State 1B girls: Pomeroy clicks on both ends of court to top Curlew in quarterfinals
A showdown between two of the best post players in the State 1B girls basketball tournament lived up to expectations Thursday night.
So, too, did top-seeded Pomeroy.
The Pirates were proficient on offense behind Maddy Dixon’s buttery shooting stroke, and Pomeroy’s defense was suffocating in a 41-26 victory over No. 7 seed Curlew in a quarterfinal matchup at the Arena.
The Pirates (22-1) advanced to Friday’s semifinals, where they will play Southeast 1B rival Oakesdale (18-7) at 7:15 p.m. Oakesdale, the only team to beat Pomeroy this season, defeated Neah Bay 58-49.
Locked in a duel with Curlew’s Korin Baker, Dixon carried the Pirates with 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting and eight rebounds. Dixon avoided the foul trouble that ultimately shortened Baker’s night, and that spelled the difference as Pomeroy put the game away in the second half.
“One thing about Maddy is that she is never frazzled,” Pirates coach Tai Bye said. “She’s very confident and very solid mentally. … In some ways it was good for Maddy to be able to go at somebody like that and come out on top.”
Baker, who overpowered Naselle a night earlier with 25 points and 22 rebounds, led the Cougars (19-8) with 13 points and eight rebounds before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter. Baker picked up two fouls in the first quarter but managed to stay on the floor the rest of the half without picking up a third.
Baker’s 3-pointer pulled the Cougars within 18-15 with 5:50 left in the third quarter, but her good fortune expired shortly thereafter with her third and fourth fouls in a 32-second span. Pomeroy proceeded to close the quarter on a 10-2 run with Baker on the bench for a 28-17 advantage going into the final period.
“That was definitely something we were going for,” Dixon said of attacking Baker, Curlew’s linchpin on both ends of the floor. “We wanted to score the basket first, but we wanted to get the foul going up.”
The Pirates held Curlew scoreless in the second quarter and led 18-8 at halftime.
“Our guards did a tremendous job pressuring their guards,” Dixon said. “We did really good pressuring them and making it hard to get it in the post.”
Looking ahead invites a glimpse at the past for Pomeroy and Oakesdale. The Nighthawks won 38-37 at Pomeroy in late January to split the regular-season series, but the Pirates earned a measure of revenge with a 50-39 win in the district championship.
“We’ve played three times, and we know exactly what needs to be done,” Dixon said. “It’s just a matter of executing the game plan and doing what needs to be done and playing how we know how to play.”
“I told our players (after the loss) that our goal was not to be undefeated.” Bye said. “Our goal is to win a state championship.”