Lions stave off Vikings' late rally, roar into 1B semifinals

by Neil Pierson<br>Herald Sports Editor
| February 22, 2008 8:00 PM

Prep basketball recaps

YAKIMA - A 10-point lead in the third quarter nearly slipped away for the Moses Lake Christian boys on Thursday - the key word being nearly.

The Lions got a pair of late free throws from Kameron Firouzi and Tim Gjefle, then watched as Garfield-Palouse's Gavin Burt missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, finalizing a 51-48 victory at the state 1B tournament.

The Lions (16-6) can place no worse than sixth, and can reach Saturday's championship game with a semifinal win today at 7:30 p.m. against Tekoa-Oakesdale, a 48-32 victor over Lake Quinault on Thursday.

A night after scoring a game-high 27 points, Moses Lake Christian's Adrian Moffet was limited to six points on 3 of 10 shooting and fouled out. But the other Lions stepped up big, including freshman Isaac Murrell, who scored 13 points on 3 for 5 shooting from 3-point range.

Taylor Sandberg had a huge game down low for the Lions, recording 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Jesse Bassett scored nine and Firouzi added seven points and six assists.

Scott Smith had 15 points for Garfield-Palouse, Tyson Palmer scored 10, and Todd Pinter grabbed 11 rebounds.

Gar-Pal 13 9 16 10 -48

MLCA 11 18 10 12 -51

Gar-Pal (48) - Slocum 0-0 0-0 0, J. Palmer 1-5 4-4 6, T. Palmer 4-10 1-2 10, Pinter 3-8 1-5, 8, Landel 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 7-18 1-5 15, Burt 1-9 0-1 3, Jacobs 2-2 2-3 6, Dvorak 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-53 9-20 48.

MLCA (51) - Moffet 3-10 0-0 6, Gjefle 2-5 1-2 5, Bassett 3-9 2-4 9, Sandberg 4-7 3-4 11, Firouzi 1-4 4-10 7, McNamara 0-0 0-0 0, Murrell 5-8 0-0 13. Totals 18-43 10-20 51.

3-pointers: Gar-Pal 3-15 (T. Palmer 1-3, Pinter 1-3, Burt 1-6, J. Palmer 0-1, Smith 0-2), MLCA 5-15 (Firouzi 1-1, Murrell 3-5, Bassett 1-5, Moffet 0-4). Rebounds: Gar-Pal 34 (Pinter 11, Smith 8), MLCA 38 (Sandberg 12). Assists: Gar-Pal 5 (Pinter 2), MLCA 9 (Firouzi 6). Steals: Gar-Pal 4 (Pinter 2), MLCA 6. Blocked shots: Gar-Pal 3 (J. Palmer 2), MLCA 2 (Bassett 2). Fouled out: Pinter, Moffet. Total fouls: Gar-Pal 19, MLCA 21. Technical fouls: MLCA bench. Turnovers: Gar-Pal 13, MLCA 16.

Odessa 52, North River 37

YAKIMA - The Tigers stayed in contention for a state trophy on Thursday, controlling the first and fourth quarters en route to a consolation bracket win over the Mustangs.

Odessa (12-11) got a game-high 17 points from James Glenn in the victory, while teammates Bryce Todd and Travis Todd scored 11 and 10, respectively. Glenn also had a team-high nine rebounds and five steals to help eliminate North River (13-10).

Odessa led 12-5 after one quarter, built its margin to 36-27 entering the fourth and put the win away with a 16-10 finish. The Tigers' defense keyed the win by forcing 25 turnovers, including 12 steals.

The Tigers face Liberty Christian (19-7) at 9 a.m. on Friday, and must win to secure a trophy. Liberty Christian eliminated Oakville 70-34 on Thursday.

Odessa 12 10 14 16 -52

N. River 5 13 9 10 -37

Odessa (52) - Glenn 6-13 4-6 17, Palmer 2-10 0-0 5, B. Todd 4-14 1-2 11, Downey 0-0 0-0 0, T. King 0-1 1-2 1, R. King 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 0-0, 1-2 1, Bruya 2-5, 0-2 4, Campbell 0-0 0-0 0, Schutz 0-0 1-2, 1, Read 1-1 0-0 2, T. Todd 2-10, 6-6 10. Totals 17-54 14-22 52.

North River (37) - Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Duncan 0-6 0-0 0, Fletcher 0-0 0-0 0, Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0, Pickering 4-11 4-8 12, Skipper 0-1 0-0 0, J. Berentsen 3-13 2-6 8, K. Berentsen 1-3 1-2 3, Oliver 7-10 0-0 14. Totals 15-48 7-16 37.

