State girls: Teryn Gardner, Mead money at the line; Panthers beat Lincoln to advance to state quarterfinal

Greater Spokane League champion Mead went undefeated through the regular season last year and entered the state tournament as the top overall seed. The Panthers weren’t perfect this season – but weren’t far off – with just three losses, two 4A nonleague games and to Idaho 5A State champion Coeur d’Alene.

Mead cruised thought the District 8 tourney with a 32-point win over Walla Walla and a 27-point victory over Kennewick in the title game.

That helped earn the Panthers the No. 4 seed to state with the privilege of hosting No. 5 Lincoln (Tacoma) in a protected opening-round game on Saturday at West Valley HS.

Teryn Gardner scored 30 points, hitting 17 of 17 at the free-throw line, and after building a big lead the Panthers (19-3) held off the Abes (19-4) 80-68 and advanced to a state quarterfinal in Tacoma on Thursday.

Two freshman – Addison Wells Morrison and Reese Frederick – contributed 20 and 14 points, respectively, for the Panthers. Mead made 32 of 35 free-throw attempts and went 18 of 18 in the second half.

“That’s the focus thing and they did a really good job of that,” Mead coach Quantae Anderson said. “And I definitely appreciate that.”

Mead led by 17 after three quarters, but Lincoln used a 16-4 run at the start of the fourth to get the deficit as close as five. Gardner made a pair at the line, then hit a long 3 to restore a double-digit lead with 2:15 to go. She hit six straight free throws to seal it.

“(Lincoln) just kept fighting and they killed us on the old boards in that quarter,” Anderson said. “We had to make a make a focus to box out and it led to free throws. … That is a very quick team, very fast and super athletic. And I think we proved that we’re pretty athletic, too.”

“(Lincoln) came out strong and battled to the end,” Gardner said. “We just had to figure out how to keep pushing it with them because, you know, there are times that we kind of slowed down and let up a little bit and then they came right back in it.”

“She’s definitely our leader and she does everything right,” Anderson said of Gardner. “She’s not just a scorer. She’s our best ball handler, our best on-ball defender. She leads our team.”

A fast-paced first quarter ended with the Panthers up 20-19 as Gardner and Morrison had eight points apiece. Lincoln 6-foot-3 freshman post Oliviyah Edwards (13 points) stepped out for a 3-pointer early in the second and the Abes went up by six.

Gardner converted a three-point play and hit two more at the line. A long 3-pointer by Frederick put Mead up 32-28 with 2 minutes left in the quarter. The Panthers went 11 of 14 at the line in the quarter and led 39-30 at halftime.

Frederick made a 3 early in the third, Mead went on a 9-2 run and the lead grew to 16.

The Panthers led 63-46 entering the fourth quarter, but Lincoln scored the first six points to get the deficit to 11. Edwards converted a three-point play, Malani Warren his a 3 and the lead shrunk to 67-62.

It was settled at the line in the fourth.

“We shoot like at least 30 free throws a day in practice,” Gardner said. “So I mean, you saw that today and it paid off, for sure.”

4A

(12) Gonzaga Prep 61, (13) Decatur 55: Lucy Lynn led four in double figures with 18 points and the Bullpups (18-2) beat the Gators (17-8) in an opening-round elimination game at West Valley.

Taliah Lee scored 14 points, Rhyan Madden had 12 and Gillian Bears added 11 for G-Prep, which advances to an elimination game against fifth-seeded Sumner at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday.

The Bullpups got the lead to 10 on several occasions in the second half but could never pull away.

“It’s late February, so every game is going to be like that,” G-Prep coach Geoff Arte said. “That’s our fourth loser-out game in a row. Super proud of this group.”

1A

(3) Wapato 63, (6) Deer Park 48: KK Bass scored 22 points, and the Wolves (22-1) beat the Stags (20-2) in an opening-round protected game at Davis High School in Yakima. Darian Herring scored 14 points and Allie Garry added 13 for Deer Park, which faces an elimination game against 11th-seeded Zillah on Wednesday at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

2B

(1) Colfax 77, (8) Mabton 37: Brynn McGaughy totaled 28 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocked shots and the Bulldogs (24-0) beat the Vikings (18-6) in a protected game at Cheney High School. Colfax advances to a quarterfinal Thursday at the Spokane Arena.

(9) Liberty 49, (16) White Swan 45: Brooke Redder scored 16 points, Kendall Denny added 15 and the Lancers (14-10) eliminated the Cougars (16-8) at West Valley. Liberty advances to a round-of-12 game at the Arena on Wednesday.

(12) Raymond 50, (13) Davenport 42: The Seagulls (20-6) beat the Gorillas (16-11) in an elimination game at W.F. West High School in Chehalis.

1B

(2) Mossyrock 52, (7) Oakesdale 48: The Vikings (19-3) beat the Nighthawks (20-3) in a protected game at W.F. West High. Oakesdale faces 10th-seeded Wellpinit in an elimination game on Wednesday at the Arena.

(4) Mount Vernon Christian 49, (5) Inchelium 41: Caitlin VanderKooy scored 16 points and the Hurricanes (22-4) beat the Hornets (18-3) in a protected game at Mount Vernon High School. Inchelium faces 12th-seeded Willapa Valley in an elimination game Wednesday at the Arena.

(10) Wellpinit 56, (15) Evergreen Lutheran 44: Danea Norman scored 25 points and Wellpinit (14-6) eliminated the Eagles (15-3) at Cheney.

(11) Odessa 63, (14) Naselle 45: Ashlyn Neilsen scored 21 points, Hayden Schuh added 16 and the Tigers (12-9) eliminated the Comets (15-9) at Cheney. Odessa advances to an elimination game on Wednesday at the Arena.