In a rematch of last year’s NWAC title tilt, the WWCC women get the best of Spokane, 72-68.
In a game that was eerily similar to last year’s Northwest Athletic Conference championship game in Everett, East Region rivals Walla Walla and Spokane battled into overtime Wednesday night in the Dietrich Dome.
But unlike last March when Spokane edged WWCC 76-73 to claim the women’s basketball title, the Warriors came out on top this time, 72-68, as both squads launched their league campaigns.
“Very similar,” Walla Walla coach Bobbi Hazeltine said in assessing the last two meetings between her team and the Sasquatch. “Especially going into overtime after however many months ago, 290 days, because I’ve been counting.”
Cierra Jo McKeown led the way for the Warriors with 26 points, including an 18-point explosion in the third quarter that enabled Walla Walla to take a 49-39 lead after a back-and-forth first half.
“We came out and scored 25 points in the third quarter after scoring just 24 points in the first half,” Hazeltine pointed out.
The Warriors led 51-39 with 8:22 showing on the fourth-quarter clock and 57-47 with 4:14 remaining in regulation.
“We didn’t score again until there were 10 seconds left,” Hazeltine said. “And they were just shooting lights out.”
Jade Skidmore sank 1-of-2 free throws for a 58-56 Warriors lead with 10 seconds on the clock. But the Sasquatch’s Rose Mongoyak drove the baseline and hit a 10-foot jumper that tied the score at 58-58 and sent the game into overtime.
Spokane went up 65-60 midway through the extra session, but the Warriors gamely fought back. Baskets by Kaileigh Dietrich-Denton and Teresa Acock cut the difference to a single point with 1:45 to play and Skidmore hit a pair of free throws for a 66-65 Warriors lead with 47 seconds left.
Two free throws each by McKeown and Taylor Turner improved WWCC’s advantage to 70-65. Spokane’s Shaye Swannack knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a two-point game, but two more free throws by McKeown sealed the WWCC victory with 1.4 seconds on the clock.
Acock scored 14 points for the Warriors. But she and McKeown, the team’s two leading scorers, were a combined 13-for-43 from the field and just 4-of-16 from beyond the 3-point line.
“Cierra Jo and Teresa struggled,” Hazeltine said. “Spokane is really long, especially at the guard positions, and they blocked 11 of our shots.”
Jessica Olson, who had five of those blocks, led the Sasquatch with 23 points. Mongoyak came off the bench to score 14 points and Swannack finished with 12 points and six blocked shots.
Skidmore had nine points and nine rebounds for WWCC, and Dietrich-Denton contributed eight points in a reserve role.
Walla Walla, now 13-1 overall, is idle Saturday and returns to action next Wednesday at Wenatchee. Spokane, 9-3, hosts Treasure Valley Saturday.
Warriors 72, Sasquatch 68
SPOKANE (68) — Blair 2-6 0-0 5, Graham 3-11 1-2 10, Mongeon 1-6 0-0 2, Olson 9-15 1-2 23, Swannack 4-14 0-0 12, French 1-1 0-0 2, Kohlar 0-1 0-0 0, Mongoyak 7-13 0-0 14. Totals 27-67 2-4 68.
WALLA WALLA (72) — McKeown 9-28 6-6 26, Acock 4-15 4-4 14, Skidmore 3-9 3-4 9, Turner 1-3 2-2 4, Peralez 2-4 0-0 4, Hutchison 1-5 1-2 3, Radford 0-2 0-0 0, Gunter 2-3 0-0 4, Bowen 0-0 0-0 0, Dietrich-Denton 4-7 0-0 8. Totals 26-76 16-18 72.
Spokane167161910—68
Walla Walla81625914—72
3-point goals — Spokane 12-29 (Blair 1-3, Graham 3-7, Mongeon 0-4, Olson 4-6, Swannack 4-8, Kohlar 0-1), WWCC 4-16 (McKeown 2-8, Acock 2-8). Total fouls — Spokane 16, WWCC 10. Fouled out — Spokane (Mongeon, Olson). Technical fouls — none. Rebounds — WWCC 37 (Skidmore 9), Spokane 31 (Olson 7, Swannack 7). Turnovers — Spokane 12, WWCC 12. Assists — WWCC 9 (Acock 3), Spokane 6 (Graham 2, Olson 2, Swannack 2).
Union Bulletin
