Sumner holds off Emerald Ridge to win 4A SPSL tournament championship, 71-61
The way the players in purple reacted, it could have been the state title that just had come to Sumner. But that quest begins in earnest next Friday, when the District 3/4 bi-district basketball tournament starts.
Saturday’s hard-fought 71-61 victory over Emerald Ridge, played before a packed house at Graham-Kapowsin High, did bring a special title with it however.
“This is our first year, where we haven’t had a Covid year, where we’ve won league,” senior Alyson Deaver said. “So it was a big deal to all of us. We’re building a new legacy.”
These Spartans did win the 4A SPSL title last spring, during the pandemic-delayed and truncated season. But Sumner played less than 10 games total and far fewer than that within the league that ended June 10.
The Spartans’ victory on Saturday ran their record to 20-2 overall, including one forfeit loss to Rogers earlier that is the only game Sumner has “lost” to another SPSL team this season. So the championship victory against the Jaguars (16-4) meant something.
“It’s huge,” Sumner coach Katie Hyppa said. “We talk about it every day. I think there’ve been even like three or four league championships (overall) in Sumner’s history. Not a lot, right. Not a lot. And our goal is to be playing in March. There’s a lot in between.”
Preparation for the bi-district challenges will begin on Sunday.
The challenge presented by Emerald Ridge on Saturday, though, provided a solid stepping stone. Especially after Sumner had handled the Jaguars easily during the regular season, winning by 19 points, 74-55.
“They’re a top-10 team,” Hyppa said. “They have fight and they have skill. For us, that’s what we want to play going into districts. It was a good test for us tonight. It gets us ready going into next Friday, and they shot the ball well in the first quarter. Did they miss?”
Well, yes, Emerald Ridge did miss a few shots in the first eight minutes. But the Jaguars also made a bunch.
Emerald Ridge raced to a 9-0 lead, culminating with Marecia Barnett’s first two of her 12 points with 4 minutes, 15 seconds left in the opening quarter. Sumner responded with an 11-2 spurt of its own to tiethe contest on a Lainee Houillan basket with 2:14 to play, but still trailed it 16-11 after one quarter.
Alyson Deaver, her sister Catelyn, and Houillan then exerted themselves offensively and on the boards, sweeping rebounds on both ends as the Spartans stormed back and in front by the half. Alyson Deaver eventually would finish with a game-high 28 points, while Houillan added 19 to pace four Spartans in double figures.
Naomi Senato and Kali Haizlip each had 15 points to lead four Jaguars in double figures, as well.
“I think just our ability to keep going and not get down in those moments, really helped bring us back,” Deaver said. “We were down like 11-0 in the first quarter. I don’t think we were ready for how prepared they were.”
The championship then evolved into sometime of a prize fight – at least until the 3:11 mark of the fourth quarter.
Seconds earlier, Maya Barnett made one of two free throws for Emerald Ridge, keeping the Jaguars within striking distance at 58-54 with 3:36 left to play.
But with 3:11 left, Kaylee Cooper drained a 3-pointer. On the Spartans next possession, Cooper scored again in the lane and suddenly the lead was nine, 63-54.
Sumner then made eight of 10 free throws down the stretch as Emerald Ridge never got closer than seven (66-59 with 1:26 left) again.
“They did a good job getting to the free throw line,” Emerald Ridge coach Arvin Mosley, Jr., said. “They did a good job getting to the basket and creating situations that got them to the line, and they got to the paint a little better than we wanted.”
Still, unlike the first time around, Emerald Ridge had a chance late.
“To me, that’s a two-possession game,” Emerald Ridge coach Arvin Mosley, Jr., said. “That’s what I told the girls. Not the points, it was a 10- or 11-point game. But it was a missed layup somewhere and it was a turnover somewhere, that’s just what it was.”
Two missed layups, in fact, hurt the Jaguars chances down the stretch.
Sumner, which had trailed by double digits twice in the first half and came back to take a 36-32 lead at the half, maintained that advantage through three quarters. When Houillan scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, the Spartans lead grew to 52-46.
A quick 3-pointer from Senato and two Marecia Barnett free throws closed the gap back to just a single point, 52-51, with 6:36 left.
After two Catelyn Deaver free throws made it 54-51, Emerald Ridge got two consecutive turnovers that led to layups. But instead of leading it 55-54, the Jaguars failed to convert on either attempt. Each Deaver then scored to extend the margin back to seven, 58-51, as Sumner went on to win the league title.
This story was originally published February 5, 2022 at 10:08 PM.