Bishop Blanchet 58, Lynnwood 57: Top-seeded Braves rally, thwart upset bid

The second half belonged to Bishop Blanchet on Thursday. But just barely.

The top-ranked Braves were pushed to the limit by Lynnwood, but ultimately held on to win, 58-57, and advance to the state 3A girls basketball semifinals. Bishop Blanchet will play Lincoln in at 3:45 p.m. Friday.

“We knew that they were going to keep coming at us,” said Braves coach Brett Hecko. “They are pressure, pressure, pressure. We know that Kaprice Boston is a fabulous scorer and so is Kelsey Rogers. She is a load.”

At the half, Lynwood actually led, 28-24 as Boston scored 17 of her game-high 25 points in the opening two quarters. Rogers added six points in the first half and finished with 17.

But the game got tighter in the third quarter as Bishop Blanchet fought back to a 44-44 tie. The Braves began exploiting their advantage on the boards behind Annie Maher and Jadyn Bush.

Maher was key in the second half, scoring 11 points and grabbing eight boards to fuel the comeback.

Both Maher and Bush recorded double-doubles – Maher finishing with 13 points and 13 boards, Bush with 22 and 12 – which allowed Bishop Blanchet to post a 40-25 rebounding advantage in the game.

“I think they were fine (in the final minutes). It’s not like we haven’t had close games before,” said Hecko about his team, which improved to 24-1. “Its been a grind ever since the Metro playoffs. We’ve been in battles so they are tested.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Bishop Blanchet 58, Lynnwood 57: Top-seeded Braves rally, thwart upset bid."