Rogers girls go cold in 4A district loss to Union, 50-36

Just like that, the Rogers Rams face a must-win scenario when the Class 4A West Central/Southwest bi-district girls basketball tournament resumes on Tuesday.

The Rams went ice cold from the field on Saturday afternoon at Wilson High, where the Union Titans handed Rogers a quarterfinal loss, 50-36.

Rogers entered the final eight minutes with a two-point lead. The Rams proceeded to make just two of 15 shots in the final quarter.

“And that’s the game,” Rogers coach Amy Looker said. “We got a lot of open looks that didn’t go. We go back to telling them, ‘win every quarter.’ With that many open shots, I never would have thought we’d have lost that quarter.”

As cold as the Rams (20-2) went, they still had a chance inside the final three minutes.

Jenai Ancheta made a short shot in the lane with 2:44 to play that got Rogers within three, 39-36.

They were the last points the Rams would score in the contest.

Rogers had extended its lead to 34-30 with the first basket of the quarter - a Raigan Barrett score with 7:02 to play. Barrett and Ancheta finished with a team-high 13 points each.

The victory sends Union (18-4) into a bi-district semifinal against another upset winner at Wilson on Saturday, the Decatur Gators. Decatur made four free throws in the final 49 seconds to send Kentridge into the consolation bracket, 38-34.

The Titans and Gators also punched their tickets to the 4A regional round in two weeks. Kentridge and Rogers still have work to do to take the next step toward the state tournament in the Tacoma Dome.

The Rams will play Auburn Mountainview in a loser-out game on Tuesday at Stadium High.

“There is a lot more on the line on Tuesday,” Looker said. “It’s a must-win. But that’s what the playoffs are about.”

The Rams opportunity at redemption, a chance to avenge a first-round loss at the Tacoma Dome a year ago, suddenly is in jeopardy.

It didn’t look as though that would be the case when the final quarter began on Saturday.

The Rams had erased a 22-21 halftime deficit with a 9-4 run to begin the third quarter. Ancheta’s make with 3:52 left in the quarter gave Rogers a 30-26 lead.

But Mason Oberg made two free throws to close the third, getting the Titans within two, 32-30, heading into the fourth. For Union’s part, it made its last field goal with 1:54 left to play.

But the Titans made nine of 12 free throws in the quarter to pull away down the stretch.

Oberg was five of six from the line in the last 1:04 of the game to finish with a game-high 21 points.