Odessa basketball punches ticket to state

DEER PARK – After being eliminated from the district playoffs in its previous three appearances, Odessa finally punched its ticket to the 1B Girls State Basketball Tournament by defeating Republic 48-27 Thursday, Feb. 16 and Wilbur-Creston 55-41 Saturday, Feb. 18 in the District 7 1B Girls Basketball Tournament.

Thursday, it was Republic that played like the team destined for the state tournament to begin the game. Jocelyn Watson and Brooklyn Campbell hit uncontested 3-pointers within the first minute and it appeared as if Republic might oust Odessa from the tournament yet again.

Two minutes into the game and before the Odessa five had broken a sweat, Republic led 8-0.

Odessa got off the schneid when junior Hayden Schuh made the Tigers' first basket of the game, sparking a 23-point run. Ashlyn Neilson caught fire and scored 16 points during the Tigers' first half scoring spree.

Despite its slow start, Odessa took a 25-13 lead into the locker room at the half.

The teams played each other even in the third quarter, each scoring 10 points.

The fourth quarter belonged to Odessa. Six players made baskets as the Tigers outscored Republic 13-4 en route to the 48-27 win.

Neilson ended the game with 21 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Schuh scored nine points and controlled the backboards by hauling in 12 rebounds.

Melloney Deife scored eight points and Grace Nelson harassed Republic the entire game, stealing the ball six times and grabbing five rebounds.

"We really played a good defensive game," Neilson said. "Some of our shots weren't falling in the beginning, but our defense won the game for us."

Ember Berndt scored 10 points for Republic.

"We came out a little slow, but I knew our defense would pick it up," Odessa head coach Travis Schuh said. "We need to clean a few things up before we play Wilbur-Creston. The last time we played against them, we didn't look so hot, so we need to work on our rebounding and make our free throw shots."

Odessa's win over Republic pitted the Tigers against Wilbur-Creston Feb. 18 for the right to play Naselle in the first round of the state tournament. In league play, the Tigers and Wilbur-Creston met twice, each winning a game.

In the rubber match, Odessa scored four points to open the game before playmaker Ashlyn Neilson went to the bench after picking up two quick fouls. Buoyed by her absence, the Wildcats put points on the board, but it was Hayden Schuh's six points that put Odessa ahead 10-9 after one period.

In the second quarter, Neilsen returned to the game, and after drawing several fouls, converted six free throws. She and Schuh combined for 19 first half points, giving the Tigers a 24-16 lead going into the locker room.

After intermission, the Tigers' Melloney Deife found her shooting touch. She led her team in second half points with 10 as Odessa cruised to a 55-21 win.

Schuh led the Tigers in scoring with 16 points. Neilson scored 14 points but played even better defensively. She grabbed 15 rebounds and pilfered the ball from the Wildcats five times.

Grace Nelson's steady play earned her 12 points and Laela Hardung scored three points and hauled in five rebounds.

"We lost before in this exact same game, so I'm really happy we won," Hayden Schuh said. "We didn't freak out tonight. We have a thing about making really bad passes and freaking out, but tonight we passed the ball well and made our free throws."

Karsen Brashears led Wilbur-Creston in scoring with 17 points.

"We came out and played 10 times better on defense than the last time we played them," Travis Schuh said. "We did a much better job rebounding and concentrated on setting screens which gave us good looks. We finally got over the hump. Over the past four years, we have come to this game three times. I am pretty excited."

Odessa will face Naselle in the opening round of the state tournament at 10 a.m., Saturday Feb. 25 at Cheney High School. It will be the Tigers' first appearance in the state tournament since 2015 when they were defeated by Pateros in the regional round under the Odessa-Harrington co-op.