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Connell's
Candace Mathews throws away a loose ball under pressure from Blaine's
Linsey Taylor during Saturday's game.
SANDY SUMMERS/
Yakima Herald-Republic |
Blaine Takes Care of Some Business
Borderites plan return next year after impressive 51-33 win for third
By
ROGER UNDERWOOD
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
You hear it frequently in sports, regardless the level.
“Wait ’till next year,” is one of the first things said, win or lose, when a
team’s season ends. Yet for the Blaine Borderites on Saturday, it was more than
just a basketball buzzword.
Only one of coach Patrick Green’s players, 5-foot-4 point guard Linsey Taylor,
was a senior. Which makes Blaine’s 51-33 defeat of Connell for third place in
the Class 2A state girls tournament much more impressive, and the “Wait ’till
next year” adage much more valid.
“Yes, we plan to be back,” Green said as his players posed for photos and signed
autographs in the Yakima Valley SunDome. “But we had some business to take care
of today.
“Last night was tough. We hadn’t lost a game all year and there were a lot of
tears in our locker room. And that’s OK. I like my players not wanting to lose
and I like my players not enjoying the feeling that comes with it. At the same
time, I told them we’d made some mistakes we needed to learn from and that we
needed to move on. Today, we moved on.”
Especially Jessica Summers.
A talented 6-0 junior, Summers bounced back from a 10-point performance in
Friday night’s overtime loss to East Valley with game-high totals of 20 points
and 11 rebounds.
Sheila Robertson, a 5-8 junior, added 12 points as the Borderites, ranked No. 1
coming into the tournament, finished 25-1.
Connell, 20-8, got 13 points from 5-9 junior Janica Wood. The Eagles placed
sixth.
Blaine started slowly, trailing for much of the first half until a 5-0 run to
the intermission buzzer put the Borderites ahead 25-21.
Summers then hit the first hoop of the third quarter to make it 27-21 and Blaine
was on its way. The Eagles made but 2 of 29 second-half field goal attempts and
shot 23 percent for the game.
For Blaine, earning the third-place trophy was an important goal. But Green said
sending Taylor out with a victory was, too.
“This was her third state tournament,” Green said. “My brother Jordan (a Blaine
assistant coach) played in two state tournaments and won a championship (in 1995
for Cashmere, then Class 1A), and I had him talk to the girls. He talked about
what it feels like to play your last game and how much it meant to win it. He
also talked about all Linsey’s given to the program.”
Taylor totaled four points, six rebounds, three assists and, perhaps, more
signed autographs than any of her teammates.
|
Connell -- Price 0-2 0-0 0, Johnson 0-9 0-0 0, Cerna 1-1 0-0 3,
Muhlbeier 0-5 0-0 0, Koelzer 3-7 0-0 6, Hadley 0-0 0-0 0, Lyle 0-1 0-0
0, Empey 0-3 0-0 0, Mathews 2-9 4-6 9, Wood 5-10 3-7 13, Knight 1-5
0-0 2, Taylor 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 12-52 7-14 33. |
|
Blaine -- Taylor 2-4 0-1 4, Robertson 4-8 4-4 12, Jackson 0-1 0-0
0, Steckler 0-1 0-0 0, Nix 1-1 1-3 3, Cain 0-0 1-2 1, Francis 1-4 0-0
3, Harmening 1-3 0-0 2, Kramer 1-5 2-2 4, Summers 7-19 6-8 20, Stull
0-0 0-0 0, Robertson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 18-47 14-20 51. |
| Connell |
12 |
9 |
5 |
7 |
-- |
33 |
| Blaine |
9 |
16 |
16 |
10 |
-- |
51 |
|
3-point goals--C 2-9 (Cerna 1-1, Mathews 1-2, Koelzer 0-1, Empey 0-2,
Johnson 0-3), B 1-4 (Francis 1-4). Rebounds--C 28 (Mathews 5), B 49
(Summers 11). Assists--C 6 (Koelzer 3), B 9 (Taylor 3, Francis 3). Steals--C
7, B 6 (Nix 2). Blocked shots--C 3 (Knight 2), B 1. Fouled out--Wood. Total fouls--C
18, C 12. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--C 15, B 21. |
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2003 All photos, content and design are
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Tourney Bracket
::
Girls
tournament
Other Games
Saturday
:: Lakeside
39, Ephrata 23
:: Chelan 45,
Nooksack Valley 42
:: Blaine 51,
Connell 33
:: East Valley
44, Pullman 31
Friday
:: Ephrata 48,
Riverside 41
:: Lakeside
52, Hoquiam 39
:: Nooksack
Valley 67, La Center 52
:: Chelan 57,
Tenino 54, 2OT
:: Pullman 48,
Connell 40
:: East
Valley 50, Blaine 43, OT
Thursday
:: Ephrata 55,
Woodland 38
:: Riverside
54, Eatonville 45
:: Lakeside
43, Granite Falls 36
:: Hoquiam 42,
Port Townsend 40
:: Pullman 38,
La Center 30
:: Connell 54.
Nooksack Valley 44
:: East Valley
34, Tenino 31
:: Blaine 48,
Chelan 41
Wednesday
::
La Center 69,
Ephrata 37
:: Pullman 41,
Woodland 33
:: Connell 54,
Eatonville 33
:: Nooksack
Valley 42, Riverside 35
:: Tenino 55,
Granite Falls 45
:: East Valley
50, Lakeside 47
:: Blaine 44,
Hoquiam 43
:: Chelan 59,
Port Townsend 38
Latest Statistics
::
Girls
tournament
Team Capsules
::
Girls tournament
Record Books
::
Girls
records
:: Girls champions
::
Girls
all-time scoring leaders
District Results
::
Girls tournament
Boys Tourney
::
Boys
tournament |
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