Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Davenport sophomore Addie Schneider looks to pass against the defense of Colfax's Ava Swan in the District 7 2B Championship Saturday, Feb. 10.
SPOKANE VALLEY-Like many sports, basketball is often a game of inches. And a few inches are what separated the Davenport girls from what would've been a shocking District 7 2B Championship win over defending state champion Colfax last Saturday.
Instead, it was the Bulldogs who managed to hold off the stampeding Gorillas 59-55 in overtime to defend their District 7 crown Feb. 10.
Three days removed from knocking off rival Reardan in the District semifinals, Davenport came out firing behind Glenna Soliday's hot shooting. Soliday matched Colfax's total points effort in the first quarter, scoring 8 points as Davenport took a 12-8 lead.
That lead grew in the second quarter behind Soliday's 13 points. Brynn McGaughy, ESPN.com's No. 15 ranked girls basketball player in the United States for the Class of 2025, notched a first-half double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
But Davenport shut down the rest of the Colfax attack and took a 26-19 lead into halftime.
Many of the Colfax faithful likely expected the Gorilla charge to be short-lived, especially after the Bulldogs blitzed Lind-Ritzville/Sprague 20-5 in the third quarter of the District semifinals.
But that hot spurt never materialized.
Instead, Davenport kept up the intensity and matched McGaughy blow-for-blow throughout the second half despite several key players facing foul trouble.
"We were trying to do more pressure than we've ever done all this year," Davenport head coach Stacia Soliday said.
Colfax finally managed to erase Davenport's lead in the fourth quarter, tying the game 44-44 with 3:27 left in regulation.
A Clare Lathrop layup put Davenport back in the lead 46-44, but McGaughy's turnaround jumper tied it back at 46-46 as regulation approached its end.
Both teams traded empty possessions in the final minute. Colfax appeared to have the game-winner when Brenna Gilchrist scored in the paint to put the Bulldogs up 48-46 with 2.1 seconds.
But the game was far from over. Glenna Soliday's 3-point attempt for the win was off, but the sophomore was fouled by McGaughy on the attempt.
Down by two, Soliday's first free throw was perfect before the second barely rimmed off. Her third shot clanked off the back rim, but Colfax mentally lapsed and entered the 3-point line before the release for a lane violation.
Soliday's mulligan was true, sending the game to overtime.
Overtime was just as intense. Jensyn Jacobsen put Davenport ahead 55-54 with a corner 3-pointer, then McGaughy responded with a pair of free throws with 44 seconds left in overtime.
Davenport's offense, after matching Colfax all night, finally came up empty in the final minute of overtime. Colfax hit its free throws to put the game away.
Soliday finished with 24 points, while Addie Schneider added 11 points and seven rebounds. Jacobsen had eight points and eight rebounds, while Lathrop finished with six points and eight rebounds for Davenport.
McGaughy put the Bulldogs on her Division I-bound back with 36 points and 24 rebounds. No other Colfax player scored more than seven points.
Davenport still has a good shot to qualify for state. To do so, the Gorillas must defeat District 6's fifth-place finisher, Lake Roosevelt, in a crossover matchup at West Valley High School at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
Reader Comments(0)