Tierra Rogers of Sacred Heart
BEAVERTON, Ore. — One has speed.
The other has, well, speed.
And when the two two-time defending state champions from California meet Saturday, it's going to be fast. And physical.
By virtue of semifinal wins Friday in the Northwest Nike Invitational at Southridge High, Long Beach Poly and Sacred Heart will finally clash at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.
"They're like women in a girls' world," Prairie coach Al Aldridge said after his Falcons lost to Long Beach Poly, 59-35.
It wasn't all easy for the second-ranked Jackrabbits as Prairie took an early lead and then stayed within three points for much of the first half.
Poly's Jasmine Dixon
But in the third quarter, junior Monique Oliver blocked four of Prairie's shots. The Falcons managed to get three past her and into the net, but the damage was done. Long Beach Poly made a 20-7 run and had a 20-point lead.
"We didn't want to run with them," Aldridge said. "We were down seven, eight in that one stretch and in a minute and a half it went to 20. We came down, took quick shots and missed. They threw over the top of us; we didn't get back in time."
And Long Beach Poly can run all day. Fourteen different girls played for the Jackrabbits against Prairie. Of the 14, 13 scored at least one point.
Senior Jasmine Dixon, who signed with Rutgers in November, led the Jackrabbits with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Oliver, a transfer from Las Vegas, had seven points and five blocks.
The Jackrabbits' speed kept them all over the boards as well, outrebounding Prairie 42-18, while the pressure defense kept Falcon point guard Ashley Corral to 12 points.
"We don't see that kind of pressure anywhere," Aldridge said. "Nobody in the state (of Washington) puts that kind of pressure on you, and with those kind of athletes, that's amazing. … Lewis and Clark (of Spokane) is about as close to that pressure as we'll ever see, but even Lewis and Clark, as athletic as they are, they don't rotate to other players like those guys do. As a coach looking, you swear you're seeing seven players on the floor sometimes on defense."
Corral, who played against Dixon and Oliver during the summer, knew the team would be tough.
Ki-Shawna Moore of Sacred Heart
challenges Michelle Jenkins of Southridge
"They're a very physical team, but that's the name of the game," Corral said. "Once you get to this level and you get to college, that's the name of the game. They're already there."
With Long Beach Poly already in the title game, San Francisco's Sacred Heart took the court against host Southridge.
The Skyhawks jumped out to a 17-4 lead at the beginning of the second period, allowing just four free-throws to sink for the Irish, but Sacred Heart coach Brian Harrigan turned on the pressure defense and quickly caught up. The Irish allowed just seven Southridge points in the second half while scoring 35 of their own, sailing to the 58-36 victory.
"We thought just coming here it was going to be a great tournament," Harrigan said. "We've gotten to play two great teams, so we're going to get an opportunity to play three great teams. We have a lot of respect for Long Beach. They're not ranked No. 1 for nothing."
The fast pace from Sacred Heart tuckered out the Skyhawks, who also aren't quite as deep. Irish junior Tierra Rogers led all scorers with 13, while Sacred Heart senior Lauren Bell and Southridge senior Michelle Jenkins each had 12. Point guard Alex Earl added 11 for the Skyhawks before fouling out of the game early in the fourth quarter.
"They're phenomenally athletic," Southridge coach Michael Meek said. "I felt yesterday they were the best team in the tournament. Today Long Beach Poly came back and played really well. It should be a great matchup."
Central Catholic, Highland Ranch Advance in Consolation
Luckily for Kate Lanz, she didn't have to shoulder the load for Central Catholic Friday.
Carley Losk of Beaverton
While Lanz, who is still suffering from a bad cold she's had for nearly a week, scored just three points, junior wing Dani Klupinger led the Rams with 13 points. Classmate Chelsea Christensen was right behind her with 10 as Central Catholic bumped Beaverton into the seventh-place game with a 64-41 win.
The Rams went on an 18-0 run near the end of the game to put it out of reach for the Beavers. Freshman guard Nicole Hartzog led Beaverton with 14 points.
In the second game, Highlands Ranch, the two-time defending Colorado state champions, wanted to bounce back from Thursday's loss to Long Beach Poly that the team took pretty hard.
A 62-42 win against South Eugene may have done the trick, as senior guard Alyssa Fressle was back in form for the Falcons. Leading the squad, along with senior forward Taylor Johnson, each scored 12 points.
Another senior, center Jordan Floyd, added 10 as the Rams recovered from Friday's seven-point loss. They face Central Catholic for fifth place.
Senior post Sarah Whitfield scored 13 for the Axemen.
