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Pirates
secure state seeding
PHOENIX
-- Tara Curtis isn't known for her 3-point shooting, but the Phoenix senior
forward delivered in a timely way Friday.
Curtis produced a game-high 16 points,
including a pair of momentum stopping 3s in the second half, as Phoenix
defeated Illinois Valley 49-41 at the Pirates' gym in the Skyline Conference
girls basketball regular-season finale.
Phoenix, North Valley and Henley each
finished with 10-4 conference records, but Phoenix gets second place due to
the tiebreaking formula.
The victory secured Phoenix (13-9 overall)
a Class 3A state playoff home game March 4 against Myrtle Point, the Far
West League's third-place team. A win over Myrtle Point would send Phoenix
to the state tournament for the first time since 1997.
"When you're hosting one game for a
chance to go to state," said Phoenix coach Kyle Walker. "I
certainly feel a lot better than going on the road, especially because we
haven't played well on the road this year."
Curtis hit the first of two 3-point shots
after the Cougars had whittled a 14-point third-quarter deficit to three.
Then in the fourth quarter, Curtis buried her second trey when IV had pulled
to within five.
"She (Curtis) stepped up and hit some
shots when we needed them," said Walker. "She's not a person who
takes a lot of 3s. Her contribution in the second half was pretty big."
A key factor for Phoenix was holding
high-scoring Snow Staples to 14 points.
"We wanted to make sure she didn't
score 25," said Walker. "Wherever she went we tried to know where
she was and match up on the perimeter with her. We forced her to shoot
without her feet being set."
Jennifer Bones added 11 points for the
Pirates, but more importantly, grabbed 13 rebounds.
"She usually doesn't lead us in
boards," said Walker. "She was more aggressive and went after
rebounds rather than letting the ball come to her." ILLINOIS
VALLEY (41) -- Staples 14, Hoskins 11, Pierce 8, Echmann 6, Nadow 2,
Wendover 0, Dougherty 0, Pope 0, Hughes 0, Walker 0, Fink 0. Totals: 16 6-13
41. PHOENIX
(49) -- Curtis 16, Bones 11, Gonzalez 8, Prisbrey 8, Nikodym 4, Meredith
2, Jackson 0, Clark 0, Capp 0, Bourdon 0. Totals: 21 3-6 49. Illinois
Valley ..........11 9 11 10 -- 41 3-point
goals -- Illinois Valley 3 (Staples 2, Pierce 1), Phoenix 4 (Prisbrey 2,
Curtis 2). Fouled out Nadow. JV
score -- Phoenix 50, Illinois Valley 29. |
