Battle Ground's Morgan Stradley prepares to inbound the basketball in front of the Mountain View student section during a 4A District 4 Tournament game Tuesday at Mountain View. (Micah Rice/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
With the season on the line, Kayla Cruz wanted to be at the line.
Cruz and her Battle Ground teammates were never rattled during a 47-41 win over Mountain View in the Class 4A District 4 Girls Basketball Tournament on Tuesday.
The Tigers weren’t fazed when they entered halftime down 23-14 in a loser-out game.
They held their poise when the game turned physical in the second half. Battle Ground flexed its muscles defensively, holding Mountain View to five points in the third quarter.
And most importantly, Cruz kept her nerve at the foul line during a tense fourth quarter. The junior point guard made seven of her eight free throws in the final minute of the game.
That allowed the Tigers to pull away after they led 40-39 with a minute left.
When the hearts are racing and the hands are sweating, Cruz was not just in a zone. She was in her comfort zone.
“I like being on the spot,” she said.
Mountain View and Battle Ground had split two Greater St. Helens League games this season. Both were close, with Battle Ground winning a 60-59 overtime thriller on Feb. 2.
So one could expect another tight game between No. 4-seeded Mountain View and No. 5 Battle Ground.
“It has been a catfight every single time,” Battle Ground senior Kylie Smith said. “Mountain View has really good shooters and good ball movement. … They played a great game, so I’m glad we came out on top.”
Smith scored 13 points, including nine of her team’s 14 in the first half. But her biggest sequence came with two minutes to play.
First, the six-foot post scored from close range to give Battle Ground a 38-37 lead. Then, she emphatically blocked a driving lay-up attempt before scoring again on the next possession.
Hailey Hartney’s jumper pulled Mountain View within 40-39 with 1:05 left.
Cruz was fouled on Battle Ground’s next possession and cooly converted the one-and-one free throws she faced.
Down 42-39, Mountain View had the ball with under 30 seconds left. But Cruz stole the ball and broke toward the basket. Her arm was grabbed from behind, which was called an intentional foul that gave Battle Ground two-shots and the ball.
She made one of two free throws, then made two more after being fouled on Battle Ground’s next possession.
It was suddenly 45-39. Just 19 seconds remained.
Game over. Season saved.
“Probably just wanting to do it for the seniors,” Cruz said when asked how she stayed so calm down the stretch.
Battle Ground has just three seniors. One of those is Smith, who hopes to further extend her high school career when the Tigers face top-seeded Skyview on Thursday.
“We were super focused going into this game tonight,” she said. “We knew that this was our last chance to keep our season going. Playing for each other and playing as a team was really important for us tonight.”
Mountain View controlled the game in the first half, with Jenna Gulliford scoring eight of her team-high 14 points.
But the Thunder lost their shooting touch in the second half.
Meanwhile, Battle Ground’s Morgan Stradley overcame a cold-shooting first half to score seven points in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer that capped a 15-3 run and gave the Tigers a 29-26 lead.
“Hats off to Battle Ground,” Mountain View coach Mat Clark said. “They made some shots to start the third quarter and that really helped them. I think both teams came out of halftime intense defensively. Battle Ground just made shots. They got a nice spurt and were quickly able to even the game out.”
BATTLE GROUND 47, MOUNTAIN VIEW 41
BATTLE GROUND — Grace Russell 7, Isabel Luke 2, Kayla Cruz 10, Brianna Adams 3, Morgan Stradley 10, Kylie Smith 13, Kelly Poteet 2, Zoe Mosby 0. Totals 17 (4) 9-16 47.
