Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Odessa routs Naselle, upsets MLCCC
Odessa senior Kaytlyn Shafer looks to navigate through the Moses Lake Christian-Covenant Christian defense in the Tigers' 55-50 win over the Lions in a loser-out game at the Spokane Arena on Wednesday, March 1.
Odessa's bench players look on with glee as the Tigers jump out to a 12-2 lead in the first quarter against Moses Lake Christian-Covenant Christian Wednesday. The Tigers topped the Lions 55-50 to advance to the state quarterfinals.
Odessa junior Hayden Schuh turns into the post against the Moses Lake Christian-Covenant Christian defense in the Tigers' 55-50 win over the Lions in a loser-out game at the Spokane Arena on Wednesday, March 1.
SPOKANE-The Odessa girls have had to win their last four games to keep their postseason going, including two games in the District 7 1B Tournament, an opening round state game and a loser-out game at the Spokane Arena.
And win all four, they have.
Odessa dusted off the Naselle Comets 63-45 in the 1B state opening round at Cheney High School Saturday, Feb. 25, then upset the Moses Lake Christian-Covenant Christian Lions 55-50 in a loser-out game at the Spokane Arena Wednesday, March 1.
The Comets never stood much of a chance against the Tiger attack.
Odessa jumped out to a 20-5 lead behind seven points apiece from Ashlyn Neilsen and Grace Nelson.
"They got in a little bit of foul trouble. That helped us big time," Odessa head coach Travis Schuh said. "Just playing some different defenses at them and throwing different looks."
The Tigers led 32-14 at halftime before playing the Comets evenly in the second half, with their upperclassmen leading the way.
Neilsen and Hayden Schuh each had double-doubles, with the former scoring 20 points and nabbing 10 rebounds and the latter notching 16 points and 11 boards. Nelson added 12 points and five rebounds for the Tigers.
The win sent the No. 11 Odessa girls to the Spokane Arena for the first time in program history.
"We've been playing together since second or third grade, and this has been our dream for the past four years," Neilsen said. "We finally did it."
The Tigers appeared nigh to waste the opportunity, jumping out to a 12-2 lead over MLCCC.
MLCCC scored six straight to end the first quarter, but Odessa still held a 12-8 lead after a period.
The No. 6 Lions then began to close the gap in the big cat battle, cutting Odessa's lead to 28-26 at halftime.
The third quarter slightly favored the favorite, with MLCCC taking a 38-36 lead into the final period. The Lions began to hit some outside shots and force Odessa turnovers, and the Tigers seemed to be in trouble, trailing 49-41 with 5:10 remaining and momentum squarely on the MLCCC side.
But Odessa's group of upperclassmen that have played together since third grade weren't ready for that streak to end.
Odessa rattled off seven straight points to cut the lead to 49-48. Then, Melloney Diefe got a steal and breakaway layup to give Odessa a 50-49 lead.
After a defensive stop, Neilsen drew contact and knocked down two free throws. Odessa led 52-49 with 1:13 left.
The Lions managed just one point, and Nelson hit three key free throws to hold off MLCCC. Odessa ended the game on a 13-1 run.
"Most of our team are seniors, so we put everything on the court," Hayden Schuh said. "This could've been their last game, so we might as well give everything we got."
Neilsen led Odessa with 23 points and six rebounds before fouling out in the final two minutes. Hayden Schuh added 15 points and seven rebounds.
Makiya Kast led the Lions with a game-high 27 points.
Odessa has a quick turnaround, taking on No. 4 Mt. Vernon Christian at 9 a.m. Thursday, March 2. The winner heads to the state semifinals, while the loser heads to another loser-out game.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
Reader Comments(0)