Brewer Leads Short-Handed T-Birds to 2OT Win

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Down its leading scorer and with multiple players less than 100 percent, the Tumwater girls basketball team needed more than the usual 32 minutes to deal with Shelton, finally beating the Highclimbers 57-51 in double overtime.

With first-team all-league Kylie Waltermeyer out with an injury and a host of T-Birds dealing with a bug that spread its way around the team, multiple younger faces had to step into increased minutes. 

Junior Regan Brewer led the way with 24 points, despite finishing regulation with just 10. She scored six points in the final minute of the first overtime period, including a game-extending buzzerbeater. Then she scored eight more in double overtime  — Tumwater only scored one other point in the period, while Shelton managed just three — to power the way to victory. She nearly finished with a triple-double, logging 11 steals, nine rebounds, and six assists.

Freshman Rhylee Beebe scored 12 of Tumwater’s first 15 points, and finished with 22, hitting Tumwater’s only four made 3-pointers; the T-Birds finished 4 for 27 from beyond the arc.

Beyond the duo of Brewer and Beebe, the rest of the Tumwater lineup scored just 11 points.

Hadley Woods had seven rebounds to lead the Thunderbirds on the glass.

Shelton ground out to a one-point lead after a quarter of play, and maintained it through halftime. The Thunderbirds were able to even the score after three quarters at 41-41, but couldn’t build a lead of their own, with offense hard to come by. After the first quarter, Tumwater’s third was the only double-digit period for either side — and even then, the T-Birds only managed 10 points.

Tumwater (3-0, 1-0 2A EvCo) will play at Rochester on Friday.