PUYALLUP — Lindsay Asplund talked about history. Natalie Whitesel focused more on the team. And Grace Prom, who had a career night as an individual, also shied away from any personal glory.
This was all about Prairie girls basketball. The program. The team.
“It’s fun to play for such a well-known team, to play with these girls, and play for these coaches and to keep the tradition going,” Asplund said Friday night after the Falcons rolled past Lakes of Lakewood 64-37 in the quarterfinals of the District 3/4 bi-district girls basketball tournament.
The tradition would be reaching the final 16 at state. This bi-district win clinched Prairie’s 18th consecutive trip to the state tournament.
“To experience this with these girls — they’ve always had my back,” said Prom, a sophomore who made four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 20 points. “I’ve always dreamed about it.”
Prairie will face Wilson of Tacoma in the bi-district semifinals Wednesday, back at the scene of Friday’s win — Rogers High School in Puyallup. No matter how the Falcons fare the rest of this tournament, they are in the round of 16, the state regionals.
“We’ve been focusing on playing as a team and not as individuals,” said Whitesel, who had 10 points and nine rebounds.
A bunch of Falcons filled up the stat sheet in this one, combining for one giant team performance. And to think, this was a three-point game at the half.
“We knew if we kept the defense up and we kept shooting, they would fall eventually,” said Asplund, who made three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points.
Whitesel said nerves got to the Falcons in the early going, trying to figure out the opponent.
Lakes led by a point after the first quarter and took a five-point lead early in the second before Prairie found some offensive success.
“If we kept going hard, we knew we’d tired them out,” Whitesel said.
That’s exactly what happened. Lakes only had eight players in uniform, and Prairie’s intense defensive pressure and fast-pace offense took their toll on the Lancers.
The Falcons, who made just 2 of 19 shots in the first quarter, were 21 of 44 the rest of the night, including 10 3-pointers.
Asplund had a fast start to the third quarter with five quick points, giving Prairie a seven-point advantage. Whitesel scored, Cherita Daugherty hit a 3-pointer, and then everyone seemed to get out of the way for Prom.
A 5-5 guard, Prom connected on a 3-pointer, made another shot, then assisted on Jozie Tangeman’s 3-pointer. The close game was no longer close, with Prairie taking a 44-29 lead into the fourth quarter.
Prom had a personal 10-2 run of her own in the final quarter, lifting the lead to 23 points. She finished 8 of 14 from the floor, including her four 3-pointers, plus she had eight rebounds, four steals, and a blocked shot.
She refused to say it was her best game of the year.
“It’s our team’s best game of the year,” she said instead. “We struggled in the first half. In the second half, we needed to make something happen.”
The numbers back that assessment, too. Daugherty, Whitesel and Emily Peters each had nine rebounds. Daugherty had three blocked shots, including two in one Lakes’ possession. Jamie Phares took two charges in the second quarter, when Lakes was still in the contest.
Add it all up, and it’s another trip to state for the Prairie Falcons.
PRAIRIE 64, LAKES 37
LAKES — Nippine Bonds 3, Shamirah Lowe 8, Brianna Mitchell 4, Olivia Crawford 18, Mallory LaPoole 4, Jaya Smith 0, Akasiiyah Dunbar 0, Shakira Kelley 0. Totals 14-59 (4-24) 5-14 37.
PRAIRIE — Lindsay Asplund 13, Jamie Phares 0, Emily Peters 3, Cherita Daugherty 9, Natalie Whitesel 10, Grace Prom 20, Jozie Tangeman 5, Deja Gobert 2, Kris Rocci 2, Macey Hsu 0, Glory Prom 0, Cheyanne Schlalos 0. Totals 23-63 (11-45) 7-11 64.
