4AGIRLS TROPHY GAMES

BELLARMINE PREP 51, MOSES LAKE 47 (OT)

After not scoring in regulation, Ciara Gatpatan scored on back-to-back possessions in overtime, helping Bellarmine gain the separation they needed to finish third place in the 4A girls tournament.

The game was tied at 47-47 with 1:37 left in overtime. Gatpatan hit a jump shot at the top of the key, from just inside the three point line. On the very next possession, she drove the lane, finishing with the right hand, giving the Lions a 49-45 lead with under a minute to play.

“She’s a talented kid, and sometimes we have to encourage her to shoot the shots when they are there,” Bellarmine head coach Kevin Meines said.

With 2:57 left in regulation, Bellarmine had a 43-38 lead after a bucket from Reyelle Frazier. Moses Lake’s Jessica Olson answered with a 3-pointer, bringing the Chiefs within two. A putback by Abby Ruthbun tied it with 20 seconds left, sending the game to overtime.

Jenny Hagle was huge for the Lions; she led the team with 14 points, seven coming in the second quarter. She hit three 3-pointers and went 5 for 6 from the free throw line.

“She’s been doing that all year,” Meines said. “She’s one of the best shooters we have ever had. She’s not afraid of the big moment.”

Shalyse Smith was quiet offensively, scoring eight points. Her impact was felt defensively as she had a game-high 12 rebounds and added three blocks.

“She has an impact on every game, and it doesn’t have to show up in the box score,” Meines said. “She does a lot of good things defensively and is our best rebounder.”

The third-place finish is the best ever for the Bellarmine Prep girls basketball program, surpassing their fourth place finish in 2010.

CENTRAL VALLEY 47, SUNNYSIDE 26

The 4A girls fourth-place game was a sister showdown, pitting Sunnyside’s Maldonado sisters against the Hull twins of Central Valley. Lexie Hull scored 21 points, leading the Bears to a win in the Tacoma Dome.

Lexie Hull lit up the scoreboard in the second quarter. She scored 10 unanswered points, starting with a jump shot with 13 seconds left at the end of the first. She was the only Bear to score in the second quarter, scoring 12 of her 15 first-half points. The junior shot 9 for 16 for the game with eight rebounds and three assists.

“I didn’t even notice,” Hull said about the second quarter. “Someone had to shoot and make them. Everyone else was working hard, feeding me the ball. It was the team that helped out in all of it.”

Emilee Maldonado opened the game with a deep 3-pointer. She went on to score nine of her team’s 10 points first quarter points. She finished the game with 12 points, hitting three 3-pointers. The Maldonados combined for 16 of Sunnyside’s 26 points.

Central Valley was the defending state champions, and carried a 52-game win streak into the tournament. They were favored to win the tournament, before being upset by Bellarmine Prep in the quarterfinals.

“Anytime you can trophy that says something about your program,” Central Valley head coach Freddie Rehkow said. “We had one bad night, but it is what it is.”

BOYS TROPHY GAMES

GONZAGA PREP 64, RICHLAND 57

With the Richland boys basketball team feeling the exhaustion of playing games for four straight days, Gonzaga Prep took advantage of the fatigue and wore down its opponent and claim third in the 4A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome.

“The biggest thing in playing in a game like this is what you have left,” said Gonzaga Prep coach Matty McIntyre. “It’s a true test of a person’s character coming off an obviously disappointing loss last night.”

Leading the way for the Bullpups was senior guard Kea Vargas, who scored 14 points, including a key 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to give his team breathing room.

But the Bullpup’s real spark of energy came from Jamaari Jones, who finished with 13 points.

“He came in and gave us a huge lift, [Riley] Soren presents so many problems in the paint so we had to attack him,” McIntryre said. “We wanted to run and have an up-tempo so we could get Soren on the bench to go inside on the paint.”

Soren collected 10 blocks against the Bullpups bringing his tournament total to 30. That set a new boys state tournament record, passing Phil Cullen and DeAngelo Casto’s previous record of 25.

CURTIS 70, FEDERAL WAY 62

The Curtis boys basketball team earned that elusive win over the Federal Way High school to claim fourth place at the 4A state championships. The Vikings never looked back after jumping out to a ten 10-point lead in the first quarter.

And that’s exactly what Vikings coach Tim Kelly wanted from his team.

“I’m very proud of our guys and the way they finished,” he said. “Before the game, we talked about finishing the season the right way after dropping a game we had against Kentwood on Thursday.”

Having already lost to the Eagles in double-overtime at the 4A West Central District semifinals, the Vikings came out hungry for that win at state.

“We played them earlier this year and we got up them then,” said senior forward John Moore, who scored 16 points with nine assists. “So we know we could play with them. It didn’t surprise me.”

“Moore probably plays better as a small forward but because of our lack of size, we had to use him as a post all three years he’s played,” Kelly said. “When the chips were down this week, he played three great games. I’m proud of him for that.”

Zack Paulsen would lead the Vikings in scoring with 19 points.

Despite the loss, the Eagles had good offensive games from the big three of Marcus Stephens, Malcolm Cola and Rashon Slaughter. They scored 16 points, 15 and 13 respectively.

But in a year where they set the state record for consecutive wins at 63 games, the Eagles have to settle for sixth place in the state tournament.

This story was originally published March 4, 2017 at 10:25 PM with the headline "4AGIRLS TROPHY GAMES."