Garfield claims third; Redmond earns an assist

TACOMA — The Redmond Mustangs helped get Garfield to state, and this was how the ninth-ranked Bulldogs thanked them.

The young, inexperienced Garfield team learned from three closes losses to the second-ranked Mustangs during the regular season and at the district tournament. Yesterday, it was the Bulldogs' turn in their fourth meeting with their KingCo 4A rivals.

Sophomore point guard Malia O'Neal was sensational with 23 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals as Garfield placed third with a 60-54 victory over second-ranked Redmond.

It was Garfield's first state placing in girls basketball since finishing eighth in 1989. The Bulldogs (22-6) ended a nine-year drought of qualifying for state by making the field of 16 this season.

"Fighting with them all year gave us the ability to stay close in close games in the tournament," Garfield forward Delaney Conway said, referring to three losses to the Mustangs by a combined 10 points. "We have them to thank for motivating us to get this far."

Both teams had to bounce back from disappointing semifinal losses.

"It's only right that we met in our last game of the season, but it would have been nicer to meet in the championship game," said Conway, one of just two Garfield seniors, after scoring 16 points and burying a couple key fourth-quarter threes. "There's no other team I'd have rather played in my last game."

For Redmond (25-2), it was a somber end to its fifth consecutive trip to state after coming in unbeaten.

"We really need to pay credit to (Redmond), because they got us ready with the wars we had with them," Garfield Coach Joyce Walker said. "The wars we had told us we must be OK, because we played them the closest of anybody. What happened was these ladies started to believe they could compete."

In her final game before heading to Santa Clara, senior Ashley Graham had a team-high 13 points and three three-pointers for Redmond.

Conway led Garfield with a trio of three-pointers and 6-foot freshman Samantha Tinned chipped in 12 points, 11 rebounds and blocked shots.

The future is bright for the Bulldogs as they started two freshmen, a sophomore, a junior and a senior.

O'Neal blossomed all season long and let her talents shine at state. She finished the tournament with averages of 15.7 points, 4.8 assists, 3.0 steals and 7 of 14 from three-point range in four state games.

"I believe Malia's in the top handful of guards in the state," Walker said.

Pasco 48, Kennewick 40 (4th-7th)

Forget the fourth-place trophy. Pasco Coach Steve Davis told his players this one was for bragging rights. In the end, the Bulldogs (27-2) got both while collecting their fourth victory over their Big Nine rivals in five tries this season.

"We told the girls in the locker room this wasn't for fourth or seventh (places)," Davis said. "This was about being able to say we beat Kennewick the last time we played them."

The last three times, actually, after losing to the sixth-ranked Lions (24-5) in the next-to-last game of the regular season. It was the No. 7 Bulldogs' only loss until they ran into Prairie in the quarterfinals.

"It's incredible what these seniors have done," Davis said. Nine of 12 Pasco players are seniors.

Lewis and Clark 41, Kentlake 40 (5th-8th)

Briann January's steal and free throw with 12.6 gave the Tigers (23-7) from Spokane their third straight victory in the tournament and the fifth-place trophy. Kentlake (25-4) had to settle for eighth after Shuree Hyatt's last-second shot from the top of the key just missed.

Many observers thought the shot looked good when Hyatt let it fly, but it hit the side of the rim as the buzzer sounded.

"It felt really good," said Hyatt, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. "I looked at the clock and there was .3 seconds left and I just threw it up. I just didn't get so lucky."

Kentlake trailed 40-37 with less than a minute to play, but Kristen Pasley nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie it at the 38-second mark. Pasley was 0 for 5 from three-point land to that point. Allyson Sievers led the Falcons with 12 points.