Ephrata escapes Woodland's run

Tigers utilize second quarter to put game out of reach

YAKIMA — The Yakima SunDome seemed to find favor with the Ephrata girls basketball team.

After starting the first quarter shooting 1-for-12 from the field to score five points, the Tigers broke away for 43 points over the next 24 minutes to top Woodland 48-41 in the first round of the 2A state basketball tournament at the Yakima SunDome on Wednesday. Leading the way for Ephrata was Laura Tinnell with four 3-pointers to top all scorers with 19 points.

"She has been looking for her shot," said head coach Missy Beierman. "For awhile, she was just going to pass it first … now she is getting that ball and you don't see any hesitation."

Her touch became Ephrata's Midas in the second quarter, starting off with a 3-pointer and eventually giving the Tigers a 15-14 lead with 5:08 left before halftime. Tinnell followed up with another shot behind the arc to push the lead to 18-14 and lead Ephrata on a 22-3 run to head into halftime leading 27-14 over the Beavers.

The Tigers's second quarter momentum more than made up for the first quarter with 57.1 percent shooting and their defense reversed roles with Woodland, holding the Beavers to one field goal over eight minutes of play.

"I think it was getting back on transition defense and we boxed out finally," Beierman said about the second quarter run.

Both teams came out cold in the third quarter and it wasn't until Tinnell hit a 3-pointer with 6:12 in the third to push the lead to 30-14. Megan Peabody answered with a 3 of her own to cut the lead to 34-20, followed by a 3-point play by Kellee Neal, who spun around Courtney Greenleaf for the basket and later converted on the free throw.

Trouble arose for the Tigers in the fourth quarter, who had a hard time shutting the door on the Beavers. Beierman attributed it to "we just lost our poise" as Woodland cut Ephrata's lead to 41-37 off two quick baskets from Ali McLendon, who led the Beavers with 15 points.

Tiffany Moncrief scored on a layup later in the fourth quarter, but Peabody made it a six-point game with 2:03 left. Chelsea Wilder hit a long jumper to bring Woodland within 46-41, but Kyla Whitaker went 3-for-4 from the line to save Ephrata with a 48-41 win and guarantee another day for the Tigers at the state tournament.

Ephrata held Woodland's leading scorer Destiny Schang, who was averaging 12.6 points per game, to four points in the tournament opener.

"We talked about her, but we didn't key in on any one of person, really," Beierman said. "We wanted to make sure we keyed in on that perimeter and she didn't get that many good looks at the basket."