Top-ranked Woodinville explodes in third quarter, rolls into 4A title game
For a half of basketball, No. 6 Glacier Peak hung with top-ranked Woodinville in Friday’s 4A girls state semifinal at the Tacoma Dome.
In the third quarter, the undefeated Falcons showed exactly why they’ve earned that ranking, outscoring the Grizzlies by 20 and rolling to a 63-41 victory and a spot in Saturday’s state championship game.
“Every team talks about third quarters,” Woodinville head coach Scott Bullock said. “In the first half we had a 10 or 12-point lead and we gave it back to them. In the third quarter, it was anybody’s game, and we came out and played our best basketball of the year.”
Junior Mia Hughes led the Falcons with 23 points, but she had some help. Sophomore Tatum Thompson added 17 points, shooting 7-for-13 from the field.
“Tatum was amazing,” Bullock said. “We talked before the game that every game it can be someone different that steps up. Yesterday, it was Mia. In our district championship it was Veronica (Sheffey), and today I felt like it was Tatum. She’s 15-years old. Last year, she was on our team here, but she never got off the bench. In one year, you can see what’s happened. The sky is the limit for that girl.”
Thompson admitted to having some jitters in the Falcons’ quarterfinal win on Thursday, but clearly settled down on Friday.
“Last game, I was a little more nervous and scared,” Thompson said. “This game, I was thinking I need to be more aggressive in the first half.”
The Falcons (28-0) will look to complete a perfect season at 5 p.m. on Saturday when they face No. 3 Central Valley for the championship.
“I’m really excited,” Thompson said. “We’ve worked so hard as a team. I feel like we get better every single game. Our chemistry is really good because we always hang out together outside of this.”
The third quarter was decisive in the Falcons’ victory, but Glacier Peak head coach Brian Hill said not much actually changed during the period.
“I don’t even know even know if it changed in the third quarter as much as we didn’t execute as well,” Hill said. “It’s them. Woodinville is good. They were playing great in the second quarter when they made that big run. Honestly, we got kind of lucky buckets to make that large lead a little closer, which was great. It gives us a little bit of momentum going into (the second half). But Woodinville came out and flipped to that other gear.”
For the Falcons, a little rest and a minor adjustment was all they needed to put the game away after halftime.
“We got a little bit of rest in the locker room, and then we just kept pushing the ball because they were face-guarding and double-teaming Veronica, so I got the ball and looked up,” Thompson said. “When they were double-teaming there was one person wide open so I just got it to them.”
Glacier Peak (22-5) will face No. 7 Union at 8 a.m. on Saturday in the fourth/sixth-place game.
At Tacoma Dome
Glacier Peak- 11 13 7 10 - 41
Woodinville- 11 16 27 9 - 63
Glacier Peak – Aaliyah Collins 13, Shaylin Sande 4, Malia Smith 3, Madison Rubino 2, Maya Erling 13, Kylani Rookstool 2, Grace Godines 0, Sydney Hill 0, Kailyn Allison 4, Sarah Rubino 0, Elyse Waldal 0, Zoe Macris 0. Woodinville – Tatum Thompson 17, Veronica Sheffey 7, Jaela Eggers 5, Mia Hughes 23, Brooke Beresford 9, Adie Segadelli 0, Mira Milat 0, Emma Torrie 0, Natalie Bright 2, Hannah Bowles 0, Autumn Sellie 0.