Megan Mortimer and the Naches Valley girls basketball team kept shooting, but they still haven’t figured out the SunDome.

The Rangers entered Thursday’s Class 2A state quarterfinal against Pullman averaging 57.7 points per game during the regular season. They didn’t get close to that mark, shooting only 16 percent (9 of 55) from the field as the Greyhounds reached the semifinals with a 40-31 victory.

With Pullman known for its defensive skills — allowing only 35.9 points per game during the regular season — Naches Valley didn’t do much to take away from the reputation. The 10th-ranked Rangers missed their first 11 shots of the game as the sixth-ranked Greyhounds never trailed in the contest.

“We were trying to get the ball inbounds and push the ball down the floor,” said Naches Valley coach Cris Willmarth, whose team falls into the consolation bracket with a record of 22-4. “We got the ball down the floor, but we just missed too many shots that we would normally make.

“That would hurt anybody.”

What might be causing the pain is the SunDome itself. While NV did respectable — a 51-42 win against Zillah on Dec. 30 — in its only regular-season game in the building, it has struggled at state. The Rangers shot only 25 percent from the field to defeat La Center 36-28 in the opening round.

“We struggled then (during the regular season) too and we’re not getting used to (the SunDome) too quickly,” said Mortimer, who tied Monique Wickenhagen for the team lead with eight points. “Tonight we missed too many opportunities and, well, by tomorrow we need to get used to it.”

For Naches Valley to play on Saturday and earn its first trophy since taking fifth in 1989, it will have to defeat Chelan (23-2), which lost 51-40 against King’s, in a loser’s out contest. The winner of the matchup at 12:30 p.m. Friday will play then in the fourth/seventh-place game.

“I really believe there are about six to seven teams who are all fairly even in ability,” Willmarth said. “I think we’re one of them and we play another one (today).”

Even with their shooting woes, the Rangers didn’t exactly let Pullman score many points as well. The Greyhounds shot only 30 percent from the field and 33 percent from the foul line for the game.

Pullman’s Jessica Thomas was the only player in the game to finish in double figures with 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Most of her points came on putbacks, which is what the Greyhounds used to start the second quarter with a 6-0 run.

Despite trailing 19-11 at the half, the Rangers did manage to keep pace with Pullman in the second half. They were outscored only 21-20 despite missing their first six shots from the field to start the third quarter.

The fourth started out a lot better with both Mortimer and Wickenhagen knocking down 3-pointers to pull within four, 28-24, with about 7 minutes remaining. That momentum was stopped when NV guard Jordan Huck, who has battled a deep thigh bruise throughout the tourney, reaggravated the injury with 3:57 left and sat out the rest of the game. Willmarth said he expects Huck, who had six points when she left, to play Friday.

Pullman advances to the semifinals to meet top-ranked King’s at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The Greyhounds also will be looking for a better shooting night, especially after shooting 0-for-6 from the foul line in the first half.

“That’s why we’re a defensive team because things aren’t always going to go well offensively, but we can play defense every night,” Pullman coach Mike Davis said. “We won the game keeping with that philosophy.”

Naches Valley -- Mortimer 3-17 0-0 8, Wickenhagen 2-11 3-6 8, Tabor 1-9 0-0 2, Root 0-0 0-0 0, Gengler 2-7 3-6 7, Powers 0-1 0-0 0, Huck 1-6 4-8 6, Evans 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 9-55 10-20 31.
Pullman -- Druffel 0-0 0-0 0, Davis 1-8 1-4 4, Byers 0-1 0-0 0, Hinrichs 0-3 0-0 0, Spangenberg 0-3 0-2 0, Garro 2-11 3-7 7, Thomas 5-9 0-2 10, Winterbottom 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 3-6 2-4 8, Albrecht 1-3 0-0 2, Thornton 3-6 3-6 9. Totals 15-50 9-27 40.
Naches Valley	5	6	7	13	--	31
Pullman	8	11	7	14	--	40
3-point goals--NV 3-22 (Mortimer 2-11, Wickenhagen 1-7, Tabor 0-1, Gengler 0-1, Huck 0-1, Evans 0-1), P 1-14 (Davis 1-6, Byers 0-1, Hinrichs 0-1, Spangenberg 0-2, Garro 0-4). Rebounds--NV 41 (Huck 7, Mortimer 6, Tabor 6), P 55 (Thornton 11, Thomas 8). Assists--NV 5 (Mortimer 2, Huck 2), P 5 (Hinrichs 2), P 5 (Hinrichs 2). Steals--NV 7 (Wickenhagen 3), P 6 (Davis 2, Garro 2). Blocked shots--NV 0, P 3 (Thornton 2). Fouled out--Evans. Total fouls--NV 20, P 16. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--NV 10, P 14.