3A Girls Basketball Roundup

Hanford 51, West Valley 41

Brittany Quick wasn't sure how her Hanford Falcons would perform in the third-place game Saturday in the Class 3A girls basketball state tournament.

Because the Falcons (22-7) had already beaten West Valley (19-10) twice this season, would her team be overconfident?

"That was my only worry, that we would go out there kind of cocky and arrogant since we had beaten them twice," Quick said. "I was worried that might get to us a little."

Hanford looked unstoppable early, rolling to a 30-19 lead as Quick scored seven of her game-high 15 points. But her team didn't score in the first 4 ½ minutes of the third quarter as West Valley forced a series of turnovers with a full-court press. Hanford tie it at 31-31 when Katelin Sillery banked in a jump shot.

"We just got frustrated and that frustration began to mount," said Quick, who also had 12 rebounds.

Kristin Barott swished a three-pointer from the top of the key to put Hanford up 34-31 with 1:30 remaining, and the Falcons did not relinquish the lead.

There was an 18-minute delay at halftime because the scoreboard was not working.

"The halftime was so messed up, waiting around for the clock to get started," Hanford senior Chelsey DePeel said. "We weren't quite up to speed when the second half started. But once we actually started getting back into the game, our fast break started rolling and we got our legs back."

Lakes 71, Kamiakin 60

Sara Halasz had one thing on her mind as she readied for her final high-school game: Have fun.

If she and her Lakes teammates did that, Halasz figured, the win would take care of itself. It did.

Halasz, a 6-foot senior who has signed with New Mexico, was one of four Lakes players in double figures as the second-ranked Lancers (24-2) earned the fourth-place trophy. It's the highest finish for the school, which was fifth in 1991 and 1993.

"We made history today," said Halasz, who piled up 23 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals. "Everybody wanted it."

Kamiakin of Kennewick (16-13) placed seventh, the Braves' best finish since taking fifth in 1999. They had won 10 in a row to get to state.

"At the beginning of the season, I knew they could do it," coach Tammy Hutchison said. "They came together as a team and did it."

Lakes, which lost to top-ranked Auburn Riverside in the quarterfinals, used a 21-1 second-half run to take control. Kamiakin didn't fold, cutting a 25-point deficit to nine with 49 seconds to play.

Tina Miller paced the Braves with 20 points. Danyelle Hutchison had 13 rebounds.

"I'm very proud of this team," Lakes coach Dave McEachern said. "Our goal was to win the state championship, but sometimes you don't reach your goals in one season."

Meadowdale 39, Lakeside 30

Mission accomplished.

At the Meadowdale Mavericks' retreat before the season, the team discussed two goals: finish higher than sixth at state and end the season with a win.

They did both.

With their nine-point win over Lakeside for fifth, the Mavericks improved on last year's sixth-place trophy. It's the Lynnwood school's highest finish since its 2004 state title.

"It feels so good," said star senior guard Eryn Jones. "That was like our championship."

After a tough first-round loss to No. 2 Lakes, the fifth-ranked Mavericks (24-5) beat No. 9 Bainbridge, No. 7 Fort Vancouver and No. 10 Lakeside.

Saturday's victory had the look of a Day 4 tournament game. Free throws skimmed off the front of the hoop and loose balls were lazily picked up. The teams combined to shoot 4 of 27 from three-point range, often a sign of tired legs.

Meadowdale coach Dan Taylor knew how tired his team was by looking at Jones' numbers.

"One of 13 ... that's all I have to say," said Taylor. "That's an anomaly."

In her last high-school game, the Portland State-bound Jones had a season-low eight points. But her lone field goal with 17.6 seconds left in the third quarter ignited a 9-0 run which gave the Mavericks an eight-point lead they did not relinquish. Jones also had a team-high 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

"She does a lot of other stuff, too," said Taylor. "She does a lot of the dirty work, as well."

Lakeside (23-7) was led by Morgan Merriman's 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Sandy Ringer, Zach Landres-Schnur

and Stephen A. Norris