The gap between first and second place in the Class 3A Greater St. Helens League’s girls basketball standings has widened.
Considerably.
The Prairie Falcons won their 14th consecutive league title, dispatching second-place Mountain View 82-29 Tuesday on Senior Night at Prairie High School.
Angela Gelhar made five 3-pointers and scored 23 points and Heather Corral added 20 points and five blocked shots to lead the Falcons (19-0, 11-0 3A GSHL).
Mountain View (13-6, 9-2) stayed relatively close to Prairie in the previous meeting, holding the Falcons to 47 points in a 16-point decision.
But on Senior Night and with the league championship on the line, the Falcons left no doubt.
“We wanted to give them no hope in case we do meet again at district,” said Lauren Goecke, one of three seniors in uniform who were honored prior to the team’s final regular-season home game.
There was some hope after a competitive first quarter Tuesday. Haley Holboke scored seven of her team-high 12 points in the opening period, keeping the Thunder within three points six minutes into the contest.
But Gelhar drained her third 3-pointer of the game to make it 21-12 after the opening period. The Falcons would score 27 more points in the second quarter, then really turned on the defense in the second half.
Mountain View went 1 for 20 in the second half, scoring six points.
“It was really exciting,” Gelhar said. “I just wanted to have the best last game I could have in this gym.”
She meant for the regular season. If Prairie wins the district title — a likely scenario — the Falcons will host a game in the bi-district tournament. With the league championship secure, the Falcons will have one more league game before having a bye into the district championship game.
They hope to play like they did Tuesday against Mountain View.
“Our defense gets us going,” said Gelhar, who also had five steals. “That’s where we get our energy. We get pumped up from that.”
Sounds great to Prairie coach Al Aldridge, who said his team has played flat in the last couple of weeks. Now, with the postseason just a couple of games away, he said he needs his players to focus on the long-term goals by executing a few short-term assignments.
“The goal tonight was to keep our intensity up, especially with our pressure,” he said. “I thought we did a real good job of taking care of that, especially in the second half.”
Gelhar was not the only player with the hot hand. Sophomore Megan Lindsley was 4 of 6 from 3-point range for her 12 points. She also had five assists.
This night belonged to the older players, though.
Gelhar, Goecke, and Lanae Adams appreciated the standing ovation prior to the game. Then they all helped Prairie get that league title.
“It shows how much effort we put into it, all the hours, all the practices,” Goecke said. “It’s not easy at all.”
For Adams, this night had even more meaning. She missed the past two basketball seasons with ACL injuries in both knees, plus missed more time with torn meniscus in her left knee. She scored six points and had a team-high eight rebounds against the Thunder.
“It feels good to finally be on the court, finally be able to play with my team and contribute, and to be a part of the tradition,” Adams said.
Another wave of players has made it toward the end of their careers at Prairie. And they are leaving with another league championship, a tradition indeed.
