Prairie girls rebound for title triumph
After losing to Holy Names last year in the Class 3A state championship game, the Prairie Falcons fought their way back this year.
This time they weren’t going to be denied a state championship.
Top-ranked Prairie jumped out to a halftime lead and had no trouble finishing things off, snapping Franklin’s 20-game winning streak with a 54-44 victory in the 3A state title game Saturday night at the Tacoma Dome.
Guard Cori Woodward led the way for the Falcons with 13 points. University of Washington-bound guard Heather Corral, who was voted most valuable player of the 3A girls tournament struggled from the field, scoring six points on 1-for-8 shooting from the field.
She added five assists, six steals and two blocks.
“All the hours, all the sweat, all the yelling, it’s all worth it,” Corral said. “Everything is worth it.”
It was Prairie’s first 3A girls state title since 1993. The Falcons have won four 4A titles.
Third-ranked Franklin, looking for its first girls state title, put itself in an early hole. The Quakers (24-4) shot 27 percent from the field and turned the ball over 15 times.
Prairie (27-1) played with the consistency and poise that got it to the Tacoma Dome, shooting 38 percent from the field in the half and getting at least one point from six different players.
Leading 17-13, the Falcons closed the final 3:23 of first half with a 10-4 run to take a 27-17 lead into halftime.
Franklin managed to hang around, with Mariah Rogers’ long jumper banking in before the third quarter buzzer to cut the deficit to 37-28.
But Prairie had too much firepower. Already up 43-30 early in the fourth, Woodward scored on a driving lay-up, and seconds later added another bucket off a steal and feed from Corral to push the lead to 47-30. The Quakers suffered 25 turnovers.
Megan Lindsley added 11 points, while Andrea Smith and Jackie Lanz each finished with 10, as Prairie had four players score in double figures.
Jadea Brundidge led Franklin with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
After suffering a nasty fall that required her to be rolled out on a gurney midway through the first quarter, Franklin’s Kayla Ivy returned to the game early in the fourth quarter.
