MONROE — In a game that was often fast-paced and always close, the Kamiak girls basketball team used some shutout defense and enough free throws in the late minutes to overcome and defeat Monroe 51-49 on Friday night in the Wesco 4A opener for both teams.
Trailing 49-47 after Monroe’s Amber Van Brunt gave her team the lead with a layin with 2:41 to play, the visiting Knights got two free throws from Tylor Adcock and one apiece from Sarah Payne and Aliea Marrero down the stretch, the last coming with three seconds to play.
But the outcome was in doubt until a last shot from Monroe’s Kylee Ferreira bounced off the rim at the final buzzer. Ferreira, who already had three 3-pointers in the game, had dribbled out of backcourt and let loose a long try from the right angle that caromed off the back rim.
“That last 3, I thought it was going in,” said a relieved Brian Norman, Kamiak’s head coach. “She had a good look.”
“Kylee is awesome at those shots in practice,” said Monroe coach Matt Chalfant. “She kind of messes around and she’ll cash them. … I thought that thing was in when she let it go, and she said it felt good.”
The dramatic final seconds capped a game that had five ties and 21 lead changes. The biggest lead by either team was a five-point margin, 35-30 for Monroe, early in the third quarter.
The first quarter was played at a hectic pace with both teams reaching double figures in less than four minutes. Monroe’s Corrina Roppo cashed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds for a 19-17 lead, but Kamiak came right back and got a reverse layin from Emily Pillman with four seconds left in the period.
The game remained close through the second and third quarters, and in the final period Monroe got seven early points from Ferreira _ a 3-pointer and two layins _ to build a 47-43 lead. But the Knights kept close and then tightened their defense the rest of the way while making just enough free throws to pull ahead.
Through three quarters Kamiak was just 4-for-12 from the stripe, but in the fourth period the Knights were 6-for-8.
“It was a great game,” Norman said. “Last year we went to overtime here at Monroe and they squeaked it out by two points I think. So it was nice to be able to play hard and get a win.
“We came out with a lot of energy,” he added. “We played man-to-man (defense) the whole time, which we hadn’t been doing this year yet _ we’ve been playing a lot of zone defense _ and I think that really picked up our energy. And then we made some shots. When you make shots, better things happen.”
Chalfant called the loss “a heartbreaker. … Our effort was fine. I thought we played hard, no doubt about that. But I just thought there’s some stuff we have to clean up.
“We had some wide-open looks (in the late moments)” he said. “I don’t think we can get any better looks. We just have to step up and knock them down.”
Payne led all scorers with 18 points, while Grace Hamill added 14. Ferreira led Monroe with 16 points.
At Monroe H.S.
Kamiak1991112—51
Monroe1910119—49
Kamiak—Grace Hamill 14, Alexie Morris 1, Sarah Payne 18, Tylor Adcock 4, Jenny Stoltz 0, Jamie Beirne 3, Emily Pillman 4, Aliea Marrero 7, Kaiya Larsen 0. Monroe—Kylee Ferreira 16, Corrina Roppo 3, Jadynn Alexander 7, Emily Donnelly 4, Katie Piland 2, Hannah Drivstuen 0, Alex Alexander 8, Chelsea Santjer 0, Amber Van Brunt 5, Loryn Moore 4. 3-point goals—Grace Hamill 1, Sarah Payne 3, Kylee Ferreira 3, Corrina Roppo 1. Records—Kamiak is 1-0 in league, 3-1 overall. Monroe is 0-1, 2-3.
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