3-pointers: Odessa 4-18 (B. Todd 2-6, Glenn 1-1, Palmer 1-7, Bruya 0-2, T. Todd 0-2), North River 0-6 (Miller 0-1, J. Berentsen 0-1, Duncan 0-4). Rebounds: Odessa 43 (Glenn 9, Palmer 7), North River 35 (Pickering 15). Assists: Odessa 5 (Glenn 3), North River 5 (Pickering 2, J. Berentsen 2). Steals: Odessa 12 (Glenn 5), North River 3 (J. Berentsen 2). Blocked shots: Odessa 0, North River 4 (Pickering 3). Fouled out: None. Total fouls: Odessa 16, North River 16. Technical fouls: None. Turnovers: Odessa 19, North River 25.

Girls basketball

Colton 52, ACH 35

YAKIMA - The Lady Warriors fell victim to the Wildcats' outside game, as Colton hit 10 of its 38 tries from 3-point range and earned a berth in Friday's semifinal round.

Almira/Coulee-Hartline (12-12) played well early on, tying the game at 11-11 after one quarter. But third-ranked Colton (22-3) never trailed after the midway point of the second quarter and limited ACH to 15 second-half points.

Colton's Chelsea Meyer led all scorers with 13 points - 10 in the second half - hitting three 3-pointers. Teammates Kelsey Moser (11 points) and Alisa Moehrle-Druffel (nine points, eight rebounds, three assists) were also key factors.

The Warriors got 14 points from Sarah Gloyn, and eight points and seven boards from Breanna Martin in the loss.

ACH tries to stay alive for a trophy today at 12:30 p.m. against the Pateros Nannies. Pateros was torched by Touchet, 54-29, in Thursday's quarterfinals, but boasts a couple strong players in Michelle Bruno and Clara Hull.

ACH 11 9 7 8 -35

Colton 11 17 12 12 -52

ACH (35) - Starkenburg 1-4 0-0 2, Bodeau 2-3 0-0 5, Gloyn 5-14 3-5 14, Edwards 1-2 0-0 2, N. Osborne 1-6 0-0 2, Martin 2-7 4-4 8, Porterfield 1-4 0-1 2, Felton 0-0 0-0 0, Vu 0-0 0-0 0, M. Osborne 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-40 7-10 35.

Colton (52) - Moser 4-5 2-3 11, A. Nygreen 3-14 0-0 9, Heaslet 0-0 0-0 0, Moehrle-Druffel 4-10 0-3 9, Meyer 5-12 0-0 13, M. Nygreen 0-3 0-0 0, C. Druffel 1-4 0-0 3, Spense 0-3 0-0 0, K. Druffel 0-0 0-0 0, Kramer 2-5 2-2 7, Becker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-57 4-8 52.

3-pointers: ACH 2-11 (Bodeau 1-1, Gloyn 1-7, N. Osborne 0-1, Starkenburg 0-2), Colton 10-38 (Meyer 3-10, A. Nygreen 3-12, Moser 1-1, Druffel 1-1, Kramer 1-3, M. Nygreen 0-2, Spence 0-3, Moehrle-Druffel 1-6). Rebounds: ACH 32 (Martin 7, Porterfield 6), Colton 39 (Moehrle-Druffel 8, Druffel 7). Assists: ACH 2, Colton 8 (Moehrle-Druffel 3). Steals: ACH 7 (Gloyn 3), Colton 7 (A. Nygreen 2). Blocked shots: ACH 1, Colton 0. Fouled out: None. Total fouls: ACH 10, Colton 14. Technical fouls: None. Turnovers: ACH 19, Colton 15.

Bridgeport 50, Soap Lake 47

WENATCHEE - The Lady Eagles ended their season with heartbreaking defeat to the Fillies in the North Central Washington 2B playoffs at Wenatchee High School on Wednesday night.

Soap Lake had dominated the first three quarters and led 36-23 with eight minutes to play. The Eagles got a pair of Tanya Babak free throws with just over 90 seconds to play and led 45-38, but Bridgeport netted 12 of the final 14 points to win.

Free-throw shooting had a large part in the outcome, with Bridgeport making 14 of its 21 attempts in the fourth and Soap Lake making only 6 of 13.

The Eagles' defense was stellar for three quarters, limiting Bridgeport to single digits in each frame, but it all came crashing down in the Fillies' 27-point fourth quarter.

Soap Lake's Ariel Wernex scored 13 points, with teammates Jamie Stamper and Michelle Marthini scoring nine apiece. Babak and Chelsea Allen each chipped in seven points.

Bridgeport's Kayla Craig paced all scorers with 20 points - eight of them in the fourth quarter -and Ali Bustos added 11 points.

The Fillies advanced to face state-ranked Liberty Bell on Friday, and must beat the Mountain Lions on consecutive nights to sew up the league's only state tournament berth.

Soap Lake 8 14 14 11 -47

Bridgeport 8 6 9 27 -50

Soap Lake (47) - Wernex 13, Stamper 9, Franks 2, M. Marthini 9, S. Marthini 0, Babak 7, Allen 7, Nelson 0

Bridgeport (50) - Bonel 0, Gonzalez 6, Craig 20, Bisque 8, Bustos 11, Cavadini 3, Ochoa 0, Saucedo 2