4A Girls basketball consolation roundup

Ballard 52, Snohomish 44

Kayla Williams wanted to go out with a win.

So the Ballard senior went out and made sure her wish came true, scoring 10 of her team-high 15 points in the second half as the sixth-ranked Beavers (24-3) came from behind to earn the fourth-place trophy.

"We have a lot of seniors, so it was a good way to finish," said Williams, who added six assists and four rebounds.

It's the first girls basketball trophy in Ballard history. The school's only other appearances in the top 16 was when the tournament was in a regional format in 1978 and '84. Earning some state hardware was on the Beavers' preseason list of goals.

"This is what we wanted from the beginning," Williams said.

The Beavers' only loss in the tournament came against Pasco in the quarterfinals, but they bounced back to win their final two.

"It's a great testament to our kids," said coach Karen Blair, who picked up her 301st career victory.

Snohomish (21-7) settled for seventh place for the second consecutive year.

"It's a disappointment because it's a game we felt like we could win," coach Ken Roberts said. "It was a good season."

The Panthers built an eight-point lead in the second quarter, but couldn't hold it, thanks in part to foul trouble. It was 43-all with less than two minutes to play, but the Beavers closed on a 9-1 run.

Williams was one of three Ballard players to score in double figures, as Evangeline Spracklin had 11 points and Yordanos Kasahun 10. Jeanette Hansen, a 6-foot-5 exchange student from Denmark, scored five of her seven points in the second half, including a key basket in the final minute.

Katie Benson, one of four junior starters for Snohomish, had a game-high 20 points, shooting 6 of 9 from the field and 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. She added six rebounds, three steals and two assists. Marjorie Heard added nine points and four boards.

Prairie 51, Pasco 39

Prairie made a point of showing up emotionally for the third-place game against Pasco. After last year's letdown in the same game, the Falcons didn't want that feeling again.

"It's obviously really important to me," said Falcons coach Al Aldridge about finishing the season with a win. "Third's a lot better than sixth. For the kids, too ... at least they get to leave the tournament on a positive note."

Trailing by two early in the third quarter, Prairie of suburban Vancouver (21-4) went on a 10-0 run to get separation and led by as many as 14.

The win marks 10 consecutive top-six finishes, a streak that includes three state titles.

The game also concluded USC-bound Ashley Corral's fantastic high-school career. With 15 points and six steals, she set four state tournament records with 247 career points (passing Kate Starbird of Lakes' 242) and 42 career steals (passing Leilani Mitchell of Kennewick's 39). The 5-foot-9 guard also set records with 13 three-pointers in this tournament (Columbia River's Jessica Malone had 12 in 1998 and Woodinville's Amanda Best did it in 2006), and career threes with 32, besting Carmel Lampson of Kamiakin's 24.

Pasco, which takes sixth and finishes the season 22-8, was led by Morgan Sullivan's game-high 20 points.

Skyview 64, Bellarmine Prep 43

Some years they just couldn't get here. Other years they couldn't get out of a tough bracket.

But this year, Ashlee Smith and the rest of the fifth-ranked Storm made sure they showed the rest of the state just how good this team is after its opening-round loss to Kentwood of Covington. The fifth-place finish gets the Vancouver school its first girls basketball trophy.

"We definitely proved ourselves," Smith said.

Smith, a 6-foot center who has signed with St. Mary's, certainly proved her star power. She had 21 points and 16 rebounds, hitting 7 of 12 shots from the field and 7 of 9 free throws. For the tournament, she averaged 21.5 points and 9.7 rebounds.

Dayle Powell (16 points) and Kailee Oliver (12) also were key factors in Saturday's win, which lifted Skyview's record to 25-4.

Bellarmine Prep of Tacoma (25-6) settled for eighth place after shooting 25 percent from the field. Still, coach Kevin Meines wasn't hanging his head.

"It's kind of hard to see the big picture right now," he said. "If at the beginning of the season you're saying we're at the state tournament getting a trophy, I'll take that any day."

The Lions fell into a 15-0 hole and never recovered, although they got as close as six in the second quarter. Senior ReZina TecleMariam, a University of Portland recruit, led Bellarmine with 11 points.

Sandy Ringer and Zach Landres-Schnur