[ t o u r n e y t o w n . c o m -- 2009 Class 1A girls state tournament ]

Zillah -- B. Ziegler 4-9 4-9 13, Tynan 0-0 1-2 1, Brady 0-0 0-0 0, Gay 0-1 0-2 0, A. Ziegler 1-3 1-2 4, Cameron 0-1 0-1 0, Slack 0-5 0-0 0, Duce 1-12 0-0 3, Uasike 1-7 2-4 4, Winters 0-0 0-0 0, Bounds 0-4 0-0 0, Guthrie 2-9 2-4 6. Totals 9-51 10-24 31.

Seattle Christian -- K. Collier 1-8 2-2 4, Kassebaum 0-0 0-0 0, Jansen 0-0 0-0 0, Mel. Collier 8-12 2-6 18, Abe 2-3 0-0 4, Meg. Collier 3-8 0-0 6, Kogle 3-14 2-4 8, ZaBarth 1-2 0-0 2, Peterson 3-6 3-8 10, Shelton 0-0 0-0 0, Harris 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 21-53 10-22 53.

Zillah

Seattle Christian

3-point goals--Z 3-14 (B. Ziegler 1-3, A. Ziegler 1-1, Duce 1-6, Uasike 0-2, Slack 0-2), SC 1-6 (Peterson 1-1, Meg. Collier 0-1, Kogle 0-4). Rebounds--Z 43 (Uasike 16), SC 48 (Mel. Collier 9). Assists--Z 7 (A. Ziegler 3, B. Ziegler 3), SC 6 (Meg. Collier 3). Steals--Z 5 (B. Ziegler 2, Guthrie 2), SC 10 (Peterson 5). Blocked shots--Z 1, SC 3 (K. Collier 3). Fouled out--B. Ziegler, Guthrie. Total fouls--Z 19, SC 21. Technical fouls
--None. Turnovers--Z 22, SC 18.

When it came time for Zillah’s crack at the quarterfinals in Thursday’s nightcap, the SCAC had apparently used up its quota of big upsets and hearty comebacks.

For a half, the Leopards had the game to make a serious run at top-ranked Seattle Christian, but as the day grew late the Warriors grew strong en route to a 53-31 victory in the Class 1A state tournament in the SunDome.

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After Connell became the first to advance into Friday’s semifinals and Granger followed by knocking off defending champion Lynden Christian, the SCAC district champs and their vise-grip defense were within a basket at halftime against the towering Warriors.

But foul trouble completely shut the Leopards down in the second half and SC took command with a 17-3 third-quarter burst.

Rosebud Guthrie and Bayli Guthrie, the senior leaders for Zillah, were both hit with their fourth fouls midway through the third quarter and they were both gone in the final period.

“Those two took it to us in the first half, and then we both got in foul trouble. We were just fortunate to have a little more depth,” said SC coach Bob Kickner. “We were real nervous about this with Zillah’s home crowd and all. But the girls really rose up in the second half.”

The Warriors, who go 6-2, 6-0 and 5-10 across the front, outscored Zillah 30-10 in the second half when Melissa Collier scored 12 of her 18 points.

Against that height, the relatively short Zillah grew managed just 9-for-51 shooting for the game.

The Warriors tried to sap Zillah’s emotion early, closing the first quarter on a 7-0 run for a 14-6 lead. Lexi Peterson pitched in a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

But the Leopards responded quickly and impressively. Ziegler scored five points during a 12-2 charge, and Abbie Ziegler and Korie Duce popped in 3-pointers as the Leopards were within 23-21 at the break.

But with Bayli Ziegler and Guthrie sitting most of the second half, the Leopards suffered through an eight-minute span without a field goal. Ziegler still managed to finish with 13 points, three assists and two steals.

“We were fortunate with our depth because we had four kids with four fouls, including my Collier kids (Melissa and Katie, a 6-2 freshman),” said Kickner. “We had a very good second half yesterday against Toledo and this was even better.”

To secure the program’s fourth straight trophy, Zillah (20-5) will need to beat Bellevue Christian (21-4) on Friday in a loser-out game at 4 p.m.

Seattle Christian (24-1) earned the school’s second semifinal appearance and will play unbeaten Freeman (25-0) in Friday’s second semifinal at 8.