It wasn’t for lack of effort. Nor was the result of Thursday night’s Class 1A state girls quarterfinal game indicative of White Swan’s season.

If the Cougars lost the battle, 56-42 to two-time defending champion Colfax in the SunDome, they clearly had not lost the war.

“These girls will not quit,” White Swan coach Joe Blodgett said quietly, after spending several minutes consoling his players. “The effort and competitiveness of this group has been outstanding. What I’ve been trying to convince them of is their season is not lost, and that they can still prove that they’re one of the best teams White Swan has ever seen.”

If they hadn’t already. They had won 27 consecutive games dating back to last year’s tournament, when the Cougars fell to Colfax in the first round and then won three straight to finish fifth.

White Swan (24-1) can claim a fourth-place trophy this time. A victory in a 2 p.m. contest Friday against Toledo, plus another win Saturday would accomplish that goal.

Colfax (22-4), to the surprise of no one, will meet White Pass (24-1) in a 9 p.m. semifinal Friday.

And as tall, talented and experienced as the Bulldogs are, returning most all the prime players from their 2005 title team, White Swan led 25-24 at halftime.

Using spirit to compensate for their relative lack of size, the Cougars forced 12 turnovers and stayed with Colfax on the boards to the tune of a 22-17 deficit.

The second half, however, was a different story. And a different game.

An extended 2-3 zone defense denied White Swan scoring opportunities from either the perimeter or inside, and the Bulldogs assaulted the backboards in waves to finish with a 51-30 advantage.

Lauren Mellor, a 6-foot junior standout on Colfax’s state championship volleyball team, finished with 13 points and nine rebounds while Jordan Harazin, a smooth 5-8 sophomore point guard, added 10 points and nine boards.

Alexandria Allen did her best to keep the Cougars close, scoring 12 points on a collection of deft inside moves, and she also had six rebounds and three steals.

Cassey Aranda had 11 points and 5-3 senior Andrea Blodgett, arguably the best player in either the boys or girls tournament on a pound-for-pound basis, totaled 10 points, five rebounds, six assists and four steals.

While Aranda’s two 3-pointers comprised 75 percent of White Swan’s offensive output during the third quarter, Colfax took control by scoring 15 points.

It was 41-35 with 6:21 to play after a Danielle Blodgett basket, but the Bulldogs scored the next 10 points to put it away.

“When they extended their zone, the floor shrunk,” Joe Blodgett said. “It was like playing on an elementary school floor for us.”

Said Colfax coach Corey Baerlocher, “We were having a hard time deciding what to do defensively, and then Jordan Harazin came over to the bench and said, ‘Please let us run Portland,’ which is the name of our zone. And it helped us.

“White Swan is a great team, and we remembered what they did to us last year, getting us back on our heels with their defensive pressure. This had a state championship air to it, with their crowd here. Their crowd did a tremendous job and so did their players. White Swan has a great deal to be proud of.”

White Swan -- Allen 6-9 0-5 12, Lawrence 1-2 0-0 2, Strom 1-5 0-0 3, D. Blodgett 2-9 0-0 4, A. Blodgett 4-19 1-5 10, Suppah 0-2 0-0 0, Aranda 4-12 0-0 11. Totals 18-58 1-10 42.
Colfax -- Teade 2-9 1-2 5, Lazzarini 3-5 0-1 6, Harazin 3-8 2-4 10, Largent 0-2 0-0 0, Markley 2-3 1-1 5, Burns 2-2 2-2 6, Mellor 5-10 3-9 13, Arthur 0-1 0-0 0, Bruya 3-4 0-0 6, Shaw 1-6 3-4 5. Totals 21-50 12-23 56.
White Swan	13	12	8	9	--	42
Colfax	12	12	15	17	--	56
3-point goals--WS 5-25 (Aranda 3-9, Strom 1-2, A. Blodgett 1-11, D. Blodgett 0-3), C 2-9 (Harazin 2-5, Teade 0-1, Bruya 0-1, Shaw 0-2). Rebounds--WS 30 (Allen 6, A. Blodgett 5), C 51 (Mellor 9, Harazin 9). Assists--WS 11 (A. Blodgett 6), C 15 (Shaw 4, Mellor 3). Steals--WS 8 (A. Blodgett 4), C 12 (Teade 3). Blocked shots--WS 4 (Strom 2), C 3 (Teade 2). Fouled out--Strom. Total fouls--WS 20, C 17. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--WS 17, C 23.