TACOMA — The Stanwood girls basketball team gave top-seeded Mead all it could handle for three quarters.
But it all unraveled quickly for the Spartans in a brutal fourth quarter.
The undefeated Panthers held the Spartans to only one point over the game’s final 13 minutes and closed the contest on a 21-1 run for a 52-33 victory over seventh-seeded Stanwood in a Class 3A Hardwood Classic quarterfinal matchup Thursday at the Tacoma Dome.
“The ball didn’t fall in and the calls didn’t go our way and that’s just part of basketball,” Stanwood coach Alex Iverson said. “But I think no one is sitting there saying we don’t belong in the conversation with the best teams in the state.”
In a back-and-forth game that featured 11 lead changes in the first three quarters, Mead’s physical style and full-court press ultimately were too much for the Spartans.
The Panthers (23-0) held a narrow 35-32 lead entering the final quarter, but a slew of Stanwood (13-6) turnovers and ice-cold shooting gave Mead plenty of chances to pull away.
The Spartans shot 3 of 17 from the field in the second half, including just 1 of 8 from beyond the arc, and turned the ball over 16 times.
“They really wore us down,” Iverson said. “They’re a good team and they’re well coached. I was really impressed with what they were running and doing.”
Alicia Suggs scored on a putback and Teryn Gardner hit a pull-up jumper and then turned a steal into a layup. Olivia Moore added a jumper for a quick eight-point outburst and 48-33 Mead lead with about two minutes left that put the game out of reach for Stanwood.
Five players scored at least eight points to lead a balanced attack for Mead, including 10 apiece from Moore, Gardner and Haley Burns.
The Panthers face fourth-seeded Lake Washington in the semifinals at 7:15 p.m. on Friday.
Vivienne Berrett paced Stanwood with eight points. Grace Walker and Cezanne DePew chipped in six points each, all coming in the first half.
The Spartans move to the consolation bracket where they’ll face Hermiston at 12:15 p.m. on Friday.
“It’s not about winning down here at the Tacoma Dome,” Iverson said. “It’s about bouncing back from a loss. That’s kind of been our message. Obviously, we don’t come down here and plan on losing any games, but there’s only four teams on both sides that are going to go undefeated this weekend. … We still have unfinished business and we want a trophy on Saturday.”
Stanwood jumped out to an early lead thanks to strong shooting from the perimeter. The Spartans went 5 of 8 from 3-point range in the first half and shot 9 of 19 from the field overall.
Stanwood’s Paige Almanza jumps and passes across the court against Mead on Thursday at the Tacoma Dome. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Paige Almanza banked in a 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer for a 17-11 lead. Walker added a triple early in the second and Berrett’s bucket in the paint gave the Spartans their largest lead of the night at 22-13 with 6:06 remaining in the second.
But Stanwood’s scoring woes started to show after that. Mead pulled ahead with an 11-0 run before DePew ended a 5:26 scoreless drought with a 3-pointer in the final minute of the second.
The Panthers took a 26-25 lead into the break, outrebounding the Spartans 22-13 while holding a 7-0 advantage on second-chance points.
Chloe Santeford’s triple with just over 5 minutes left in the third gave Stanwood it’s final lead of the night at 32-31. That was also the last time the Spartans would make a field goal all game.
“It’s just part of basketball,” Iverson said of the late struggles. “(Mead) is a good team, and sometimes the ball and the calls don’t go your way. At the end of the day, honestly, I really wanted that one for the girls. But I’m so incredibly proud of them. They played so hard against arguably one of the best teams in the state, and they were taking it to them.
“They weren’t intimidated. They played like a veteran team … and they really left it all out there on the floor.”
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