Class 2B State Girls Basketball: Defensive masterpiece sends Napavine to semis

SPOKANE — When Taylen Evander and Nicholle Valentine were told how many field goals they allowed on Thursday night, there was a noticeable shock.

Since the number given up by the Napavine High School girls basketball team was in the single digits. Six, to be exact.

“That’s good defense right there,” Evander said with a chuckle.

You can say that again.

In a defensive performance for the ages in the Class 2B state tournament, the fifth-seeded Tigers didn’t give up a field goal in the entire first and third quarter and made enough buckets in clutch moments to come away with a 36-30 quarterfinal triumph over third-seeded Brewster inside Spokane Arena.

“The chemistry with this team, we’re close and good friends and that helped a lot,” Napavine sophomore Nicholle Valentine said. “(We) played with a lot of aggressiveness. We take a lot of pride in that.”

For the third consecutive season, the Tigers (21-7) are in the final four and will leave the east side with a trophy. And their opponent is one all too familiar.

Adna and Napavine, separated by 13 miles, will meet for the third time this season and the third straight year in Spokane. Tip is scheduled for 9 p.m., opposite No. 4 Reardan against No. 8 Northwest Christian.

This year, perhaps more than any other, was unexpected.

Four starters were gone. The emotional leader of Keira O’Neill and the rebounding prowess of Dakota Hamilton weren’t walking through the gymnasium.

So for Evander, Hayden Kaut, Jessie McCoy and Hannah Fay, while they were coming back, the roles were going to be drastically different.

The reigning champs went through ups and downs in the regular season. To this point, they have righted the ship in the playoffs.

“This group has put in a lot of time,” Tigers head coach Shane Schutz said. “It has been a challenge and I think they would agree. For each individual kid to play a little different than what they’ve been used to for the last three years.

“We just knew it would be hard.”

Two games in Spokane have resulted in a pair of gritty wins. The Round of 12 was about surviving the foul troubles; Thursday was fully self-driven on the defensive side of the floor.

Brewster (21-5) went 10-plus and 11-plus minutes without a basket in two different points of the contest. It didn’t make its first shot until there was 5 minutes, 11 seconds remaining in the second stanza.

Evander was guarding Bears’ top scorer Pepper Boesell and held her to a hard-earned 15 points.

“By far,” Schutz stated of the defensive play. “That’s our staple; it gave us a victory today. I’m awfully proud. We’re so grateful to be among the top four teams in the state.”

“All our practices are defensive practices,” Evander added. “It is fun for me to have a challenge.”

It wasn’t exactly a breakaway game for Napavine. It went through a couple lulls in the second half of not extending the 13-point cushion it built up in the opening 16 minutes. The Tigers started with an 8-0 spree, then 11 unanswered points to lead by 15 in the second.

Five different players contributed to the outburst.

Each time Brewster trimmed into the margin, Napavine had an answer. Kaut, Evander and freshman Ava Ondong all kept the lead by double figures. Fay and McCoy split free throws down the stretch to maintain the cushion.

“It is good for us to have confidence,” Evander said.

Fay, for a moment, had a composure breakdown.

She committed a personal foul then was called for a technical foul. The Bears sank all four free throws and maintained possession down 32-24. They went empty on the ensuing possession.

Brewster never got within one score despite several looks.

“Hannah had to come in and do a great job, so that was huge,” Schutz said. “It is because she’s competitive, we know this. She made a mistake, luckily her teammates had her back. Lesson learned.”

Kaut notched her second double-double of state with 14 points and 12 rebounds plus three blocked shots. Napavine held a 36-24 advantage on the glass and overcame 18 turnovers to prevail.

The first meeting against Adna was a low-scoring defensive battle won by the Pirates 33-32. The two rivals met in the District 4 semifinals in Kelso, again won by Adna by double digits.

Napavine torched Adna by 24 points in last year’s semi. Evander, Valentine and Schutz are all ready for another shot against the team that seemingly is always in the same path.

“We’re going to come out with a lot of fire,” Valentine said.