YAKIMA
Thought Shelby Lyman was done? Think again.
Lyman’s five 3-pointers helped Archbishop Murphy knock off the top-ranked Prosser Mustangs 50-35 on March 13.
Lyman had a mini-offensive explosion on Thursday night against Kingston. Friday night, she outdid herself, scoring 12 of her game high 17 points in the second quarter to help Murphy build what proved to be an insurmountable lead.
“You think we ran plays for her?” Wildcat coach John Barhanovich jokingly asked after the game.
“I played a pretty sloppy first quarter, and I couldn’t let my team down,” Lyman said. “The seniors have come so far and I really just wanted to win this for them.”
After Thursday’s quarterfinal, Barhanovich said Lyman likes to keep shooting after she knocks down her first shot, something she proved on Friday.
“It’s a shooter’s mentality, you knock down a couple in a row and you keep going,” she said.
“I think she was on fire,” Barhanovich said.
Lyman wasn’t the only one that contributed on Friday night. Murphy’s season leading scorer, Sam Pettinger, scored all eight of her points in the first half to help the Wildcats build the lead.
Alyssa Smith, who along with Lyman, led Murphy in the quarterfinals, came up big in the second half against Prosser, scoring 11 of her 13 points in the final two periods.
Rachel Shober contributed six points for Archbishop Murphy and converted some clutch free throws down the stretch.
“She has been an absolutely awesome player for us,” Barhanovich said of Shober.
“This was a great team win, they made a run, we responded,” Barhanovich said.
Prosser’s run cut a 16-point Murphy lead to three in a four-minute span over the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, but the Wildcats finished with a 15-2 run.
“I told them, if you make three solid possessions defensively, then we’re fine,” Barhanovich said. “To be mentally sharp on three straight possessions is nothing to ask that they can’t do.”
The Wildcats held Prosser to just 24 percent shooting (12-for-49), well below the Mustangs’ tourney average.
“That’s a stat that when I go in there, the kids are going to enjoy,” Barhanovich said just before going to address his team after the victory.
Aaron Lommers writes for The Herald in Everett.
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