By Greg Lee, NWPrepsNow.com
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Gonzaga Prep overcame a sluggish start to build a comfortable 14-point margin midway through the fourth quarter and defeat Skyline 53-45 on Thursday at the Tacoma Dome in a State 4A first round game.
The Storm fought back to within 48-42 with 2:53 remaining and G-Prep faced with trying to get a shot off with 1 second left on the shot clock under its own basket.
That’s when Hannah Caudill found Laura Stockton on one of the Bullpups’ favorite entry plays, and Stockton’s basket followed by a 3-pointer from Caudill extended the lead to 53-42 with 1:22 to go.
Afterward, G-Prep coach Mike Arte celebrated the obvious, a win, but was effusive with his praise for the role players.
“That’s what the story was in that game was our role players,” he said. “Not the ones that get written up in the newspaper all the time.”
It was obvious from the get go that the Bullpups were out of sync. They finished with 16 turnovers, double their average.
“I think we were feeling the Dome a little bit,” said Stockton, who had 12 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals. “We were a little too excited, a little nervous. Once we got going we were fine.”
The Bullpups talked about it at halftime.
“We just wanted to come out in the second half strong,” Stockton said. “We didn’t want to lose in the first game.”
Caudill finished with 15 points and Otiona Gildon had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“The first thing out of my mouth (in the locker room) was when you get to this point you’ve got to celebrate,” Arte said. “Even though I don’t think we played at our best, we defended really well. We didn’t shoot very well but they found a way to get through it. At this stage of the season that’s the most important thing – find a way to survive and move to the next game. They showed a lot of grit and character in doing that.”
Arte said had the game been earlier in the season the chat in the locker room would have been longer.
“It’s March 6th, you take the win. If it was Dec. 6th I’d probably be talking to them right now,” Arte said.
Next up for Gonzaga Prep (23-1) is a matchup between the top two teams in the state. The Bullpups face Lynnwood (24-1) this afternoon at 3:45 with the winner going to the title game.
