[ t o u r n e y t o w n . c o m -- 2008 Class 1A girls state tournament ]

Freeman -- Poirier 0-2 2-2 2, Altmeyer 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor 1-5 0-0 2, Moberg 2-7 2-6 6, Heinen 4-11 4-6 12, Ruland 0-1 2-2 2, Raines 1-3 6-6 8, McIntyre 2-9 3-4 7, Carrell 4-10 0-0 10, Bauer 0-0 0-0 0, Wingett 0-0 0-0 0, Romey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-48 19-26 49.

Zillah -- Ziegler 2-9 3-9 8, Marquis 0-0 0-0 0, Gonzales 4-7 0-2 8, Sevigny 0-2 0-1 0, Duce 0-0 0-0 0, Uasike 0-3 0-0 0, Patterson 5-11 2-2 16, Guthrie 2-7 6-10 10. Totals 13-39 11-24 42.

Freeman

Zillah

3-point goals--F 2-6 (Carrell 2-5, Taylor 0-1), Z 5-13 (Patterson 4-7, Ziegler 1-4, Gonzales 0-1, Sevigny 0-1). Rebounds--F 41 (Heinen 13), Z 30 (Guthrie 7, Ziegler 6). Assists--F 8 (Raines 4), Z 6 (Guthrie 2, Ziegler 2). Steals--F 9 (Moberg 3), Z 11 (Gonzales 4). Blocked shots--F 2, Z 2 (Guthrie 2). Fouled out--McIntyre, Carrell. Total fouls--F 22, Z 21. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--F 20, Z 18.

Amid teary-eyed teammates Saturday, Zillah senior Kim Sevigny carried the Leopards' winnings from the Class 1A state basketball tournament into the team's locker room.

The trophy read eighth place. Not what Zillah wanted when the tournament or, for that matter, the day began.

But given where the Leopards were after a first-round loss to Colfax it was pretty darn good.

For a second straight year, the Leopards fought through the consolation bracket with two victories before falling in Saturday's medal round to claim eighth place.

Freeman withstood a furious third-quarter rally to beat Zillah 49-42 for fifth place in the SunDome.

The Leopards (20-8) claimed their 11th state trophy and the third in as many years with Mindi Winters as head coach. Zillah was sixth in 2006.

"It means a lot to us," said Zillah senior Joelle Patterson, who scored a game-high 16 points. "We came into the tournament and saw (the first-round pairing with) Colfax and we were excited. That was a tough loss but we kept our heads up."

Freeman (26-4) turned 11 offensive rebounds into a few second-chance baskets to take a 26-20 lead at the intermission. The Scots extended that to 29-20 on the first of two free throws by Megan McIntyre before Winters called a 30-second timeout.

After McIntyre made the second shot for a 10-point advantage, the Leopards went on a 12-0 run to take their first lead since early in the second quarter when Felicia Gonzales intercepted and ran two-thirds of the length of the court for a layin to make it 32-30.

What was said in the brief huddle? Neither Winters nor Patterson could remember for sure.

"I know I was yelling, I usually do," Winters said.

The teams exchanged baskets early in the fourth before the Scotties used a 9-3 run to take a 45-37 lead. Zillah would get no closer than six points the rest of the way.

Carley Heinen led the Scotties with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Freeman outrebounded Zillah 41-30.

"We knew that that wasn't our team that showed up on Wednesday," Scots coach Matt Gregg said of Freeman's opening-round loss to Granger on Wednesday. "But our goal changed."

Just four players scored for the Leopards, with Rosebud Guthrie scoring 10 points and Gonzales and Bayli Ziegler each getting eight points. Ziegler also grabbed a team-high five rebounds.

Zillah struggled at the free-throw line making just 11 of 24 attempts while the Scotties converted 19 of their 26.

The game was the last at Zillah for its three seniors — Gonzales, Patterson and Sevigny.

"I've had the best seniors, the best leaders," Winters said. "They knew the expectations and they always rose to those expectations if not exceeded them."