Shipp’s heroics not enough for Bonney Lake, which falls to Snohomish, 46-44
Jazmyn Shipp did everything she could, putting the team on her back in the second half of Bonney Lake’s opening-round game of the Class 4A state girls high school basketball tournament at the Tacoma Dome.
She powered past her opponents effortlessly in the paint, showed a dizzying display of deft footwork in the post and a soft touch, lofting hook shots over the outstretched hands of Snohomish defenders.
In the end, Bonney Lake’s comeback bid fell just short, with Snohomish hanging on for a 46-44 win. Bonney Lake trailed by 12 points at one point in the second half, before scratching and clawing back into the contest. So close.
“It was tough, but they’re a good team,” said Shipp, a sophomore center. “Just the fact that we were able to keep the grit and fight back even though we were down by (12) and just play as a team and play unselfish, work hard to try to win is what we want to do. We just wanted to survive and play on.”
Though Shipp effectively shouldered the load in the second half, she said that wasn’t her intention.
“I know I can’t do it by myself, so I just tried to focus on the good shots that I could take and keep trying to take good shots, see what was open and stay calm, even when we were being frantic,” she said.
Bonney Lake won’t get the chance to play on, as the team’s season came to an end with Wednesday night’s loss.
“I’m really proud of my team,” Shipp said. “We had a great student section, we’ve had amazing support all season and it’ll be a different dynamic next year without our seniors, but I’m sure we’ll be just as successful, if not more and I’m just so proud of our team for fighting.”
Bonney Lake has limited state tournament history and success, appearing in state just twice — once in the regional round in 2013 and once in 2010, losing both in the opening round and in the consolation game. Shipp returns next season and hopes the Panthers will make a return trip the Tacoma Dome, next time with a hopefully longer stay.
“I’m really excited,” Shipp said. “The fact that our young team has developed so much more over the season and just being able to grow with all these girls from our freshman year, being able to continue playing with them and grow and build more of a team dynamic is really cool, and I think we can do great things next year.”
