A blowout turned into a shootout Wednesday night.
Mount Rainier displayed slightly better marksmanship to beat Auburn Riverside, 78-73.
The Rams, who remain undefeated at 19-0, had a sizable 24-point advantage in the third quarter, but the game proved to be far from over.
Mounting a comeback behind a balanced attack featuring six players, the Ravens outscored Mount Rainier by 19 points in the final 12 minutes.
“We thought we had enough to hold on, but it kept getting closer,” Mount Rainier coach Bob Bolam said. “We fear a little complacency when you get up by that far. You think you got it done. But these kids haven’t been in this situation a lot, so we’ll learn from it and get better.”
The five point difference was the smallest margin of victory for Mount Rainier this season and just the third time the Rams have allowed an opponent to finish within 10 points.
Despite the collapse, Bolam said the tough win will benefit his team as the playoffs approach.
“We haven’t had a lot of games like this this year,” Bolam said. “To get these now is only going to help us. (It) gets us ready for intensity, a little more crowd noise; all of those things are just going to help us. We’re glad to have them and come out on top.”
A big reason for the Rams’ win was the play of star sophomore Brittany McPhee. The 5-foot-11 forward finished with a game-high 22 points and was a menace on both ends of the court. Senior Kiana Gandy also contributed 20 points.
Erin Bang and Kendall Foster led Auburn Riverside with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
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