TACOMA – A second straight game against Gig Harbor led to a second half to forget for the Prairie girls basketball team.
Gig Harbor beat Prairie 53-34 on Friday in the regional round of the 3A state tournament. The Falcons were outscored 36-15 in the second half at Mount Tahoma High School.
By virtue of being a top-8 seed, Prairie’s season isn’t over. The No. 7 Falcons (21-4) play a loser-out game against Stanwood or Lynnwood on Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome. No. 2 Gig Harbor (19-6) earned a bye to the state quarterfinals.
Friday’s game was a different outcome than one week earlier, when Prairie beat Gig Harbor 42-35 to place third in the District 3-4 tournament.
This time, Gig Harbor’s defense held Prairie to just six field goals and forced 10 turnovers in the second half.
The Tides made seven of their 11 3-pointers after halftime. Gig Harbor took a 32-21 lead with a 19-2 run stretching from the late second quarter to late third quarter.
“It is hard to play the same team twice in a row,” Prairie junior Mallory Williams said. “They know what you’re doing. They made adjustments and we didn’t.”
Like the previous game, points were at a premium. Prairie led 10-3 after one quarter and 17-9 midway through the second. Brooke Walling and Williams combined for five first-half blocks.
But Gig Harbor hit four 3-pointers in the second quarter, trimming Prairie’s lead to 19-17 at halftime.
The momentum remained with Gig Harbor in the second half as Prairie missed its first five field-goal attempts.
“The shots weren’t falling and that made us lose a bit of our energy,” Williams said. “We started making dumb turnovers.”
Though Prairie has reached the state tournament 21 straight years, the Falcons have no seniors on this year’s roster. Williams said the team will learn from Friday’s loss.
“We need to forget about that game and not let it affect us going into state,” she said. “I think we’re learning how to come back from tough losses like tonight.”
GIG HARBOR 53, PRAIRIE 34
PRAIRIE – Dayna Vera 0, Allison Corral 2, Sydney Weber 0, Brooke Walling 10, Mallory Williams 10, Averie Martinez 0, Cassidy Gardner 4, Claire Heitschmidt 3, Haley Reed 5, Lauren Vreeken 0. Totals 10 (4) 4-7 34.
GIG HARBOR – Kendall Liberty 0, Anna Stewart 2, Keilani Mamea 0, Brynna Maxwell 22, Abby Emery 0, Meghan Edwards 14, Sydney Langworthy 5, Grace Neil 0, Maddie Willett 10. Totals 20 (11) 1-2 53.
Prairie 10 9 6 9—34
Gig Harbor 3 14 15 21—53
