Trailing by 13 points, Walla Walla used a 14-2 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters to fuel a 74-69 comeback victory over Treasure Valley Wednesday night in a Northwest Athletic Conference East Region women’s basketball game in the Dietrich Dome.
Cierra Jo McKeown drained back-to-back 3-point baskets during that surge and Emily Hancock, Kate Ferenz, Jade Skidmore and Makenzie Reddish chipped in as the Warriors roared back to take a 10-point lead with time becoming a factor.
“Everyone contributed,” WWCC coach Bobbi Hazeltine said. “I could name all five of our starters.”
However, the Chukars knocked down a couple of triples and Treasure Valley drew within three points with 19 seconds on the clock. Ferenz was fouled with four seconds to play and her two free throws iced the victory.
“They decided to go for the steal rather than foul,” Warriors coach Bobbi Hazeltine said. “We did a good job of moving the ball around real fast and finally they had to foul.”
Walla Walla improved to 6-1 in East Region play, 13-3 overall, and remains one game behind Spokane in the region standings. The Sasqutch are 7-0 in league and 16-2 overall following Wednesday’s 80-38 victory over Blue Mountain in Spokane.
Walla Walla closes out the first round of region games Saturday at Columbia Basin College in Pasco. The Hawks are 3-3 and 11-6, tied with Treasure Valley for fourth place.
McKeown finished her night with 21 points, Ferenz and Reddish added 14 points each and Skidmore contributed 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Hancock added eight points and six rebounds.
Reddish grabbed five rebounds and dished out a game-best five assists in what Hazeltine said was the best game of the freshman guard’s collegiate career.
WWCC trailed 19-18 after one quarter and fell behind 36-27 at the intermission. The Chukars then extended their lead to 13 points before the Walla Wallans turned things around.
“In the first half we got a lot of great looks that rimmed out,” Hazletine said. “It was a matter of chipping away and finally our shots started going in.”
Spokane, the team responsible for WWCC’s only league loss, invades the Dietrich Dome next Wednesday. But Hazeltine anticipates a difficult game Saturday in Pasco and doesn’t want her players looking past the Hawks.
“This is a great start for these guys and we like where we are at right now,” she said. “But we need to get excited about CBC because they are really good.”
