Gonzaga Prep done in by unfamiliar foe; falls in quarterfinal to Kennedy Catholic 65-52 | State 4A girls

The Gonzaga Prep girls basketball team had lost just once all season entering its State 4A quarterfinal – a 59-52 decision to Mid-Columbia champion Chiawana in the District 6 championship game.

But when third-seeded Chiawana was upset by No. 6 Lake Washington in the regional round, it put the Bullpups on a collision course with a very familiar foe for a rematch at state.

But as Lee Corso used to so famously say, “Not so fast, my friends.”

Chiawana suffered a second consecutive upset loss on Wednesday, to 11th-seeded Kennedy Catholic, and Gonzaga Prep found themselves faced with a new, unfamiliar opponent to deal with on Thursday at Tacoma Dome – with a state final four appearance on the line.

Be careful what you wish for.

Kennedy Catholic 5-foot-5 sophomore Jayden Fitzgerald scored 32 points, all but six within 10 feet, and the Lancers (20-7) upset the Bullpups (22-2) 65-52 in a State 4A quarterfinal at Tacoma Dome on Thursday.

“She’s just crafty and fast, and they’ve got enough shooters around her to make you can’t help too much,” Gonzaga Prep coach Geoff Arte said of Fitzgerald. “I mean, they’re really good. They’re not an 11 seed. That number by your name doesn’t mean much when you’re still playing in March.”

Gonzaga Prep suffered a particularly bad shooting game, going 3 for 24 (12.5%) from beyond the arc. The Bullpups, who didn’t make a basket in the fourth quarter, were led by Greater Spokane League MVP Aylah Cornwall with 17 points and fellow junior Charlee Peterson added 12 points and 10 boards.

“It’s just one of those things when you get to this part of the year,” Arte said. “You’ve got to shoot well, and you’ve got to play defense, and both those things have to be going right at the same time.”

The Bullpups fall into the fourth-place bracket with a loser-out against 10th-seeded Lake Stevens at 9 a.m. on Friday. Kennedy Catholic faces No. 1 Davis in a semifinal at 3:45 p.m.

“The one thing about our kids is they will always battle,” Arte said of the consolation round. “There’s an earned expectation at our place, and I think we’ll be fine.”

Junior Quinn Pederson (1 of 11) hit a 3 with 25 seconds left in the third and the Bullpups trailed 49-46 entering the fourth. They missed their first nine shots of the period – but the Lancers only picked up one basket and Kennedy Catholic led by five with four minutes left.

The Lancers scored on back-to-back trips, with Kat Schroeder (10 points) and Fitzgerald picking up layups, and the Bullpups drought continued. KC went up 57-48 with three minutes to go and Arte called timeout.

Schroeder nailed a corner 3 when play resumed, and the Lancers lead reached 12.

“We just didn’t make shots,” Arte said. “If you don’t make shots, it’s gonna be hard to win games like this. We got the shots we wanted there for a while. We just didn’t make enough of them.”

Cornwall scored 10 of G-Prep’s first 12 points as the Bullpups raced to an early 12-4 lead. Belle Hernandez added a pair of baskets late in the period, her only points on 3-for-12 shooting, and Gonzaga Prep led 24-17 after one.

Fitzgerald scored six quick points in the second, including a 3 with Cornwall in her face, and Kennedy Catholic trimmed its deficit to three at 26-23 with 6:16 left in the half. Schroeder tied it with a 3 after a timeout and a pair of free throws capped an 11-0 run.

Peterson ended the run with a floater, but Schroeder nailed a 3 at the other end. Kennedy Catholic outscored G-Prep 20-8 in the second period and led 37-32 at intermission. The Lancers shot 5 of 8 beyond the arc in the half; the Bullpups went 2 for 13.

“They switched to (a 1-2-2) zone. It kind of switches how we have to play,” Arte said. “We weren’t as aggressive as we were early in the game, when they were playing man. So, it’s a good move by them.”

A 7-3 spurt at the start of the third drew the Bullpups within one. Peterson scored off a pass from Hernandez to tie it at 43. But Cornwall picked up her third and fourth fouls in quick succession and left the game with 2:06 left in the third and G-Prep down by two.

“We ended up shooting (30.2%), so it’d be hard to win in the Dome if you shoot like that,” Arte said. “I thought our kids battled, but we just never could get in a rhythm offensively. We were trying to hang in there as much as we could.”