Crashing the party
If you’re going to wait until 2005 to make your State B debut, you might as well win the whole thing. At least, that was Cusick’s reasoning.
Led by senior Kim Bluff’s 25 points and nine rebounds, the Panthers stunned Almira/Coulee-Hartline 67-50 to win the State B title Saturday night at the Spokane Arena.
Beaten by the Warriors 73-38 in the District 7 final Feb. 26, the Panthers started quickly and were consistent offensively throughout the game. In their prior matchup, Warriors point guard Michele Balcom hit two early 3-pointers as ACH jumped out 8-0, held the Panthers to 24 percent shooting and took home the district title.
Saturday, Cusick’s Misty Ostlie hit two early 3s, the Panthers shot 51.1 percent from the field and took home the state title.
“I’m so happy,” Bluff said. “What a way to end my senior season. Usually I’d be crying (because we didn’t get here). I’m just in shock. I’m so happy I have the teammates I have and that I could contribute to all of this.”
“Man, I don’t want to let this go,” senior Jael Johnston said while holding the golden ball trophy. “Look at that hunk of gold. We got ‘er done. We shot 24 percent last time. We’ve shot 24 percent twice all year and we lost both games. Today we took it at them and when we get going, we’re unstoppable.”
If the Panthers weren’t unstoppable, Bluff was certainly close. The 5-foot-9 forward spent much of her evening in the paint, finishing 8 of 12 from the floor and 9 of 12 from the free-throw line. She also grabbed four offensive rebounds and tallied five steals.
“It wasn’t just me, we just needed someone else in the paint to help out (post Cara) Shepherd,” Bluff said. “Their plan was to stop Shep and we watched Curlew (in Friday’s semifinal against ACH) have some success with a high-low post, and that’s what we were able to do.”
With the Warriors initially collapsing down on Shepherd, Ostlie stepped up from the outside. The junior shooting guard finished with 19 points and four assists, hitting 4 of her 10 3-point attempts. Senior point guard Taunie Cullooyah also hit a pair of early 3s, helping set the tone early. The hot shooting outside pulled ACH out of its zone and out toward the 3-point arc, opening up space for Bluff.
“We just made adjustments,” Panthers coach J.R. Bluff said. “Last meeting we were too lax as coaches. We had unfinished business this time and the girls responded. … The girls know the solutions. They knew the problems, they knew the solutions. This is their state title. We (coaches) are just along for the ride.”
ACH, led by Molly Gwinn’s 17 points and nine rebounds, just couldn’t get a handle on the Panthers defensively. They tried switching into a man-to-man defense, but that only isolated mismatches with Bluff and Shepherd, who finished with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
“I’m disappointed for the girls, obviously,” Warriors head coach Mike Correia said. “But you have to hand it to Cusick. Holy smokes, they played a great game. Our 2-3 didn’t seem to be as quick as it was last time. They were a step ahead of us. … I’m proud of the way our girls played, but Cusick deserved it tonight.”
It’s a memory the Panthers will have for the rest of their lives.
“In the locker room I told the girls to win it for themselves,” J.R. Bluff said. “It’s good for the girls. I’m so proud just to be here and I’m glad the girls have something now. They have worked so hard and now they got the ball. … I’m just so happy.”