SPOKANE — Traveling nearly 400 miles to Spokane Arena, but playing an opponent just 10 miles up the road, the No. 3 Napavine girls basketball team defeated No. 5 Adna for the third time this season in the 2B state quarterfinals Thursday night, 51-49, to advance to the state semifinals.
The win also ensures the Tigers will bring home a trophy to Napavine for the first time since 2018, and for the 11th time in program history.
“Kudos to the kids,” Tigers coach Shane Schutz said. “Everyone fought hard and did their best, that’s all we can ask for. We competed and these things aren’t easy to do — to be comfortable with where we are and what we do.”
Thursday night’s rematch between the familiar foes went about the same as each of the previous matchups, with a back-and-forth beginning of the game before Napavine’s press settled in and gave the Pirates fits toward the end of the first half.
Up after a quarter, the Pirates gave up a late run, and a Morgan Hamilton bucket at the first half horn, leading to a 29-22 deficit at the halftime break.
But just like in each of the previous matchups, the Pirates battled back.
Kendall Humphrey knocked down a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer, and the Pirates were ignited from there, trimming a 10-point deficit at one point in the third to just two points at the end of the quarter thanks to a Gaby Guard 3-pointer at the buzzer.
After trading leads and buckets in the fourth, the Tigers would get the last laugh for the third and final time this season, with Danielle Tupuola hitting three clutch shots in the final five minutes to give Napavine a 50-47 lead.
That lead would hold until about 15 seconds left in the game, when out a timeout, Guard found an opening in the lane and put a layup in with eight seconds left, only to see that time salt away while the Tigers looked to inbound the ball.
Hamilton made a free throw to give the Tigers a two-point advantage, and on a missed free throw Adna couldn’t quite get it to the rim for a miraculous finish.
“It was a dogfight again,” Schutz said. “It’s hard but it’s a good hard, these kids had to fight and claw to win. We were able to steady the storm and win. Dani’s that spark off the bench, that’s what she gives us. She’s been selfless all year, she took a role that most seniors wouldn’t want to take. She’s the reason that we’re here.”
Tupuola finished with 10 points, and Grace Gall added a team-high 11 points to help the Tigers take a double-digit lead in the second half. Schutz also praised Jessie McCoy for a strong defensive effort, finishing with four steals.
The Tigers will take on No. 2 Okanogan in the 2B state semifinals Friday night at 9 p.m.
The Pirates were led by Karlee VonMoos’ 14-point, 12-rebound double-double, and Brooklyn Loose’s game-high 15 points. Danika Hallom added 10 points and three assists from the lead guard spot.
Adna will play in a loser-out consolation semifinal game Friday at 2 p.m. against No. 8 Mabton, looking to play into a trophy game on Saturday.
“We’ve got 32 minutes tomorrow to get us 64,” Pirates coach Chris Bannish said. “We want to be playing on Saturday and we are good enough to. There are times where you come over here and you’re just glad to be here, but that isn’t the case for us. We have a winnable game Friday, if we can carry out a gameplan we can play another game on Saturday.”
