Kirk Hirota/For The Olympian
Tenino's Whitney Evander dives for a loose ball in front of Chelan's Coco Poirier during Chelan's 46-43 semifinal win over the Beavers at the 2A girls state tournament on Friday. Tenino plays a consolation game today.

Tenino's grit runs afoul

Beavers play consolation game today

GAIL WOOD THE OLYMPIAN

YAKIMA -- They were like the knight in the movie, "Monte Python and the Holy Grail."

Lop, Nikki Johnson went to the bench with four fouls in the third quarter. Lop, Amanda Homman was whistled for her fourth, joining Johnson on the bench early in the fourth.

And, like that stubborn knight who kept losing body parts in his duel, Tenino kept fighting on against Chelan on Friday in the semifinals of the girls 2A state championship. The Beavers kept coming up with the big basket, refusing to quit.

But in the end, Tenino couldn't overcome foul trouble, turnovers and 25-percent shooting, losing 46-43 and dropping the Beavers into the losers bracket today against formerly top-ranked Lakeside. Lakeside's 50-game win streak was snapped by East Valley in a 43-35 defeat in the other semifinal game.

"When somebody goes down, someone else steps up," Johnson said. "That's what this team has done all year. But foul trouble caught up with us. We wanted this so bad."

Rather than playing for first place today against East Valley, Tenino, dropping to 23-3, will be playing for third or sixth.

"It's tough to score when you're on the bench in foul trouble," Tenino coach Jason Suess said. "I thought we got a couple of questionable calls. But refs don't lose games. We had our chances."

Early in the third quarter, Tenino looked like it had zero chances when it fell behind 28-21. But the fourth-ranked Beavers, just as they have all season, rallied, going on an 8-0 run to go ahead 29-28 on Johnson's left-handed hook coming across the key.

Johnson scored six of the Beavers eight points during that stretch.

"I was just trying to make something happen," said Johnson, who led her team with 12 points. "I had been sitting on the bench in foul trouble for so long."

Foul trouble caught up with Tenino early. Johnson picked up her fourth with 3:42 left in the third quarter and took her 16.8 average to the bench. Homann then picked up her fourth just six seconds into the fourth quarter. Jenn Larson, Homann's replacement and the Beavers' only other center, then sprained a knee a minute later, falling to the floor in pain and going to the bench for the rest of the game.

With 2:06 left, Chelan took a 44-40 lead on Kayla Pilkinton's three-point play on a driving layin. It was her only basket of the game.

But Tenino's Whitney Evander sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key, pulling her team to within 44-43 with 10 seconds left.

Chelan's Coco Poirier, a junior guard who led her team with 18 points, then swished two free throws to give the Goats a three-point lead with seven seconds left. Evander hoisted a shot from near half court that would have tied the score, but her shot fell short.

Tenino, pulling out a one-point win the night before against Ephrata, again covered for poor shooting with a hustling, pressure defense that forced six turnovers in the last three minutes.

"We panicked-passed," Chelan coach Mike Haerling said. "Tenino has a lot of depth and they kept coming at us. We go six deep."

Chelan, which improved to 22-5, shot better than 33 percent and was outscored 12-5 in the third quarter, allowing the Beavers to get back into the game.

"We don't have that kind of offense where we can pull away," Haerling said. "When we lost my daughter (Nikki) to a knee injury earlier in the season, we lost 17 points and our ballhandler."

Suess gambled early, putting Homann back into the game late in the first quarter after she picked up two quick fouls three minutes into the game. With Homann, a 5-foot-10 sophomore and the tallest player on the team, on the bench, Chelan skipped passes inside to 6-foot Andrea Clark, who hit back-to-back layins.

Homann returned with 1:08 left in the first quarter, helping to clog the middle and holding Clark, who leads her team in scoring with 17.3 points per game, to just one basket the rest of the half.

"We needed to have her in there," said Suess, whose voice was hoarse from shouting and who asked the band to stop playing so he could talk with his team. "We needed her rebounding and defense. She's an amazing rebounder."

Tenino, which again struggled with its shooting touch, trailed by only 26-21 at halftime despite shooting only 21 percent from the floor (7-for-32).

By halftime, the Beavers were already in foul trouble. Johnson picked up her third a minute into the second quarter and sat the rest of the half. Homann, Ashlee Fitch and Crystal Vanderhoof all had two fouls by half.

If Tenino beats Lakeside, it will place third. If the Beavers lose, they finish sixth. Tenino placed eighth last season.

"We've still got life," Suess said. "We've got one more game. We'll face Lakeside, which will be tough. But we'll get after them."

Gail Wood covers sports for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5432 or GWOOD@olympia.gannett.com

For more prep sports go to the Prep Sports section.

Chelan 46, Tenino 43

- Today: Tenino vs. Lakeside, 5 p.m.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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