Davenport makes most of fourth chance against Northwest Christian to reach semis | State 2B girls

In three previous matchups against Northwest Christian this season, Davenport’s defense hadn’t been the problem.

On Thursday, when the Gorillas got a fourth chance at the Crusaders, the defense was once again effective – and so, finally, was the offense.

Senior Glenna Soliday led Davenport with 20 points, senior Clare Lathrop added 11 and the ninth-seeded Gorillas upset the Crusaders 46-35 in the State 2B girls basketball quarterfinals at the Arena.

“We’ve been working for this. We knew we could beat them,” Soliday said. “They’re a great team, and we just believed in ourselves, and that’s how it went.”

It was the second straight 20-point game for Soliday, who had 25 in a first-round victory over No. 8 Mount Vernon Christian. Against Northwest Christian, this year’s No. 2 seed and the defending state champions, Soliday made 6 of 16 shots from the field and 5 of 6 free throws.

Lathrop, who was 5-for-9 from the field and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, said playing the day before helped the Gorillas (23-5) feel comfortable early on against the Crusaders (22-2).

“We were already used to the gym and the lights and all of that,” she said.

The 35 points were a season-low for Northwest Christian, which earlier this year defeated Davenport by 10, 17 and 16 points, including a 54-38 victory on Feb. 18 in the Northeast 2B League tournament.

But on Thursday, the Crusaders didn’t find a consistent rhythm offensively.

“I think we struggled to really get going because our shots weren’t quite falling like they used to, and morale took a nosedive,” NWC head coach Nikki Nelson said. “We never fully got it together as a team.”

After the first quarter, Northwest Christian never led, but it remained within six points into the fourth quarter.

But after a basket by Faith Hamilton cut Davenport’s lead to 35-29, Soliday hit a pair of free throws, and then freshman Taylor LeBret hit a 3-pointer in the corner to push Davenport’s lead to double digits, 40-29, with three minutes to go.

The Crusaders answered with a 6-0 run, but then never again got closer than five points. Senior Macey Shamblin led NWC with 17 points (6-for-10 from the field) and sophomore Julianna Pope added 10 points.

As a team, NWC made just 1 of 9 3-point attempts, while Davenport made 5 of 13 3s.

Davenport will meet No. 5 Reardan (22-5) – which defeated the Gorillas in December and again in January – in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the girls,” Davenport head coach Dusty Oestreich said. “We’re on this roll of winning games, and we’re going to keep riding that as long as we can.”

Class 2B girls

(4) Reardan 52, (3) Brewster 38: Tenice Waters scored 20 points with nine rebounds and the Screaming Eagles (22-5) defeated the Bears (23-3).

Reardan will play Northeast 2B league foe and ninth-seeded Davenport in a semifinal on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

The Screaming Eagles led by two at halftime but turned it on in the third, outscoring Brewster 17-6 in the period to take control. They hit 6 of 18 (33%) from beyond the arc and 42% overall. Chasyn Waters added 11 points with nine boards.

Paige Wulf led Brewster with 16 points. The Bears face last year’s State 2B champion and second-seeded Northwest Christian in a loser-out on Friday at 10:30 a.m.

(9) Davenport 46, (2) Northwest Christian 35: Glenna Soliday had 20 points, four rebounds and the Gorillas (23-5) defeated the Crusaders (23-2).

Macey Shamblin led NWC with 17 points.

(1) Napavine 58, (7) Adna 40: Nicholle Valentine scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds and the Tigers (21-4) defeated the Pirates (21-6).

Napavine will play fifth-seeded Cle Elum-Roslyn in a semifinal on Friday at 3:45 p.m.

Adna plays sixth-seeded Toutle Lake in a loser-out on Friday at 9:00 a.m.

(5) Cle Elum-Roslyn 68, (6) Toutle Lake 43: Nellie Nicholls dominated the offense with 33 points and the Warriors (22-5) defeated the Ducks (19-8).

Payton Thayer led Toutle Lake with 18 points.

Class 1B girls

(5) Oakesdale 55, (6) Crosspoint Christian 36: Bradyn Henley and Grace Perry scored 11 points apiece and the Nighthawks (22-3) defeated the Wildcats (21-7).

Megan Crider added 10 points for Oakesdale, which plays No. 1 Neah Bay in a semifinal on Friday at 7:15 p.m.

The Nighthawks jumped right out of the gate and led 20-8 after one. They pulled away outscoring their opponent 24-14 in the second half.

Lucia Wasson finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for Crosspoint Christian, which faces seventh-seeded Pateros in a loser-out on Friday at 12:15 p.m.

(1) Neah Bay 55, (7) Pateros 26: Wiinuk Martin scored 12 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and the Red Devils (22-2) defeated the Nannies (18-8).

Zayne Ravenstein scored nine points and had 11 rebounds for Pateros.

(3) Waterville-Mansfield 65, (4) Yakama Tribal 51: Delainey Nelson scored 24 points, Hanna nelson added 23 and the Shockers (19-5) defeated the Eagles (25-6). Tianna Stahi led Yakama Tribal with 19 points.

Waterville-Mansfiel will play in semifinal on Friday at 9:00 p.m. Yakama Tribal plays in a loser-out game on Friday at 2:00 p.m.