Hughes scores 34 to lead top-ranked Woodinville over No. 2 Todd Beamer
When the Woodinville and Todd Beamer girls basketball teams met in the first game of the season, the Falcons scored a runaway 33-point victory.
There would be no such blowout on Thursday when the top-ranked Falcons met the second-ranked Titans in the 4A state quarterfinals. Todd Beamer proved to be more than up for the challenge, leading by as many as seven points and holding the lead at halftime.
The only problem for the Titans was Woodinville’s star junior forward Mia Hughes. Hughes scored a game-high 34 points and seemingly provided a bucket for the Falcons every time they needed it in the second half. The result was a 57-50 victory for Woodinville and a trip to the semifinals, where it will face No. 6 Glacier Peak at 3:45 p.m. on Friday.
“I wish I could tell you how she does it,” Woodinville head coach Scott Bullock said of Hughes. “She’s so fun to coach. Most of it is just because she has a will, a determination and tenacity that you can’t teach a kid and can’t coach a kid (to have). She’s going to just battle and fight. Obviously, today was one of her better games.”
Hughes had nine of her 34 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-point play with 28 seconds to go that gave the Falcons a 54-50 lead and all but put the game out of reach for the Titans.
“I’ve been here, this is my third year here, so I’m kind of an elder of the dome and an elder of the state tournament,” Hughes said. “So I think, having the younger ones being able to look up to me scoring-wise and intensity-wise is going to be really important, because they have to see how they need to be to get close games like this. We’re not used to playing close games like this, so I think me picking up the pace on offense shows the younger ones that they need to pick up the pace, which is going to be really important. I definitely didn’t try to score that many points, I just looked to the basket when the ball was in my hands.”
Todd Beamer’s three senior stars led the way, Aaliyah Alexander had a team-high 21 points, Sharay Trotter had 16 and Halo Parks added 13. Alexander, Trotter and Parks were the only players to score for the Titans.
“We knew coming in to the game that those were the three scorers,” Hughes said. “We obviously watched film and we’ve seen them play before and reflected on the first game of the season. We know Halo is a shooter and we know Aayliyah is one of the top players in this tournament. You know they’re going to score. They’re good players and they’re going to score. We’re just trying to keep them under a certain amount where we can still get the game is important for us.”
Despite the loss, Todd Beamer head coach Corey Alexander was pleased with his team’s effort, especially after getting blown out by the Falcons in their first meeting.
“That first game was at the beginning of the season,” Alexander said. “A lot’s changed. People got in shape, and we just came ready to play.”
The Titans are still alive for a trophy. They will play No. 4 Chiawana at 9 a.m. on Friday for a berth in the fourth/sixth-place game.
At Tacoma Dome
Todd Beamer 16 9 14 11 - 50
Woodinville 13 11 19 14 - 57
Todd Beamer – Sharay Trotter 16, Halo Parks 13, Najahia Forks 0, Aaliyah Alexander 21, Brooklyn Humphrey 0, Alisaundria Hardwell 0, Jayoscia Sears 0. Woodinville – Tatum Thompson 4, Veronica Sheffey 4, Jaela Eggers 2, Mia Hughes 34, Brooke Beresford 9, Adie Segadelli 0, Natalie Bright 4.