Senior Macey Shamblin leads defending 2B champ Northwest Christian girls back to state | District 6 basketball
The Northwest Christian girls team went on a Cinderella run last year at state, entering seeded eighth, upsetting No. 1 Rainier in a regional-round game and eventually claiming the State 2B championship with a 73-66 win over Adna in the title game.
The Crusaders aren’t going to be able to sneak up on anyone this year, though.
Senior post Macey Shamblin scored 19 points with 13 rebounds to lead three in double figures and the Crusaders topped Davenport 54-38 in a District 6 2B semifinal at West Valley High on Wednesday, officially punching their ticket to the state tournament.
NWC (21-1) will face Reardan in the district title game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at West Valley. The Crusaders’ only loss this season came against Reardan, a 48-45 decision on Jan. 6.
Senior guard Kaitlyn Waters had 16 points with a pair of 3-pointers and sophomore guard Julianna Pope added 14. The Crusaders are ranked No. 4 in 2B in the state’s RPI system.
“We definitely came into the season knowing that we had a target on our back and knowing we had to play our best games and play like a team,” Shamblin said. “I think we’ve done a really good job of living up to it.”
“Macey is unstoppable in the post,” NWC coach Nikki Nelson said of the 6-foot senior. “She’s an amazing player on and off the court, and we just appreciate how much she adds. She leads us in rebounds every game, and her hands – she can catch everything, so we definitely look to get her the ball as much as we can.”
Davenport (18-5) was led by senior Glenna Soliday with 16 points. The Gorillas face a loser-out on Friday.
NWC has dealt the Gorillas three of their losses this season.
“We have a lot of really talented teams in our league, so we’ve been really just focusing on doing the little things and trying to improve every game,” Nelson said. “The competition is really tough in our league, so we respect a lot of people, and it’s something we just have to continue to improve on.”
Reardan 39, Freeman 32: Tenice Waters scored 21 points and the Screaming Eagles (20-3) defeated the Scotties (13-8) in the other semifinal.
Finley Pecht led Freeman with 11 points. Freeman plays Colfax in a loser-out on Friday.
Colfax 54, Liberty 34: Holly Robinson and Allie Jenkin scored 21 points apiece and the Bulldogs (14-9) eliminated the Lancers (13-11). Jordyn Jeske led Liberty with 19 points.
Boys
Northwest Christian 76, Davenport 66 (2OT): Senior Caleb Grant scored nine of his 29 points in double overtime and the Crusaders (21-1), ranked No. 2 in 2B by the state’s RPI system, outlasted the Gorillas (13-11).
NWC outscored Davenport 10-1 in the second OT. The Crusaders advanced to the district title game on Saturday.
Sophomore Bennett Wagner had 25 for Davenport, which faces Reardan in a loser-out on Friday.
NWC led most of the game, but Davenport took a late two-point lead. Grant tied it with a layup with 16 seconds left and Davenport sophomore Titus Lathrop’s corner 3 at the buzzer was strong and it headed to overtime.
Davenport senior Beau Copenhaver tied it at 65 on a free throw with 40 seconds left in the first overtime. NWC turned it over on a shot clock violation and the Gorillas got a timeout in the frontcourt with 4.1 seconds remaining. But Wagner’s floater bounced twice on the rim and out, and it went to double overtime.
It was all Crusaders in the second extra period.
Reardan 74, Kettle Falls 50: Justin Vaughn and Fred Frolov scored 23 points apiece and the Screaming Eagles (19-4) eliminated the Bulldogs (11-13). Mace Thivierge led Kettle Falls with 23 points. Reardan will play Davenport in a loser-out on Friday.
Liberty 46, Asotin 42: JJ Hodl scored 16 points and the Lancers (16-7) eliminated the Panthers (8-14). Liberty plays in a loser-out on Friday.