TACOMA — Quite frankly, just to be tied after three quarters against the top-ranked team in the state is an accomplishment.
But to do this in the program’s first-ever state tournament game is a feat of another dimension altogether.
“For our first game out here, I’m so proud of how the girls came out,” Jackson girls coach Jeannie Thompson said.
Jackson may have lost to Prairie 63-50 March 8 at the Tacoma Dome. But it won the respect of one of the state’s most highly-regarded teams.
“It was a big scare,” Prairie guard Ashley Corral said. “They came on hard. They’re a very good team.”
So good that the Timberwolves only trailed by one point at 51-50 with 3:20 remaining after a Kristi Kingma steal and lay-up.
But like what happened in the first quarter (when they were scoreless the final four minutes), Jackson picked the worst time for a drought.
Amy Donovan’s basket and Jamey Gelhar’s 3-pointer made the deficit six points. Then Prairie sank six of seven free-throw attempts in the final 1:44 to close it out and send Jackson to the losers’ bracket.
The prevailing thought entering this one was that University of Idaho-bound Katie Madison, a 6-footer, (six points, 0-for-8 from the field) and 6-2 junior post Merritt Cameron (12 points, eight rebounds) were going to have their way inside against the shorter Timberwolves.
But Jackson’s 6-2 junior post, Brittany Eskridge (nine points, eight rebounds, four blocks), held her own. She even had blocks of each of the Falcon twin towers during a single possession.
Collectively, the Timberwolves only got beat by one (40-39) on the boards.
“They weren’t intimidated,” Thompson said. “They were able to battle against a very big team.”
Jackson trailed 32-27 at halftime but momentum was on its side after Donovan got in foul trouble in the second quarter. Donovan, Prairie’s fourth-leading scorer, picked up her third and fourth fouls within eight seconds and went to the bench with three minutes remaining in the half.
In the third quarter, the Timberwolves went on an 11-0 run and led 41-37. The spark was fueled by nine Kingma points.
“She’s very capable of carrying the team on her shoulders,” said Thompson about the 5-9 sophomore guard.
Typically employing a man-to-man, pressure defense, Jackson had to go zone in the fourth quarter due to foul trouble.
“Their size tonight definitely bothered us in the first three quarters,” Thompson said.
The Timberwolves struggled from the stripe, missing eight of 15 free throws.
Of note, Corral sprained her right ankle and was limited to 24 minutes. She sprained her left one last week.
Prairie, which was actually the No. 2 seed out of the West Central/Southwest District because Lincoln won (and handed the Falcons their only loss to a Washington school all year), is a perennial favorite at state. This is the Falcons’ ninth straight state appearance and they won state titles in 1998, 1999 and 2003.
Jackson, which earned the third and final berth out of the Western Conference, is at state for the first time in school history.
Youth was served, as tourney-tested Prairie started four seniors.
Jackson doesn’t even have a senior who plays regular minutes. Instead, Thompson goes with three sophomores, and two juniors.
Darren Fessenden writes for The Herald in Everett.
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