Gardner, top-seeded Mead pass 3A hoops semifinal test against Snohomish at T-Dome

Defensively, it was the same Mead. And with that element firmly in place, the Panthers from the eastern side of the mountains didn’t need a ton of offense, which was good.

Because Mead didn’t get a lot in a 56-50 victory over Snohomish on Friday night at the Tacoma Dome. As they say though, a win is a win.

This win pushed top-seeded Mead into its first state girls basketball championship game since 2013, when the Panthers beat Puyallup for the 4A title. Mead will face either Lakeside or Garfield in the 9 p.m. 3A championship game.

“I was talking to coach and we were saying, it’s been long enough,” senior guard Teryn Gardner said. “This is the perfect time, with this team.”

It was the Bulldogs who ended Mead’s title hopes just a year ago in a 63-54 semifinal loss.

Snohomish held the Boise State-bound Gardner scoreless in the first half of the semifinal. Still, Mead built a 15-point halftime advantage, 29-14. Though she finally did get on the board midway through the third quarter, driving the lane and flicking in a layup, Gardner was held to her lowest point output of the season with just 13.

“I thought we had great first-shot defense in the first half,” Snohomish coach Ken Roberts said. “They made shots on their second and third attempts, but you can’t give those up against good teams.”

The 13 points Gardner was held to tied her season low, done twice before Friday night. Her teammates picked up the slack against Snohomish, though it didn’t stay as easy as the first half.

Led by Gracie Wenkheimer’s five 3-pointers for 15 total points, Mead held off a potential late run from Snohomish, which made three 3-pointers down the stretch, at the free throw line.

“That’s just a trust factor that we have,” Gardner said. “I trust all my teammates. Taking me out of it, yeah, it’ll affect us. But we have so many other scorers that we can rely on. Gracie is just a clutch 3-point shooter.”

Twice in the final three minutes, Snohomish closed the gap to five points. First, Lizzie Allen buried a 3-pointer with 2:50 remaining to get it to 46-41. Then with 2:35 to go, Tyler Gildersleeve-Stiles made a layup, was fouled, and converted the free throw for a three-point play that made it 49-44.

This story was originally published March 1, 2024 at 9:39 PM.