Prairie fire: CV's three-peat hopes go up in smoke

TACOMA — Jessica Menkens' eyes welled up, just like last year.

But these were tears of joy after Menkens sparked Prairie to a 44-39 victory last night, preventing a Central Valley three-peat last night in the championship game of the Class 4A state girls high-school basketball tournament at the Tacoma Dome.

Menkens remembered her sorrow after the Bears from Spokane beat Prairie of suburban Vancouver in last year's final to win their second straight state title. She wanted to make sure this chapter of the storied Prairie-Central Valley saga had a happy ending, scoring seven of her 15 points in the decisive fourth quarter and earning a spot on the all-tournament first team..

"I was not about to walk out of here with tears of pain and regret," she said. "I was not going to let them take this away."

Top-ranked Central Valley (27-2), which also beat Prairie in the semifinal during its 2001 tournament run, was trying to become the first girls or boys team in Class 4A or 3A to capture three consecutive crowns. The Bears came close, holding a six-point lead with just under five minutes to play.

"I'm real proud of these kids," Central Valley Coach Dale Poffenroth said. "To come that close to setting history, you can't be sad."

Emily Westerberg, the unanimous tournament Most Valuable Player, had to agree, despite the disappointing finish to what has been a stellar high-school career. The Bears went unbeaten last season and had won 56 games in a row, tying a state record, before losing to Kennewick during the playoffs. Westerberg, a 6-foot-2 senior who has signed with Arizona State, led Central Valley to a 94-4 record during her three seasons.

"It was awesome to get into the state championship three games in a row," she said. "For most high-school athletes, it's hard enough to get one. Society says second place isn't acceptable, but we're trying to make it acceptable.

"It's sad we didn't win three in a row, but I'm happy that we won two in a row."

Westerberg averaged 24.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in the Bears' first three games at state, but was held to nine points and five rebounds by a determined Prairie defense last night after getting into early foul trouble.

The Falcons (28-2) had a three-peat bid of their own foiled by Kennewick in 2000.

"We knew how bad it felt to lose in the championship going for three in a row," said junior Andrea Sitton, who was a freshman on that team. "We know how it felt to have that taken away. We didn't want them to three-peat."

The 6-1 Sitton was a big reason Prairie was able to prevent it. After missing seven of her first eight shots, Sitton sizzled in the second half, scoring 10 of her 15 points. When Central Valley scored the first seven points of the second half to open up a 29-20 lead, Sitton fueled an 8-0 run with three baskets.

But this was really a game for Prairie's three seniors, who vowed after Friday's semifinal victory over Redmond to get some payback.

"Our seniors — give them a victory so they can go out winners," Prairie Coach Al Aldridge said. "It never gets old, it never gets old."

This is Prairie's fifth state championship, but first since winning back to back in 1998 and '99. The Falcons also won in 1994 and 1993, the latter at the AA tournament (now 3A).

"This means everything," Menkens said.

Westbrooks joined Sitton on the all-tournament second team and was an early spark, scoring six of her eight in the first half. Short added to her school-record assist total with seven dishes, giving her 445 for her career, and she also became the tournament's all-time assist leader.

The determination of the seniors was apparent early. Westbrooks and Menkens hit back-to-back three-pointer to spark a 13-5 run. Menkens scored eight, then added a three-pointer, plus a steal and layin.

But CV scored 10 straight, sinking eight consecutive free throws. The Bears led 16-14 when Westerberg picked up her third foul and had to go to the bench with 4:44 left in the half. They still had the two-point cushion at halftime, 22-20.

Reagan Pariseau opened the second half with a three-pointer, and Central Valley went on to take a 29-20 lead before Prairie closed to 29-28. Prairie was able to pull away when the Bears went cold during a 5-1/2 minute stretch in the fourth. The Bears' Caitlin Courchaine hit a three-pointer with 11.4 seconds to go, cutting Prairie's lead to 42-39, but Menkens tacked on two free throws to ice the win.

Sandy Ringer: sringer@seattletimes.com