Lady Huskies recover to finish fifth at state

YAKIMA, Wash. — Following an opening round defeat at the hands of the Hockinson Hawks, the Othello Lady Huskies rallied to win three consecutive games at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) 2A girls basketball tournament over the weekend.

Othello dropped their state opener 48-39 before the Lady Huskies slipped past Burlington-Edison 37-36. Othello then rolled  Black Hills 48-40 to set up a showdown with Pullman for fifth place.

Othello head coach Laurie Stickel said she was proud of the way her team closed out their season.

“I’m just excited we got to go (to state),” she said. “We could have easily bowed out (after losing the first day). It shows the strong character of these girls.”

The Lady Huskies, making their second-ever trip to the WIAA state tournament, placed for the second consecutive season with the win over Black Hills Friday morning. Othello finished seventh last year at the school’s first appearance at the state tournament.

With a state tournament trophy guaranteed heading into their consolation final Saturday morning, the Lady Huskies looked to bring home the school best-ever finish. Othello only had to get past the Pullman Greyhounds.

The Lady Huskies and the Greyhounds tipped off at 9 a.m. Saturday morning and just 76 seconds into the contest, Othello found themselves leading 4-0.

The Greyhounds battled back to tie the game 4-4 with 4:36 left in the opening quarter before Pullman went on a 8-2 run over the next 2:53 to take their largest lead of the game at 12-6.

Othello senior and Central Washington Athletic Conference co-Player of the Year Allison Walker ended Othello’s drought with a basket for the Lady Huskies.

Pullman responded with a score of their own to take a 14-8 lead before Othello’s Christine Kirkwood hit a shot from behind the 3-point arc to help the Lady Huskies pull within 14-11.

After Othello cut the deficit to a possession, Erika Hanson sank a shot of her own to give the Greyhounds a 16-11 lead after the first quarter.

During the break between the first and second quarters, Stickel told her team to keep playing their game.

“I told them to get after it and attack the basket,” she said. “I told them to keep attacking and pick it up.”

Over the next three minutes, the Lady Huskies battled to pull even with the Greyhounds at 20-20.

Othello and Pullman continued to play tight until Kirkwood hit another 3-point shot with two minutes left in the quarter to give Othello their largest lead of the half at 32-26. Kirkwood and Walker each finished with 22 points and Stickel said the duo have helped carry Othello this season.

“They were clutch,” she said of Kirkwood and Walker’s performances throughout the tournament. “They have been our go-to people all year.”

After a pair of free throws from Pullman’s Jen Sorenson cut the Othello lead to four points with 1:19 left in the half, the Lady Huskies forced a pair of Pullman turnovers. However, the Lady Huskies were unable to convert and Othello took a 32-28 lead into the half.

Pullman stormed back at the start of the third quarter to tie the game at 32-32.

The Lady Huskies and the Greyhounds continued to battle on the scoreboard, playing through five ties and five lead changes in the third.

Pullman eventually took a 42-40 lead late in the quarter before a basket from junior Kylee Mollotte tied the game 42-42 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Lady Huskies and the Greyhounds played tight through the first four minutes of the fourth quarter with Othello managing to take a 50-47 lead following another basket from Mollotte.

After Othello’s defense forced a Pullman turnover,  Mollotte added another basket to give Othello a 52-47 lead late in the contest. Mollotte finished with eight points.

Pullman managed to trim the Othello advantage to 52-48 with three minutes left.

Othello led by four points late in the contest before Walker found fellow senior Justine Villareal behind the 3-point arc.

Villareal let the ball fly through the air and it found to bottom of the bucket for a seven-point 55-48 Othello lead — their largest lead of the game.

Pullman managed to pull within a basket of Othello at 55-53 before the Lady Huskies went on a 7-2 run over the final 1:37 to close out the Greyhounds 62-55.

“That is what we were excited about, going out with a win,” Stickel said of her team’s finish at the state tournament. “It’s a good feeling.”