Mount Baker holds off Granger, will play for title
Playing with poise in a pressure-packed semifinal, Mount Baker held off a 3-point barrage from third-seeded Granger to win 65-58 in overtime Friday night in the Class 1A girls state basketball tournament at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
The No. 8-seeded Mountaineers will play top-ranked and unbeaten Cashmere at 3 p.m. Saturday for a state championship – something even coach Kim Preston found hard to comprehend.
“I can’t even wrap my brain around that right now,” said Preston, breathing a sigh of relief after a furious fourth-quarter charge by Granger that included a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation. “We played with experience that is beyond our years, if that makes any sense. We played with so much more poise and resolve than a team that’s mostly a lot of sophomores.”
Sophomore guard Danielle Tyler continued her sterling tounament play, scoring 19 points and hitting three critical free throws in overtime. Stephanie Soares scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and her sister Jessica Soares had nine rebounds for Mount Baker (21-5).
After a back-and-forth first half, the taller Mountaineers began to dominate the third quarter, led by Tyler and the Soares sisters, opening up a 10-point lead at 40-30.
But Granger’s standout guard Alexis Castro brought the Spartans roaring back, sparking an 11-1 run with eight straight points in the fourth period. After Tyler hit two free throws, Granger finally took the lead, 46-43, on Jayleen Vasquez’s long 3-pointer with about three minutes left.
Mount Baker wrested back control and looked to have it won when Tyler hit two free throws with 7 second left. But Vasquez hit a 3 at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
Granger’s scrapping, clawing defensive style put Mount Baker at the foul line several times in the extra period and the Mounties hit 6 of 10 to take charge.
Castro finished with game-high 23 points for Granger and Vasquez had 21, all from long range. Granger took 44 shots from 3-point range, hitting 14.
The Spartans, (23-3) will play Okanogan at 11:15 a.m. Saturday for the third-place trophy.
Mount Baker 65, Granger 58
Granger | 9 | 13 | 10 | 20 | 6 | 58 |
Mount Baker | 9 | 14 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 65 |
GRANGER — N. Roettger 1-6 0-2 3, Sophie Blodgett 1-9 0-0 3, Alexis Castro 7-22 5-10 23, Jayleen Vasquez 7-14 0-0 21, Emma Stewart 1-1 0-0 2, K. Roettger 0-3 0-0 0, Keely Teel 2-5 0-1 5, Laynie Brien 0-0 0-0 0, Lily Stewart 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-60 6-15 58.
MOUNT BAKER — Haylee Malone 2-6 2-4 7, Danielle Taylor 5-10 8-10 19, Stephanie Soares 7-8 1-4 15, McKenzie Yost 3-9 5-8 12, Jessica Soares 1-3 1-2 3, Kylind Powell 3-5 3-5 9. Totals 21-41 20-33 65.
3-point goals - Granger 14-44 (N. Roettger 1-4, Blodgett 1-9, Castro 4-14, Vasquez 7-13, Tiel 1-3); Mount Baker 3-6 (Malone 1-2, Tyler 1-2, Yost 1-2). Rebounds - Granger 31 (Blodgett 7, Castro 6); Mount Baker 37 (S. Soares 11, J. Soares 9). Assists - Granger 9 (Blodgett 3, Castro 3); Mount Baker 6 (Tyler 2, Yost 2). Turnovers - Granger 11, Mount Baker 12. Total fouls - Granger 21, Mount Baker 14. Fouled out - N. Roettger, K. Roettger.
This story was originally published March 3, 2017 at 8:28 PM with the headline "Mount Baker holds off Granger, will play for title."