University girls drop finale, still finish sixth at State 4A

TACOMA – To take home a trophy from the State 3A girls basketball tournament is more than University could have envisioned in late November.

The Titans used a 10-0 run to give Sunnyside a scare in the second quarter but the Grizzlies mauled University in the second half of the game Saturday morning to decide fourth and sixth places at the Tacoma Dome.

University didn’t possess an all-league player. The Titans had to be better as a group, not individually.

“That’s probably not the team you want to play on the last day of the tournament,” U-Hi coach Mark Stinson said. “They’re real deep, too, and they know their roles. They have their great shooters but they also have their good shooters, too. It was hard to cover everybody.”

All of that to explain that Sunnyside used a 15-2 run to blow open the game in the third quarter. The Grizzlies outscored the Titans (11-16) in the period.

It’s no wonder Sunnyside (24-4) won the Big Nine Conference – against all 4A teams.

U-Hi struggled with 19 turnovers and shooting 28 percent from the field.

“The seniors took a picture and there are six of them and they really held us together,” Stinson said. “They wanted to get back to state. The season is really long and that they got back here is just a tribute to them.”

Ashley Woods led U-Hi with 14 points, five rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals.

“We never had a go-to girl,” Stinson said. “We didn’t even have anybody honorable mention all-league. … It was fun to watch them.”