Washougal girls fall to Shorecrest at 2A state (video)

YAKIMA – The Washougal girls basketball team’s recipe for success is its defense.

Thursday, a key ingredient was missing – a dash of offense.

Washougal lost to Shorecrest 59-42 in the Class 2A state quarterfinals at the SunDome.

Over and over, Shorecrest beat the full-court press that Washougal used to frustrate White River in the regional round last weekend.

A reason for Shorecrest’s success? Washougal’s struggles on offense that saw the Panthers shoot 14 for 61 from the field on Thursday.

“That has been our achilles heel,” Washougal coach Brian Oberg said. “When we can’t score the ball, we can’t set up our press properly.”

Washougal missed its first seven shots and never broke out of its slump. Shorecrest scored the last seven points of the first half to take a 25-16 lead, which the Scots extended to 45-27 by the end of the third quarter.

Many of Shorecrest’s points came on fast breaks that saw the Scots beat Washougal down the court with long passes.

“They passed it as good as we thought they could pass,” Oberg said. “We told the girls this is what they’re going to do. It’s either going to get stolen or it’s going to be a layup. Unfortunately for us it was layup after layup.”

Alyssa Blankenship, the 2A Greater St. Helens League co-MVP, led Washougal with 18 points on 6-for-16 shooting. But the rest of the team was 8-for-45 from the field.

“We wished to do better, but it is what it is,” Blankenship said. “They’re a good team. All the teams here are going to be elite. I’m just glad we gave it our all.”

While Shorecrest (16-10) advances to face top-ranked East Valley (Spokane) in the semifinals, Washougal (20-6) must win Friday to sustain its hopes of winning a trophy. The Panthers face Anacortes at 9 a.m.

“Give it our all,” Blankenship said of Washougal’s approach to that game. “It could be our last game, so we have to play like it’s our last game.”

With Washougal playing the 9 a.m. game Thursday, coffee was the drink of choice in the stands. But jitters were also seen on the court as Washougal didn’t score until 2:40 remained in the first quarter.

Freshman Beyonce Bea scored five consecutive points in the second quarter to pull Washougal within 16-14. But that was as close as the Panthers got as Shorecrest ended the half on a 9-2 run.

Sophomore forward Julia Strand led Shorecrest with 18 points. Senior post Uju Chibuogwu added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Shoreline school, which played against Class 3A teams in the Wesco Conference.

“We’re here for a reason and Shorecrest is here for a reason,” Oberg said. “They’re a good solid team that played in a tough league.”

SHORECREST 59, WASHOUGAL 42

SHORECREST (16-10) – Laura Hoover 0, Amanda Kagarabi 0, Indira Ensign 2, Wurrie Njadoe 7, Ari Rantz 0, Jazlyn Owens 11, Julia Strand 18, Ronna Iverson 0, Shelby Gresch 2, Sheridan Stephenson 4, Uju Chibuogwu 15. Totals 20 (4) 15-21 59.

WASHOUGAL (20-6) – Maggie Hungerford 2, Beyonce Bea 9, Lindsey Thomas 2, RaeAnn Allen 6, Alyssa Blankenship 18, Sarah Shilling 0, Ashley Gibbons 3, Kiara Cross 0, Katilyn Reijonen 0, Alissa Lenczowski 2, Sierra Carroll 0, Kayla Donahue 0. Totals 14 (3) 11-16 42.

Shorecrest   11  14  20  14  —  59

Washougal  7  9  11  15   —  42