Class 2A girls tournament: East Valley headed back to semifinals

YAKIMA — La Donna Downs scored nine points and hit a layup with 46 seconds remaining as third-ranked East Valley of Yakima defeated sixth-ranked Tenino 34-31 last night in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A girls state basketball tournament at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

The Red Devils (24-2), the tournament's defending state champions, will play in tonight's 7:30 semifinal against unbeaten and second-ranked Blaine (24-0).

The other semifinal, starting at 4 p.m., will pit seventh-ranked Pullman (20-5) against 10th-ranked Connell (20-6).

Tenino players missed two-point attempts in the final 29 seconds, allowing East Valley to run out the clock.

Angie Mullen added seven and Downs had seven rebounds for the Red Devils, who led by 14 points in the second quarter and 30-19 with 6:30 to play before Tenino (21-4) rallied.

Nikki Johnson, who led the Beavers with 13 points, led the comeback with seven points and 10 rebounds. Whitney Evander added 10 points, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots for the Beavers.

Other quarterfinals

Connell 54, Nooksack Valley 44 — Janica Wood led Connell with 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Eagles (20-6) advanced to the semifinals with a quarterfinal win over Nooksack Valley (17-7).

Candance Mathews added 12 points for the Eagles. Kara Groen led the Pioneers with 11 points and Devin Dykstra added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Pullman 38, La Center 30 — Andrea Muehling scored eight of her 12 points in the second half as seventh-ranked Pullman (20-5) beat La Center (19-6) in a quarterfinal game.

The Greyhounds steadily increased their lead in the fourth quarter, though they never totally finished the Wildcats. Pullman's largest lead, 11 points, came in the closing seconds.

Sarah Davis led La Center with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Brittany Graham added seven points for Pullman while Amanda Troutt and Mollie Hornfelt collected 11 rebounds each. Pullman outrebounded La Center 46-39.

Blaine 48, Chelan 41 — Second-ranked Blaine (24-0) knocked top-ranked Chelan (22-3) into the loser's bracket with the quarterfinal victory.

Chelan built a 29-24 halftime lead but had to play the second half with two starters — Sarah Schramm and Cassie Pilkinton — injured. It limited Chelan's offensive effectiveness as the Goats scored just 12 points after halftime.

Jessica Summers led Blaine with 13 points. Shela Robertson had 11. Coco Poirier had 15 for Chelan and Kayla Pilkinton added 10.

Loser-out games

Ephrata 55, Woodland 38 — Traci Mickle scored 18 points as Ephrata (13-12) eliminated fourth-ranked Woodland (23-2), which entered the tournament with a 23-0 record.

Jana Flannery added 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Tigers.

Woodland, playing without injured star point guard Ashley Rodman, got 11 points from Brittany Driver.

Tiffany Moncrief and Margie Lou Correll each blocked three shots for Ephrata.

Riverside 54, Eatonville 45 — Angela Hartill scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds as eighth-ranked Riverside (19-7) eliminated ninth-ranked Eatonville (24-4).

Jamie Hinkley chipped in 12 points for the Rams. Megan Starkel scored 11 points and Tara Foust 10 for Eatonville.

Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) 43, Granite Falls 36 — Jessi Reome scored 10 points and fifth-ranked Lakeside (20-4) overcame a cold shooting effort to eliminate Granite Falls (15-11).

The Eagles trailed 9-5 after one quarter but used a 10-4 advantage in the second period to take the lead. The Tigers tied the game at 31 on a three-pointer by Jessica Goss with 3:15 to play, but Reome followed with a 3-pointer that put the Eagles ahead for good.

Rebecca Kirchgessner paced Granite Falls with 12 points and Lisa Allison had seven rebounds.

Hoquiam 42, Port Townsend 40 — Erica Tomlin had 15 points and 11 rebounds as Hoquiam (18-6) eliminated Port Townsend (20-9). Brianna Williamsen added 10 points and Keri Strom had 13 rebounds. The Grizzlies shot only 20.5 percent (9 of 44) from the field but made 24 of 39 free-throws.

Hana Wilson had 13 points and eight rebounds for Port Townsend.