TACOMA — Cori Woodward’s first quarter was flawless.
Her second quarter was painful — a nasty looking ankle injury that threatened to derail her game.
The sophomore ignored the pain, returned in the second half, and provided another example of just how resilient the Prairie girls basketball team is this season.
Woodward, Jackie Lanz and Megan Lindsley combined for 34 points Friday in the Tacoma Dome, leading the Falcons to the Class 3A state championship game with a 54-41 victory over Kamiakin of Kennewick in the semifinals.
The Falcons dedicated the victory to Heather Corral, their injured leader who had knee surgery Friday morning.
They won for Lanae Adams, who had missed the past two seasons due to injuries and then missed the second half Friday with a sore knee.
They did it for each other, they did it for their coach. And yes, they won for their prestigious program.
The Falcons are advancing to their 11th state championship game under coach Al Aldridge, the first since 2006. The last Prairie team to win it all was in 2003.
These Falcons believe they can be the program’s sixth state title team. Prairie (27-0) will face Holy Names (28-0) in Saturday’s championship game at 3 p.m.
“You can’t comprehend. We’re all so excited,” said Lanz, who made three 3-pointers for the second consecutive day and led the Falcons with 13 points and four assists. “We’re all looking forward to the opportunity tomorrow. Even though we have injuries, we’re still going to be a strong team.”
Woodward, the first player off the bench Friday, had seven points, two steals, and two assists in the first quarter. She swished a 3-pointer just before the horn, giving the Falcons a 13-point advantage.
“She was the spark,” Lanz said of Woodward.
“I was really glad to help my team,” Woodward said. “Yesterday, I didn’t have any turnovers, but I didn’t score. Today, I wanted to make up for yesterday.
“I played hard for Heather. That’s what we always want to do.”
Aldridge said he is particularly proud of this squad for making it to the finals after what it has endured.
“It’s awesome. It’s even more awesome because of the way we’ve done it. With Heather, I don’t think there was ever a doubt for us that we’d be here. It would have been so easy to have it all go away when she got hurt. The seniors have done a great job of leading us, and everyone’s playing with a lot of heart.”
Woodward displayed that Friday. When she went down midway through the second quarter, she could not put any weight on her right ankle as she was helped to the bench.
“My shoe went left, and my ankle went right,” she said.
Two large packs of ice were strapped around the injury. But at halftime, she asked to have her ankle wrapped, to see if she could play. Woodward checked back into the game early in the third quarter.
“I didn’t hear anything pop, so I knew it was just a really bad twist,” Woodward said. “I couldn’t just sit out. It’s state.”
She also had a prediction for the championship game.
“I’m playing. End of story.”
The Falcons never trailed in the semifinals. Lindsley, after going scoreless in the quarterfinals, made her first 3-pointer of the game for a quick 5-0 lead. Woodward then led a 10-0 run to end the period, making it 19-6.
The Falcons opened the second half with an 11-2 spurt, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Lanz.
“When we came back on the floor (for the second half), we knew we had this game,” Lanz said. “We just had to keep the intensity up.”
The Falcons made four of their seven 3-pointers in the period. Lindsley connected from long range to make it 43-24 by the end of the period.
The Braves, who were led by Khadidja Toure’s 13 points, made a little run to get within nine points. The Falcons were 5 of 6 from the line in the final three minutes to secure the victory.
Lindsley, who made all six of her free throws, finished with 12 points and a team-high five rebounds. Woodward had nine points and three assists.
The Falcons honored Corral by putting a picture of her face on a stick and waving it from the Prairie bench in the semifinals. Corral had said earlier this week that she hopes to be in attendance for the championship game.
The title game is the game the Falcons always thought they would play in, but never figured on having to get there after so many injuries.
“They believed they could get it done,” Aldridge said. “That’s huge.”
