By Aaron Coe
Herald Writer
TACOMA – Even after a 62-43 loss bounced the Oak Harbor girls basketball team out of the Class 4A state tournament Thursday, the Wildcats were still smiling.
They walked out of the Tacoma Dome feeling like pioneers. After all, it was Oak Harbor’s first ever trip to state. A team that finished 4-16 just a year ago nearly tripped a powerhouse Prairie team in the first round and were even with Thomas Jefferson for all but one half of one quarter on Thursday.
They left believing good things lie ahead for Oak Harbor, which will lose just three seniors, albeit important ones.
“It’s so awesome, I can’t even describe it,” said Wildcats senior guard Marci Manibusan, who scored 15 points Thursday. “We would have liked to have won here, but I think this experience will help the girls for next year.”
Oak Harbor – stung by a tournament-record seven 3-point baskets by Jefferson’s Jessiye Clark – finished the season with a record of 19-6. The Raiders (19-8), also at state for the first time, will play Roosevelt today in a loser-out contest.
The Wildcats looked fine early in the game. Oak Harbor led 15-11 after Manibusan hit her third 3-point basket of the game with six minutes remaining in the half. The 5-foot-2 guard finished with five 3s, just one shy of the former tournament record.
As good as Manibusan’s shot looked, Clark’s was borderline amazing. The 5-foot-5 guard, who averaged just 11 points per game prior to the tournament, hit six 3s in the first half, including four in Jefferson’s 18-1 run to end the half.
Her sharp-shooting coupled with Oak Harbor’s seven turnovers in the final five minutes of the half put the Wildcats in a 29-16 halftime hole.
Oak Harbor turned the ball over 15 times in the first half and was out-rebounded 27-19. The Wildcats, who suffered 28 turnovers against Prairie, handed the ball over another 26 times Thursday.
Jefferson’s second quarter burst proved to be the difference in the game. The Wildcats ran step-for-step with the Raiders for all but six minutes of the contest.
“We had a lot of turnovers in the first half,” Oak Harbor coach Dwight Lundstrom said. “You just can’t do that.”
Valerie Hartman, who has started all four years along with Manibusan, finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Lundstrom said he told the tandem they will leave a legacy of what he hopes will lead to many more trips to state in years to come. He told them to be proud, and said both were.
“It’s a little sad,” Lundstrom said. “It’s been a heck of a turn-around for them and I don’t think they wanted it to end.”
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Oak Harbor-McNeill 6, Hartman 11, Brundidge 2, Manibusan 15, Kingma 3, Spears 4, S. Bratt 2. Thomas Jefferson-Allen 3, Long 6, M. Morse 21, Foster 4, Clark 20, Hunt 8. 3-point goals-Hartman 2, Manibusan 5, Kingma 1, Clark 7. Records-Oak Harbor 19-6 overall. Thomas Jefferson 19-8.
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