Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Oakesdale girls, Lindgren
Oakesdale senior Lindsey Lindgren pushes the ball up the floor in a lopsided win over Cedar Park Christian at Spokane Arena.
Opening the state tournament in a quarterfinal game against Sunnyside Christian – after a first-round bye with a win in regionals – the Oakesdale girls ran into a task.
Seeded No. 2 in the tournament, the Nighthawks had dreams of winning a state championship.
They had beaten No. 1-seed Colton earlier in the season. Colton had to weather a threat from Pomeroy to win its 10th straight District Nine championship two weeks before.
The cards looked like they could turn up right for Oakesdale in Spokane – the smallest enrollment school in the state besides Vancouver's Washington School for the Blind.
But to get a chance at the gold ball trophy, first things first.
In the waning minutes of the fourth quarter against Sunnyside Christian on Thursday, Oakesdale senior Lindsey Lindgren fouled out. Playing point guard, she was gone.
With nine seconds left in the game, down by one point, Jacey Johnson went to the free-throw line for two shots.
She missed both, but a subsequent tied-up rebound went to Oakesdale with the possession arrow.
A card turned up right.
Then, with six seconds left, Oakesdale inbounded to Johnson for a look at a 15-footer. She passed instead to Logan Reed, and the ball was knocked away into Sunnyside Christian hands.
Oakesdale fouled and the Knights' Sailor Liefke went to the line and made one free throw with a second left – no time for a realistic Nighthawks' last shot.
Sunnyside Christian won 51-49.
Oakesdale, dropping into the loser's bracket, returned to the Arena the next day for the first of two blowouts – over Cedar Park Christian and Tacoma Baptist – to finish fourth in state.
“As a coach I was very proud of our girls,” said Oakesdale coach Ken Lindgren. “In all honesty, we were very, very disappointed. We had intentions of a gold ball. We liked our chances, but when you lose on Thursday, you can't take it home.”
Johnson led the Nighthawks with 20 points in the game and 12 rebounds. Reed added 11 points and Anne Hockett seven.
Liefke, a junior guard, led the Knights with 23 points, including the go-ahead basket with under a minute remaining. Alyssa Martin added 10 points for Sunnyside Christian.
Oakesdale 66
CCPC 28
The morning after its quarterfinal loss, Oakesdale met the Lions and won easily.
Johnson led with 19 points to eliminate Cedar Park Christian. Reed added 13 points, 14 rebounds and five steals. Freshman Lizzy Perry scored 14 points with five steals.
Oakesdale's domination included a 14-0 start, a 12-0 run in the second quarter and a 19-0 burst in the second half.
Oakesdale 63
Tacoma Baptist 24
In the fourth-place game at 8 a.m. last Saturday, Oakesdale cruised past another opponent, Tacoma Baptist.
Johnson led with 14 points and nine rebounds as Reed scored 11 and picked up eight rebounds. Lindgren also had 11 points.
Oakesdale finished the year with a 22-6 record.
Tacoma Baptist, which arrived at state undefeated, finished sixth.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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