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Mike
Anderson
Yakima Herald-Republic

E-mail Mike Anderson about this column

After a senior year marred by injury and illness, Angie Ibach wasn’t going to let something as small as a 17-point deficit to an archrival get her concerned.

Instead, Ibach reached down in a way that her coach, Jack Cleveland, counts on his seniors to do, grabbed East Valley’s state title repeat hopes by the bootstraps and yanked the Red Devils into the quarterfinals with a 50-47 overtime win over the Lakeside Eagles.

The teams have played four times in the state tournament since 1999 -- East Valley owns a 3-1 edge -- and there is no more intense non-league rivalry in 2A girls basketball. All you had to do was watch EVHS coach Jack Cleveland celebrate a late steal to understand just how intense.

“It is such a pleasure to beat Lakeside,” he said.

By dropping a house on its version of the Wicked Witch, East Valley moves into Thursday’s quarterfinals against Tenino, which beat Granite Falls earlier Wednesday. It also removed once and for all the bitter taste left by a first-round loss to the Eagles in 2001.

Ibach missed all of December with a left shoulder injury that almost ended her senior year before it started, then battled the flu for a week during the district tournament, an event the Red Devils entered with high expectations and exited thankful to be playing this week.

All Ibach did on Wednesday was whatever Cleveland needed to have done on either end of the floor. She finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Most importantly, she seemingly made every big play exactly when the Red Devils needed it.

A big 3-pointer to get a run started? Count it. Ibach launched one to give the Red Devils their first lead with 4:53 remaining, then hit one from in front of the EVHS bench 25 seconds into overtime, setting the tone for the Red Devils to dominate.

A big steal? No problem. After a Red Devil turnover in the overtime, she dashed down the floor and stole the ball right back.

An offensive rebound off a missed free throw late in regulation? Just ask. Ibach almost won the game with one second remaining in the fourth quarter, grabbing Jami Sharp’s missed free throw and getting off a shot that hit the side of the backboard. It was one of three offensive rebounds for Ibach.

Ibach did all that and a lot more Wednesday night .

She showed the grit and poise of her role model, former teammate Elyse Mengarelli, in not only getting the Red Devils back into the game but making sure they won it.

“That’s the senior’s role,” she said after the game, sipping an orange drink. “It’s part of our responsibility to step up.”

In the first half, when Cleveland needed someone to cool off red-hot Lakeside senior Jessi Reome, that’s what Ibach did.

It was a certainty something had to be done. The Eagles had hit seven of their first 10 shots and Reome had seven of their 16 points. Reome, after starting 3-for-3 and ending the first half 5-for-8 with 12 points, finished the game with nine field goals in 19 tries and 20 points.

The 4-for-11, eight-point second half can be largely attributed to Ibach’s tenacious defense.

“I knew there was no tomorrow and I had to get my best defender on her, my girl with the biggest heart,” Cleveland explained later. “She (Reome) didn’t get a decent look at the basket the rest of the half.”

In the second half, when the Red Devils needed some offense, Ibach came up big again. She had 12 of her 15 points in the final 20 minutes, including a gigantic 3-pointer in front of the EVHS bench 25 seconds into overtime that set the tone.

Now, Ibach knows her younger teammates have watched, learned and are ready.

“Those younger kids were with us all last year helping us prepare and now they’re playing ,” she said. “This is our first stepping stone. We have three more.”

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