Riverside Invitational | Grad leads No. 3 Ravens into final

AUBURN — In a game of streaks, it was the consistency of Katie Grad that made the difference for Auburn Riverside.

Grad scored a game-high 16 points, including two key driving layups to spark a decisive fourth-quarter run that gave the Ravens, third-ranked in Class 3A, a 74-60 win over Buena (Calif.) on Friday night in the late game of the Riverside Invitational.

Auburn Riverside (5-3) will face Sheldon (Ore.) tonight at 7:30 in the championship game of the three-day tournament. It will be the Ravens' sixth consecutive game against an out-of-state opponent.

Auburn Riverside, which applied tight defensive pressure throughout the game, trailed by six early, led 44-31 early in the third quarter, was tied at 55 early in the fourth, then outscored the Ventura, Calif.,-based Bulldogs 19-5 the rest of the final quarter.

"A lot of our streaks were initiated by Katie," coach Adam Barrett said of the Washington State recruit. "That kid just plays so hard. You could tell down the stretch that that kid was not going to lose. If we could get everyone playing as hard as she does down the stretch, we're going to be a great team. We just can pick and choose when we're going to play hard."

Mercedes Wetmore scored 13 for the Ravens and Kara Jenkins finished with 11.

Amanda Padilla led Buena, a large-division California school, with 14 points. Amelia Mathis, who will attend UCLA next year on a soccer scholarship, scored 13 and Samantha Strang put in 12.

Other games

Lake Stevens 59,

Moses Lake 55 (2 OT)

Karri Gallagher scored all seven of Lake Stevens' points in the second overtime to keep the Vikings (7-0) undefeated. The loss was the second loss in two days for Moses Lake (6-2), the state's second-ranked 4A team.

Lake Stevens led by 19 before the Chiefs rallied to take a 46-45 lead in the fourth period.

"I think we just got nervous in the second half and they got the best of us," said Gallagher, who finished with a game-high 27 points. "But we finished strong."

Mary Ochiltree added 16 for the Vikings. Freshman guard Jordan Loera led the Chiefs with 20 points, 6-foot-5 junior Carly Noyes scored 17 and 6-3 senior Ann Noyes had eight.

Sheldon (Eugene, Ore.) 47,

Snohomish 44

Katie Stiegleman broke a tie with a three-pointer with 1:17 left, and the Irish held Snohomish scoreless the rest of the way. The ninth-ranked Panthers (5-2) missed four shots in the final 45 seconds.

Snohomish led 22-13 before Sheldon (7-2) went on a 21-3 run. The Panthers trailed by as many as 12, but retook the lead at 41-40 before being outscored 7-2 over the final three minutes.

Karley Lampman led Snohomish with 16 points and Katie Benson added 13. Theresa Brown scored 16 for Sheldon, which placed fourth in Oregon's 6A tournament last season.

Jesuit (Portland) 65, Mount Tahoma 55

Elizabeth Brenner scored 15 as the Crusaders, state runners-up in Oregon last season, used a 21-point third quarter to earn the win. Carrie Ojeda led Mount Tahoma, fifth at state last year, with 14 points.