Seniors ensure Cusick will get first girls trophy

The image isn’t one anyone from Cusick will forget any time soon. With 1:01 left in the fourth quarter, Panthers guard Misty Ostlie tripped and rolled into Mossyrock’s Lexi Belcher.

Ostlie cut open her knee on the fall, and, unable to get up, was simply picked up by teammate Cara Shepherd and carried off the court.

It was the finishing touch on an evening the Panthers will never forget as Shepherd and fellow senior Kim Bluff combined for 39 points to carry Cusick past Mossyrock 61-55 in a State B basketball quarterfinal Thursday at the Spokane Arena.

The win not only earned Cusick a berth in the semifinals, but it guaranteed a trophy for a team that making its debut at state.

Afterward, the Panthers were excited, to say the least.

“It’s awesome,” Bluff said. “We set goals, we met them, and now we’re bringing home a trophy. … I don’t know about any of this. I’m just, wow.”

“It feels pretty good,” Shepherd said. “It means a lot, to bring home a state trophy. We’re halfway done.”

Not everyone was as struck with sheer joy, though.

“Man, I had a major headache the whole game, I don’t know what was going on,” Panthers head coach J.R. Bluff said. “You get at this level and you don’t know what to expect, it’s hard to get a good feel for how good a team is. I’m just glad the Panthers showed up and played their game.”

Cusick (26-2), which had been slow out of the blocks in recent games, was propelled by Kim Bluff’s hot early hand. Bluff had 10 of the team’s 16 first-quarter points and assisted on another basket.

After the recent slow starts, Bluff took it upon herself to get the team going early.

“I just figured, this was my senior year, your senior year, and I wasn’t going to let it happen,” said the Panthers forward, who finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Mossyrock (22-4) fought back in the second quarter behind Kelsey Forrest. The 5-foot-11 junior finished with a team-high 17 points, 10 in the first half, and brought the Vikings back from a five-point deficit after the first quarter into a tie at 27 at halftime.

In the second half, foul trouble caught up to the Vikings. Down three points after three quarters, Mossyrock spent most of the fourth playing without centers Alysha Kuse and Tisa Pelletier, and Shepherd took advantage. Playing against shorter interior defenders, the 6-foot senior center scored seven of her 18 points in the fourth quarter before carrying the injured Ostlie to the sideline.

“(The foul trouble) was a product of what we’ve been trying to do, playing physical,” J.R. Bluff said. “Every possession was composed. We made them play on the defensive end and on the offensive end.”

Cusick also held down Belcher, who on Wednesday set the State B record for 3-pointers made in a game (nine). With Bluff, Taunie Cullooyah and Jael Johnston constantly in Belcher’s face, the sophomore was held to 13 points on 4-of-15 shooting, including 0 for 6 on 3-pointers.

Trying to tame strong outside shooters was something the Panthers are familiar with.

“Jael and Taunie, they played great defense,” J.R. Bluff said. “They’ve been doing it all year. Playing in the Panorama league, in the Northeast District, we’ve seen good shooters. It’s something we’ve had to do all season.”