With 6:20 left in the
third quarter Saturday night, the Prosser Mustangs were in full gallop.
They had scored the
first six points of the second half to complete a 13-point comeback and
tie the game at 28. They seemingly had top-ranked River Ridge on its
heels, their large and loud contingent of fans on its feet and the
ever-precious commodity called momentum on their side.
But then the Hawks
changed everything.
Scoring 13 unanswered
points on six shots without a miss, River Ridge rode its abrupt reversal
to a 57-46 victory and the Class 2A state girls championship in the
SunDome.
The win ended a
spirited run by the underdog Mustangs, who came in with a No. 7 state
ranking and, by most accounts, second billing to the Hawks, West Valley
and Archbishop Murphy.
But still they left
with the No. 2 trophy in the school's first title-game appearance since
1997.
"It was phenomenal,"
an emotional coach Mark Little said after a lengthy locker-room meeting
with his players. "I can't even begin to describe ... what these girls
have done this year is remarkable. They got better every single game."
River Ridge,
meanwhile, finished 26-1 and celebrated its third title in four seasons,
and second-year coach Tom Kelly said the decisive burst was not an
aberration.
"These girls can do
that," he said. "They can just turn it on. I've never seen anything like
it."
Jennifer Cole, a
6-foot junior who scored a team-high 16 points and was voted the
tournament's MVP, got the first two baskets of the River Ridge run. She
would add another bucket to the spree, which was capped by Monteaka
Norwood's 3-0 pointer.
But the Hawks' heroics
would not have been needed had it not been for a nails-tough Prosser
squad that finished 22-4, and was keyed by a 20-point, nine-rebound,
three-steal night from 5-8 junior Tayshia Hunt.
After Rachel Anderson,
who with Kelli Wilson were the only two seniors on the Mustangs' roster,
scored inside to start the third quarter, Tamara Jones converted a
three-point play and Hunt maneuvered inside for yet another hoop.
Tie game.
But River Ridge, which
had struggled initially with Prosser's switch from a man-to-man defense
to a 2-3 zone, responded swiftly and decisively.
Up 43-32 at quarter's
end, the Hawks increased the margin to 47-32 early in the fourth.
The Mustangs battled
back, making it a two-possession game at 50-44 when Anderson rebounded
Hunt's free throw miss and scored at 1:55.
A slashing layup by
Jasmine McDonald, who had 11 points along with Samira McDonald, and two
free throws by Kelsey Russell, younger sister of Central Washington
standout Sophie Russell, sealed it.
Jones a first-team,
all-tournament selection, totaled 13 points and seven rebounds despite
the Hawks' suffocating interior defense. Hunt was named to the second
team.
"This (game) doesn't
even begin to tell the whole story," Little said. "These girls have
grown so much as people, and the way they treat each other is so
meaningful to the bigger picture."
|
River Ridge -- Norwood 3-6 0-0 8, Trinidad 1-1 0-1 2, J. McDonald
3-8 4-8 11, Wade 0-2 0-0 0, S. McDonald 4-8 1-4 11, Adams 0-0 0-0 0,
Cole 6-8 4-4 16, Russell 3-12 2-4 9. Totals 20-45 11-21 57. |
|
Prosser -- Wilson 0-9 2-2 2, Flores 0-1 0-0
0, Hunt 5-15 9-13 20, Hudak 0-1 0-0 0, Mercer 1-6 1-1 3, Anderson
4-6 0-0 8, Petersen 0-7 0-0 0, Flores 0-2 0-0 0, Jones 6-15 1-3 13.
Totals 16-62 13-19 46. |
| River Ridge |
12 |
16 |
15 |
14 |
-- |
57 |
| Prosser |
7 |
14 |
11 |
14 |
-- |
46 |
|
3-point goals--RR 6-15 (S. McDonald 2-4, Norwood 2-4, J. McDonald
1-2, Russell 1-5), P 1-17 (Hunt 1-3, Mercer 0-1, Anderson 0-1,
Wilson 0-3, Jones 0-3, Petersen 0-6). Rebounds--RR 39 (S. McDonald
8), P 42 (Hunt 9). Assists--RR 11 (S. McDonald 5), P 5 (Wilson 5). Steals--RR
8 (Russell 2), P 10 (Wilson 4). Blocked
shots--RR 6 (J. McDonald 3), P 2 (Hunt 2). Fouled out--None. Total fouls--RR
20, P 19. Technical fouls--None.
Turnovers--RR 16, P 15. |
View gallery No. 1 for this story.