The Sunnyside Christian girls walked off the court with their heads up, waving thank you and goodbye to their fans.

The Knights didn’t hoist the first Class 1B trophy or cut down the nets in the SunDome on Saturday. They finally ran into a Sprague-Harrington team with so much energy that players coming in and out of the game would run down and back along the bench trading high-fives with teammates.

Pep SC couldn’t match in a 67-48 loss in the Class 1B state championship game. Speed that finally cracked every single defense that Al Smeenk tried to stymie the will of a Falcon team that wouldn’t be denied.

“I’ve watched video of them and they were a little sluggish and slow,” said Smeenk, whose team closes out the year at 22-4 overall. “I was like, ‘Well, we’ll be OK against that.’

“They weren’t sluggish and slow today.”

Leading 16-14 after the first quarter, SC watched hustle ooze out of tournament MVP Roni Jo Mielke in the first half. She scored 13 of her game-high 22 points in the first half as S-H kept pace early, and she started picking off passes on her way to six steals.

With the Knights focused on slowing her down and keeping 3-point marksmen Natalie Deking under control with man-to-man defense, the Falcons used plenty of picks and rolls to open up their players inside. Maria Rustemeyer finished 8 of 10 from the field for 16 points and 14 rebounds, and fellow frontcourt player Jackie Lowman added 10 points just like wing Jamie Larmer.

“Our posts played absolutely amazing,” said Mielke, who is on her way to Saint Martin’s next year. “In my opinion, it was their best game of their lives. They got it done in there. (The Knights have) done scouting and they know that we rely on our guards.”

The unexpected twist coupled with drained legs led to SC falling behind. The Knight defense allowed only 43.3 points per game in the first three state games before four Falcons got into double figures, shooting 45.8 percent (27 of 59) from the field. Deking also added three 3-pointers for nine points and tied Mielke for the team lead with six assists.

They were a mere distraction for a Sunnyside Christian defense that used zone through most of the state tournament. A set it left behind out of respect of the guards and went back to too late to manage any sort of comeback run in the second half.

“We didn’t expect the inside game,” said SC forward Brittany den Hoed, who is one of three seniors on the team. “We were focused on the guards, and they caught us by surprise in the paint.”

These two teams are familiar with each other. Sprague-Harrington, which won the inaugural Class 1B volleyball state championship this year as well, was 26-0, ranked No. 1 and appeared destined to win the Class B state championship last year in Spokane before losing 58-54 to the Knights in the first round.

Tori Van Wingerden led SC with 19 points in that game, including an 11-for-12 showing from the foul line. She managed only 11 points Saturday as the team went 9 of 15 from the free-throw line.

Melanie Van Wingerden, Andrea Schutt and den Hoed did their best to match the inside game of the Falcons. Den Hoed, showing the wear and tear of four straight games in as many days on her face, fought for a team-high 13 points. Melanie Van Wingerden, who joined her older sister as a first-team all-tournament selection, grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and had 11 points; Schutt, who started despite suffering a high ankle sprain Friday against Colton, also had 11 points.

No one could match Mielke, though, and SC didn’t help its cause with 19 turnovers, nine more than S-H. Those miscues led to 16 Falcon points, and they didn’t need any assistance with the offensive night they had.

“They did a nice job sealing screens and rolling,” Smeenk said. “We had a sound defensive plan, but we didn’t have the athletes to execute it. We gave them our best effort, though.”

And that’s why the Sunnyside Christian girls held their weary heads high.

Sunnyside Christian -- Bangs 0-0 0-0 0, E. den Hoed 0-0 0-0 0, Long 0-0 0-0 0, Roberts 1-5 0-1 2, T. Van Wingerden 3-14 5-7 11, B. den Hoed 5-12 3-4 13, Bosma 0-3 0-0 0, J. Van Wingerden 0-0 0-0 0, M. Van Wingerden 5-8 1-3 11, Schutt 5-10 0-0 11, Newhouse 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 9-15 48.
Sprague-Harrington -- Mielke 9-23 3-4 22, Deking 3-8 0-0 9, Rustemeyer 8-10 0-0 16, Stromberger 0-0 0-0 0, Larmer 4-10 1-2 10, Miller 0-2 0-0 0, J. Lowman 3-6 4-6 10, K. Lowman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-59 8-12 67.
Sunnyside Christian	16	6	12	14	--	48
Sprague-Harrington	14	14	18	21	--	67
3-point goals--S-H 1-7 (Schutt 1-3, Roberts 0-1, Bosma 0-1, T. Van Wingerden 0-2), S-H 5-16 (Deking 3-7, Larmer 1-2, Mielke 1-7). Rebounds--SC 36 (M. Van Wingerden 9, T. Van Wingerden 6), S-H 37 (Rustemeyer 14). Assists--SC 5 (Roberts 4), S-H 17 (Mielke 6, Deking 6). Steals--SC 3 (E. den Hoed 2), S-H 11 (Mielke 6). Blocked shots--SC 2 (T. Van Wingerden 2), S-H 2. Fouled out--None. Total fouls--SC 12, S-H 15. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--SC 19, S-H 10.