Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Gorillas secure crossover spot in overtime
Davenport junior Jensyn Jacobsen battles St. George's senior Annika Bergquist for possession, resulting in a jump ball. The Gorillas defeated the Dragons 54-49 in overtime to secure fifth place at the District 7 2B Tournament Saturday, Feb. 11.
SPOKANE VALLEY - Davenport's victory over Lind-Ritzville/Sprague in the District 7 2B Tournament loser-out round last Wednesday ensured the Gorillas had a place in the District 6/7 Crossover, but a top-five finish at Districts was important to make sure that crossover wouldn't be against juggernaut Okanogan.
After the Gorillas suffered their second overtime loss of Districts to Upper Columbia Academy Thursday, Feb. 9, Davenport finally figured out its overtime obstacles with a 54-49 victory over St. George's in the District 7 5th/6th place game Saturday, Feb. 11.
The win secured Davenport a date with Lake Roosevelt this weekend in the District 6/7 Crossover, while St. George's drew the unenviable Okanogan assignment with the loss.
"Okanogan is really good, and we've played them," Davenport head coach Stacia Soliday said. "We did not want to be sixth."
The first quarter seemed to indicate a third overtime matchup was out of the question for Davenport. St. George's seniors Margreit Galow and Annika Bergquist dominated from the field and on the glass with little resistance from the Gorillas to lead the Dragons to a 15-4 advantage.
Davenport found some offense in the second quarter, but continued to be crushed on the glass as St. George's took a 23-15 lead into intermission.
In the third quarter, Clare Lathrop woke up. Her 10 points allowed Davenport to cut into St. George's deficit before a fourth-quarter surge by the Gorillas gave them a 42-39 lead with 3:54 left in regulation.
"Something happened and I was able to do so much better," Lathrop said.
Galow wasn't done yet though, and she worked with Berquist to bring St. George's back before fouling out. Berquist had an opportunity to take the lead, but picked up an offensive foul to foul out herself.
Davenport's game winning shot attempt went long and the game went to overtime tied 49-49.
Both teams went into overtime mightily shorthanded. St. George's was down its two senior leaders and was without freshman starter Carsyn Gildehaus from the jump.
Davenport lost Lena Waters to injury in the first half. Jensyn Jacobsen fouled out near the end of regulation and Addie Schneider wasn't available to play at all.
Using the healthy bodies left, both teams scrapped through the extra four minutes. But Davenport scrapped harder, shutting out the Dragons and managing five points on the scoreboard to secure the win.
"I think today we stayed more composed and were able to pull it off," Lathrop said.
Lathrop was the player of the game, scoring 22 points off the bench and grabbing eight rebounds. Jacobsen and Glenna Soliday contributed 11 points and seven rebounds apiece to aide the Gorilla cause.
"I said at the start of overtime, 'I don't want to lose another overtime game,'" Stacia Soliday said. "I think we were confident at the start of overtime knowing they had a couple of their major players out, so that gave us just a little more energy than the other two games."
Galow had 19 points, while Berquist scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for St. George's.
Both schools head to Wenatchee High School this weekend for their respective crossover matchups.
Davenport faces Lake Roosevelt at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18.
The Dragons take on Okanogan at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17. In both instances, the winner advances to state while the loser heads home.
Drew Lawson is the former managing editor of the Davenport Times and a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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