McKeown's 45 leads Walla Walla over Big Bend in NWAC semifinal game

EVERETT — Walla Walla guard Cierra Jo McKeown had four different looks at setting the NWAC Tournament individual game scoring record in the final minute, but couldn't find the stroke one more time.

Even so, McKeown finished two points shy of the record with 45 points to lead the Warriors to a 92-64 win over Big Bend Saturday night in Everett.

The Walla Walla (31-1) victory sets up a clash of titans with Umpqua (31-1), which beat Bellevue 103-70 in the other semifinal, for the championship.

The fairytale run for the Vikings (22-10) came to an end, but it wasn't for lack of effort. Four of the five starters finished in double figures. Callie Gronning, a 5-foot-7 sophomore from Soda Springs, Idaho, was 8-of-18 from the floor and finished the final game of her Big Bend career with a team-high 19 points. Sophomores Sunnie Martinez (11 points), Hailey Garrity (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Emily Allan (5) threw everything they had into the final game of their community college careers. Freshman Leah Dougherty played the entire second half with four fouls added 14 points and nine rebounds.

But the story of the night was McKeown, who went into the game averaging 23.3 points per game. The 5-9 sophomore from Touchet scored 27 of her game-high 45 points in the first half. She was scheduled to come out with 1:43 remaining, but when she hit one more 3-pointer (7-16) from the wing, Walla Walla coach Bobbi Hazeltine left her in and designed four separate sets to feed McKeown the ball for one last basket for the tournament record.

Even trailing by 28 points with time running out, the Vikings showed some pride in its defense, denying the Warriors star.

Big Bend trailed 51-29 at the half. McKeown, who was 5-of-11 from 3-point range, had 27 at the intermission and Jade Skidmore had 14 of her 25 points in the first 20 minutes. Even with the hill to climb and two Warrior players combining for 70 of the team's 92 points, Big Bend threw caution to the wind in the third quarter.

The Vikings cut the lead to 15 with 5:47 remaining in the third and made it a 15-point deficit again later in the period where they outscored the Warriors 18-15. But that's as close as they would get in their return to the NWAC Tournament and the Final Four for the first time in 15 years.

The Vikings stormed out of the East Region as the fourth see and established itself as the Bracket Buster in their first tournament game since 2003 when they upended West No. 1 seed Grays Harbor in the Sweet 16. They took another step forward with a victory over North No. 2 seed Everett on their home floor to earn a seat at the Final Four table.

Like Bellevue (22-9), which failed in its attempt to upset South No. 1 Umpqua earlier in the night, Big Bend just couldn't find a way to extend their season one more time.

The Vikings hadn't been to the NWAC women's basketball championships since the 2002-03 team won it all, but they took their best shot at one more championship flag for DeVries Activities Center.

Big Bend - Sunnie Martinez 11, Hailey Garrity 13, Emily Allan 5, Leah Dougherty 14, Callie Gronning 19, Maryka Jansen 2. Totals: 26-63 9-14 64

Walla Walla - Cierra Jo McKeown 45, Teresa Acock 7, Jade Skidmore 25, Kortney Hutchinson 4, Adrianna Perlez 2, McKenzie Gunter 4, Taylor Turner 5. Totals: 38-81 6-10 9