Lady Pirates open State against Willapa Valley

 

March 3, 2022



SPOKANE–By just a basket, the Pomeroy Lady Pirates missed staying out of the elimination round of the 2022 WIAA State 1B Girls Basketball Tournament, falling to top-seeded Mt. Vernon Christian by 37-34 last Saturday, and they’re slated to face No. 8 Willapa Valley Wednesday night in the Spokane Arena in a must-win game.

The Lady Pirates nearly pulled off one of their trademarked heart-stoppers in Mt. Vernon.

“We struggled to get the ball to fall in the third quarter,” said Head Coach Tai Bye, “but we overcame a nine-point deficit and found ourselves back in a tie game in the fourth quarter. We just had a few mistakes within the final two minutes that were caused by inexperience that left us short.

“I haven’t seen my team play with such guts and composure all season,” Bye said.

Willapa Valley, the second-place team from the 1B Columbia Valley league, defeated Moses Lake Christian/Covenant in Saturday’s opening round 42-25. Pomeroy and Willapa Valley square off at 9 p.m. Wednesday night in Spokane.

Mount Vernon Christian was the number one seed into Regionals and took the floor as the 1B Northwest’s second-place team with a 20-2 record.

The Lady Hurricanes took an 11-8 lead in the first eight minutes but the Lady Bucs rallied and defended well to knot it up 15-15 at half time.

“Our team’s defensive effort was impeccable,” Bye said. “We caused 17 MVC turnovers and limited ourselves to 12, which made a huge difference on the offensive end for us.”

The third quarter was an offensive struggle for Pomeroy and MVC built a four-point lead. Down the stretch, the fourth quarter difference was one basket.

“We played the best game of our season tonight, but we just came up one basket short,” Bye said.

Jillian Herres finished with 13 points, 10 boards and took a leadership position on the floor, the coach noted.

“Chase Caruso was a force on defense tonight, limiting their guards’ scoring,” she said. “Haliee Brewer finished with 11 boards tonight and played aggressive, physical defense.”

Senior Captain Keely Maves finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

“Jadence Gingerich and Maves battled hard in the key to limit Mt. Vernon’s inside shots, Bye said.

“We may have lost tonight, but it’s a game that feels like a win after how hard the girls battled against the number 1 seed in the state,” Bye said.

Pomeroy 34, Mount Vernon Christian 37 (2/26)

Pom 8 7 8 11-34

MVC 11 4 12 10-37

Pomeroy (34) Jillian Herres 5-18 0-0 13, Chase Caruso 1-8 1-3 4, Keely Maves 4-19 5-7 13, Kiersten Bartles 0-0 0-0 0, Jadence Gingerich 1-2 0-1 2, Haliee Brewer 0-1 0-0 0, Elizabeth Ruchert 0-5 2-2 2, Izzy Field 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Gilbert, 0-0 0-0 0.

MVC (37) Hannah VanHofwegen 0-1 3-6 3, Kayla VanHofwegen 0-0 0-0 0, Cailtlin Vanderkooy 3-12 2-2 9, Ruthie Rozema 1-3 1-2 4, Kylee Russell 1-5 0-0 2, Viera Link 0-1 0-0 0, Rayahae Oustra 1-5 0-0 2, Emma Droog 1-1 0-1 2, Allie Heino 6-16 3-3 15.

3 Point Goals -- MVC: Vanderkooy, Rozema. Pomeroy: Herres 3, Caruso. Fouls: MVC (15), Pomeroy (18) Fouled Out: K. Russell None. Technical Fouls: None Rebounds: Brewer (11) Pomeroy Rebounds: Team (36) Turnovers: Pomeroy (12) Assists: Pomeroy (6).

 
 

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