quarter and built their lead to as many as 29 points.
Junior Cerise Moss led the Red Devils with 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and junior Wiinuk Martin added 14 points and eight boards. Neah Bay (23-1) outrebounded Wellpinit 44-24.
Wellpinit senior Rayah Hill scored a team-high 20 points and made 6 of 14 3-pointers while playing all 32 minutes. Wellpinit will play for third place at 11:15 a.m. Saturday.
• Garfield-Palouse 60, Waterville-Mansfield 32: Sophomore Kyra Brantner scored 19 points and freshman Molly Huffman added 15 points to lead the third-seeded Vikings (24-2) past the second-seeded Shockers (22-4) in the other semifinal .
The Vikings took a 34-19 lead into halftime and led by as many as 30 points in the second half.
Eight players scored for Gar-Pal, including juniors Elena Flansburg (11 points) and Morgan Lentz (five).
Gar-Pal is seeking its first state title since 2008.
Sophomore Delainey Nelson led the Shockers in points (14) and rebounds (five). Gar-Pal finished with a 44-25 rebounding advantage.