TACOMA — Whereas dealing with a number of deficits towards Eatonville within the opening spherical of the Class 2A ladies basketball state match, Ridgefield sensed a comeback was within the works.
Relentless optimism — as Ridgefield coach Lauren Hefflin calls it — is the one manner the Spudders know tips on how to play.
Trailing by as many as eight factors within the fourth quarter Friday at Mount Tahoma Excessive Faculty, Ridgefield’s 8-0 run led to a game-tying 3-point try, however it fell off the mark with seven seconds left. No. 11 seed Eatonville (22-4) hit a free throw on the opposite finish and held on for a 55-51 win over No. 14 Ridgefield (11-13) to advance to the 2A state Spherical of 12 in Yakima on Wednesday.
“We don’t go down without a fight,” Ridgefield senior Nora Martin mentioned. “Especially being our last game, kind of just got to put it all out there, and (believe) in our team. Our shots just didn’t fall tonight.”
For a crew that reached its second straight 2A state match after beginning the season 0-8 with a grueling December schedule, the Spudders’ battle in Friday’s sport got here as no shock to them.
“We’re gritty, we’re gonna fight, we’re gonna leave it all on the court — and that’s what our team identity is,” Ridgefield senior Abigail Vance mentioned.
They confronted a right away deficit when Eatonville’s 6-foot-4 heart Lillian Bickford scored six factors within the opening minutes, serving to the Cruisers soar out to a 19-13 lead after one quarter.
With Eatonville’s Bickford (14 factors), Bailey Andersen (19 factors) and Hailey Corridor (11 factors) doing most of their harm within the paint, the Spudders continued to hold inside single digits regardless of an uphill battle over 4 quarters.
Down by 5 coming into the fourth, Ridgefield noticed its deficit develop to 9 with six minutes left when Corridor grabbed an offensive rebound and putback.
“I was kind of just waiting — I was waiting for that comeback because that’s our girls’ spirit,” Hefflin mentioned. “I knew they were going to come back. It’s hard when you don’t hit those shots you normally hit, and it’s hard to be resilient through that and not let that deflate you. It took them a little bit longer to not be deflated … and then they realized it’s our defense that got us here.”
Like clockwork, Ridgefield made its transfer by forcing a number of turnovers and holding Eatonville scoreless for a two-and-a-half minute stretch, throughout which the Spudders scored eight straight with a 3-pointer from Josie Hicks and back-to-back baskets from Madison Ingham, bringing Ridgefield inside 49-48 with beneath 4 minutes left.
However, simply seconds later, Ingham, Ridgefield’s main scorer with 15 factors, picked up her fifth foul and was compelled to exit early.
“That’s tough,” Vance mentioned. “Madison is a great player, a sophomore to win first team all-league. We love her.”
With Ingham and Martin fouling out, Hefflin lauded the Spudders’ bench contributions, notably senior Baylee Bushnell, who hit a jumper with a minute left to get the Spudders inside three.
“A big part of our mantra over the season has been relentless optimism,” Hefflin mentioned. “Understanding (we’ve) got to go, we’ve got to be thinking what’s happening next is best.”
Ridgefield’s bounce-back season to achieve state, on the heels of final 12 months’s run to the 2A state Spherical of 12, was a testomony to the crew’s senior management and underclassmen’s workmanlike efforts, Hefflin mentioned. That mixture fostered a aggressive ambiance in practices and allowed the Spudders make incremental enhancements.
“0-8 and to state … it’s crazy, like, I think no one really believed in us and it was just us (and) our coaches,” Vance mentioned. “We took it on and said, ‘OK, get better today. One game at a time.’ And it was just kind of stacking that confidence and we kept on pushing. This team is a great team.”
The Spudders loved their time collectively off the courtroom too.
“The people are just such a difference-maker and the family bond that you create, they just make you love the sport even more,” Martin mentioned.
Seniors Vance, Martin and Bushnell had been additionally teammates on the Ridgefield ladies soccer crew’s back-to-back state championship runs.
“This team was like none other,” Vance added. “We all love our coaches … and Nora, we’ve been playing soccer, basketball, everything together. So, to do it four years in a row, it’s been a great ride and I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”
EATONVILLE 55, RIDGEFIELD 51
RIDGEFIELD — Abigail Vance 6, Sava Chanda 7, Madison Ingham 15, Nora Martin 8, Baylee Bushnell 4, Allie Doman 2, Josie Hicks 4. Totals 19 (4) 4-14 51.
EATONVILLE — Alayna Meyer 3, Miley King 0, Jordyn Inexperienced 2, Hailey Corridor 11, Sadie Mettler 2, Lillian Bickford 16, Bailey Andersen 19, Tialeani Schanbeck 2. Totals 23 (1) 8-15 55.
Ridgefield 13 16 11 11—51
Eatonville 19 14 12 10—55