The second seed Medomak Valley girls fell behind 13-4 in the first quarter and could never overcome the deficit as they lost 40-34 to third seed Spruce Mountain in the Class B South semifinal on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at the Portland Expo. The Phoenix’ defensive scheme targeted Panthers leading scorer Kytana Williamson and held her to just 2 free throws in the first half as they built a 24-12 lead.
Spruce Mountain controlled the ball, and the clock, right from the opening tip-off as they kept it out of Williamson’s hands and gained a 13-4 advantage at the first break. Spruce Mountain hit three 3-pointers in the first half to help distance themselves from the Panthers, who failed to make a 3-point shot until the third quarter.
Medomak Valley came to life after the halftime break, and outscored the Phoenix 12-9 in the third quarter to gain hope as they narrowed the margin to 33-24. Sara Nelson scored nine points in the frame to spark the Panthers. The Medomak Valley offense was compromised when the hard-working Nelson fouled out of the game with her fifth foul with five minutes remaining in the match.
The Panthers’ defense hustled, stole Spruce Mountain passes and pressed to cause turnovers as they clawed their way back in the fourth quarter to trail just 35-32 with two minutes remaining. Many of the Panthers made big defensive plays to gain the ball back including steals by Nelson, Williamson, Maya Cannon and Chloe Fox. The Panthers’ shooters continued to struggle, however, as they had many chances to tie the game but missed shots and then had to rely on their defense to win the ball back.
Trailing in the game with the clock ticking down, the desperate Panthers were forced to foul the Phoenix, and the Pingree sisters, Jasmine and Jayden, made several free throws to extend their lead enough to stall out the clock and end the Panthers’ season.
Sara Nelson led the Panthers with 11 points. Also scoring for Medomak Valley were Cannon with 9, Williamson 6, McKenney 4, Fox 2 and Claudia Feeley 2. The Phoenix were led by Jasmine Pingree who scored 11 points, including 3 clutch free throws in the closing minutes. Avery Bessey scored nine points on three-3 pointers for Spruce Mountain, and Jaden Pingree had 8 points including 3 free throws in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.
Spruce Mountain will face Oceanside in the Class B South championship game on Friday, Feb. 23 at 2:45 PM.
