10th-ranked Beamer girls stunned in season-ending loss to Union

The Todd Beamer Titans and girls basketball coach Corey Alexander have built and sustained something special.

In the six years since Alexander took over the program in 2012-13, he’s molded a program that has reached the regional round or better in each of the last six seasons.

However, for the first time since the 2013-14 season, the Titans won’t be playing in the Tacoma Dome as they fell 48-37 to the Union Titans on Friday at Puyallup High School.

With the loss, 10th-ranked Beamer (20-6) had its season come to an end, while Union moves on to face either Camas or Central Valley at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome in the first round of the state tournament.

And it came just over a week after Beamer cruised past Union, 69-45, in the 4A West Central/Southwest bidistrict tournament.

“You know, I can’t throw any salt on our season,” Beamer coach Corey Alexander said. “These girls played hard. That goes a long way after I think a lot of groups counted us out.

“I think we just played a little tight. It was loser-out, and other tangibles, but it’s a learning thing. It’s a hard learning curve, but a learning curve nonetheless.”

Union came out in the opening minutes playing like the team it was in the first meeting between the two. The matchup zone they opened the game with forced three Beamer turnovers in the first two minutes.

Once Beamer worked its way through the zone, both teams traded turnovers and transition baskets, but it was Union with the 10-9 lead after the first quarter.

Just as Union did in the first meeting, it found the hot hand in sophomore guard Mackenzie Lewis early through the opening minutes of the second quarter. Her five straight points helped balloon the Titans lead to 15-9 before Beamer was forced to call timeout.

“Today everybody kind of played tense,” Alexander said. “Our seniors Makenzie (Bond) and Chasity (Spady) did a good job of leading by example, but they can’t do it all for us all the time.”

It was a timeout that seemingly brought Beamer right back to life. Immediate baskets from Bond and Halo Parks, followed by back-to-back steals by Aaliyah Alexander and Spady sparked a 13-7 run to close out the first half and the Titans caught Union at 22 heading into the break.

Both teams came out strong in the opening moments of the third quarter. Parks opened the second half with a jumper just outside the paint, but it was Union’s Lewis who continued her unstoppable play.

On the very next possession she dribbled the ball the length of the floor and converted an uncontested layup, which resulted in a 7-2 run for the Union Titans.

With five seconds remaining in the quarter, Lewis impressed again as she drained a tightly-contested 3-pointer to give Union the 34-29 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“We always say with one we are kind of weak, but together we are strong,” Union coach Mike Cranston said. “And Mackenzie had a heck of a game. She is going to be a really, really good player. And I can’t wait to see it.”

As Beamer cut the Union lead to 36-33 early in the fourth quarter, it was Lewis, again, who provided back-to-back scores to put the game out of reach for Beamer, the first, another uncontested floater in the paint followed by a turnaround jumper.

The sophomore finished with 18 points in the win. Beamer was led by seniors Chasity Spady and Makenzie Bond. Spady finished with 12 points, while Bond had 10.

The loss for the Titans of Federal Way comes as a bit of a surprise after facing Union just nine days earlier and handing them a 69-45 loss.

It was a game in which Beamer trailed by as many as eight points early in the second quarter. Beamer eventually caught fire and went on a 24-9 run in the third quarter, which not only gave it the lead, but also the eventual win.

“Sometimes young teams like ours are scary,” Cranston said. “They’re scary because they just don’t know any better. They really got to us and broke us down last time. We went right back to work, and they worked hard because they really wanted this one.”

During that run, it was sophomore guard Aaliyah Alexander’s 22 points that led the Titans in the come-from-behind win. This time around, Union held to just six points and forced three turnovers.

While the loss is a tough one for the Beamer Titans, particularly for seniors Makenzie Bond, who holds the school record for double-doubles (17), and Chasity Spady, the program has a lot to look forward to.

The Titans will likely return six juniors and one senior, all with state tournament experience. And, Corey Alexander, the conductor behind Beamer’s run of success will have a new canvas to continue the Titan standard.

“This sophomore class I have is tough,” Corey Alexander said. “I have girls that will go back to the lab and get ready to play. I am very proud of them. They have to be proud to be a part of this program and everything we’ve done.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2018 at 11:36 PM with the headline "10th-ranked Beamer girls stunned in season-ending loss to Union."