YAKIMA — Karley Eaton missed her first nine 3-point attempts for Mark Morris against W.F. West on Saturday.
Her 10th attempt early in overtime, after a missed switch on a screen by the Bearcats, was a dagger in the heart of W.F. West.
That kick-started top-ranked Mark Morris to a 56-44 overtime victory over the Bearcats in the title game of the Class 2A state girls tournament.
The Monarchs held the Bearcats scoreless in overtime to win their first state championship.
The Bearcats were a different team in the overtime, committing four turnovers.
“That killed us,” W.F. West coach Henri Weeks said. “We had a breakdown at a critical time.”
In a battle of District IV rivals, Mark Morris (25-2) swept three games this season against W.F. West (22-5), champion of the 2A Evergreen Conference. The Monarchs won the nonleague
matchup, 61-45, and the District IV title game, 49-43.
But for a while, a win looked to be in the Bearcats’ grasp in the biggest game of the season. W.F. West built a 22-12 lead in the first half, only to go cold the final 6 minutes, 6 seconds of the second quarter and watch the Monarchs use a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 22-19 at halftime.
W.F. West held a 44-42 lead with 42 seconds to go in regulation on a basket by Olivia Erskine, who was named to the all-tournament second team and finished with 13 points and six rebounds. But Eaton’s putback with 25.2 seconds remaining tied it at 44, and the Bearcats were unable convert on their final possession of regulation, sending the title game into a four-minute extra session.
Prior to her only 3-pointer of the game at the start of overtime, Eaton was in foul trouble after picking up her fourth foul with 4:35 remaining and went to the bench with Mark Morris’ lead at 37-32.
Ten of the 12 overtime points came from the Eaton identical twins, who each finished with 13 points. Kourtney Eaton was named tournament MVP.
Jamika Parker, named to the all-tournament first team, had nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds in her final high school game for W.F. West. Sophomore Julie Spencer was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line and finished with 13 points for the Bearcats.
The championship game was a first for the program; its previous-best finish at state came in 1989 when the Bearcats placed third at the Class 3A state tournament.
“The girls played a hell of a game, and had a hell of a year,” Weeks said.
THIRD/FIFTH PLACE
Renton 34, River Ridge 33: Junior Taylor Farris took the inbounds pass and went coast-to-coast to make the winning basket with 2.2 seconds remaining for the Indians (22-5).
Farris had a game-high 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Renton, which had its best showing at state in the program’s history.
River Ridge, after losing in overtime in the semifinals against W.F. West, had more turnovers (16) than points (14) in the first half.
“We let (Friday’s loss) have an effect on what we did,” said River Ridge’s Catriece Baker, one of five seniors who played their final high school game. “We might not have played our best game today, but fifth place isn’t bad.”
Jazzlynn Brewster had 17 points for the Hawks (20-7). Her two free throws with 9.4 seconds to go gave River Ridge its final lead before Farris’ final basket.
Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473 mwochnick@theolympian.com www.theolympian.com/southsoundsports
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