Ah, youth.

Among the qualities required of Naches Valley's girls Friday was resilience, given their disappointing loss some 17 hours prior. But the Rangers produced the needed elasticity, and then some, fending off Toledo 55-51 to advance to today's trophy round of Class 1A state tournament in the SunDome.

Naches Valley's Monique Wickenhagen makes a pass past Toledo's Shelby Catlin in the first half of Friday's consolation game. SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic

Naches Valley will finish either fourth or seventh, pending the outcome of today's noon matchup with SCAC foe Connell.

Whichever piece of hardware the Rangers take home will be somewhat historic, given that the program's only trophy-producing seasons were 1988 and 1989. NV finished fifth on each occasion.

"If we win," coach Cris Willmarth said, "it will be the highest state finish for the girls in school history. We're excited about that."

To be sure, NV (22-4) looked amped while eliminating the Indians (21-5), surviving a back-and-forth tussle in which free throws played a crucial role.

The final, game-securing shots came from Jordan Huck, a sophomore left-hander who led all scorers with 17 points.

With the Rangers clinging to a 53-51 lead and both teams in mad pursuit of a loose ball at the NV end, Willmarth called time once his squad gained control with 29 seconds left.

With the shot clock off, Naches Valley spread the floor and effectively played keep away until Toledo caught Huck and fouled her with 10 seconds to play.

"I was a little nervous," Huck said, "but I took a deep breath."

After which her teammates, coaches and fans were allowed to exhale when both shots went down.

Earlier, while the Rangers were assuming control with a 9-0 third-quarter run, another NV player had stepped forward.

Sam Schmidt, a 5-foot-1 junior with an unorthodox free throw style, connected on four straight from the line to cap the surge and give the Rangers a 38-29 lead with 2:23 to play in the period.

"I started shooting that way when I was a freshman," Schmidt said of her somewhat sidesaddle style in which she faces her left sideline before turning to shoot. "I broke my wrist, and whenever I'd shoot straight on it would hurt. It still does."

Two of Naches Valley's four seniors, meanwhile, contributed mightily to the cause, with Megan Mortimer and Monique Wickenhagen scoring 12 points each.

Wickenhagen, though a guard, had a team-best eight rebounds including a timely putback through a foul with 3:23 to play. Her free throw gave the Rangers a 53-47 advantage.

Mortimer added three assists, and each player had two steals.

As hard as the Rangers played (the forced 24 turnovers and collected 15 steals), and as well as they performed for most of the game, both Huck and Schmidt admitted to struggling early.

"It was sort of hard to get started and get focused," Huck said, "but after we got going, we were fine."

Said Schmidt, "We were all disappointed with last night, but we knew we had another game today. And to still be playing feels really good."

To be playing on the last day at state, after all, was NV's season-long priority.

"It's been our goal since last summer, since we were in camp at Gonzaga," Willmarth said. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't wake up this morning thinking about last night (a 67-39 loss to Colfax). I know it bothered the kids too, obviously. But I'm extremely proud of the way they bounced back."

As young people often do.

The Rangers split two earlier meetings with Connell, winning a regular-season game and dropping an overtime decision in the district title game.

Naches Valley -- Mortimer 4-8 3-4 12, Wickenhagen 5-16 1-3 12, Root 0-4 0-0 0, Schmidt 1-2 4-6 6, Powers 3-8 2-4 8, Huck 6-21 4-4 17. Totals 19-59 14-21 55.
Toledo -- Stone 3-7 1-2 8, Tornow 0-5 2-2 2, Buswell 2-3 0-0 4, Zion 1-6 0-0 2, Johnson 1-4 2-2 5, Lucas 1-1 0-0 3, Wallace 2-5 4-6 10, Malmstrom 0-6 3-6 3, Catlin 6-9 2-4 14. Totals 16-46 14-22 51.
Naches Valley	18	6	17	14	--	55
Toledo	13	11	14	13	--	51
3-point goals-- NV 3-20 (Mortimer 1-2, Huck 1-5, Wickenhagen 1-10, Schmidt 0-1, Root 0-2), T 5-11 (Wallace 2-3, Lucas 1-1, Stone 1-2, Johnson 1-3, Zion 0-2). Rebounds--NV 39 (Wickenhagen 8, Huck 7), T 37 (Catlin 8, Wallace 6). Assists--NV 9 (Huck 4), T 9 (Stone 5). Steals--NV 15 (Huck 7), T 10 (Tornow 3). Blocked shots--NV 3 (Powers 2), T 0. Fouled out--None. Total fouls--NV 17, T 15. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--NV 17, T 24.