Katie Grad
Lake Stevens (Wash.) fought back in the third quarter to defeat Jesuit of Portland, Ore., 66-50, to win the white division, while host Auburn Riverside busted out a strong start against Sheldon of Eugene, Ore., for a 69-48 win and the navy division title.
The Ravens (6-3) went on a 13-0 run to close the first quarter and were up 41-16 at halftime on a Sheldon squad that finished fourth in the 2007 Oregon 6A tournament.
Sheldon came out and put together a run at the beginning of the second half, but the Irish weren’t able to get closer than 19 points down.
“That’s what we’re trying to focus on is the defensive end of things and not the offensive end,” Washington State-bound senior Katie Grad said. “If our defense is good and we’re getting stops and we’re getting transition and we can get into our press … we live and die off the press.”
Grad, the navy division MVP, led all scorers with 24 points, while sophomore Mercedes Wetmore added 17 for the Ravens, which went 1-3 at the TOC.
With wins against Buena, Calif., Friday and Sheldon Saturday, Auburn Riverside finished a streak of six games against teams from six states in 11 days, going 3-3, including Saturday’s strong showing against Sheldon.
“If we put two halves together like that, we’re going to be tough to beat,” Barrett said.
In the first division championship of the night, Jesuit came out firing against Lake Stevens, taking a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. Lake Stevens, which had battled to double overtime with Moses Lake (Wash.) Friday, came out flat but recharged at halftime to outscore the Portland team by 19 in the second half.
“It’s really good for us to be here,” Vikings coach Randall Eden said. “To go out and beat a team like (Moses Lake) and bounce back and beat Jesuit, those are monster wins for us. … It puts us on the map officially.”
Senior Mary Ochiltree led Lake Stevens with 25 points and was named the white division MVP. Senior teammate Alona Personius, who skipped her junior season to focus on softball, had a season-high 19 points. Eastern Washington-bound Meaghan White led Jesuit with 15 points.
It was their third game in three days at the tournament for both Oregon teams, while it was just the second of back-to-back games for Lake Stevens and Auburn Riverside.
