Lady Mustangs recap
2010 - Prosser vs. West Valley

Prosser heads to final after handing West Valley of Spokane its first loss

YAKIMA, Wash. — It started on the game’s very first play, when Prosser’s Tayshia Hunt made an on-the-way-up block of a shot by West Valley’s Shanique Nilles.

It ended with — gulp — reserves for both teams running out the clock.

What happened in between was the Mustangs doing something to the Spokane-based Eagles that no team had done all season — beat them.

Prosser’s 55-41 victory in the Class 2A state semifinals Friday night, as impressive as it was decisive, planted coach Mark Little’s team opposite top-ranked River Ridge (24-1) in tonight’s 9 o’clock championship game in the SunDome.

It will be the Mustangs’ first such appearance since 1997. They will seek the school’s first girls basketball title since 1989, when Kelly Blair powered Prosser to the Class 1A crown.

“Fantastic, just a remarkable performance by these kids,” Little enthused afterward. “They’ve worked really, really hard all season. And tonight they played so well — they really have earned this.”

Tamara Jones, a tower of strength all game, produced game-high totals of 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead the winners. She also generated an ear-to-ear grin afterward.

“This is so great after getting to the semifinals for three years (and falling short the previous two),” the 5-foot-11 junior said. “We really wanted this.”

Hunt added 11 points and joined other Mustangs in seemingly taking turns making big plays.

“Tayshia was great,” Jones said, “Helen (Petersen) was playing awesome … we were playing great defense, making good passes and we weren’t turning the ball over.”

Nilles, a multitalented 6-0 junior, led the Eagles (24-1) with 23 points and six boards. She displayed no ill effects from taking a hard fall on her right knee the night before against Ellensburg, but struggled wire to wire against timely double teams from Prosser’s aggressive but controlled man-to-man defense.

No other West Valley player scored more than Mallorie Schoesler’s seven points, and Schoesler, Torrie Finn and 6-0 Hannah Love all fouled out trying to contain the offensively assertive Mustangs.

Despite a substantial height disadvantage, Prosser outrebounded the Eagles 43-33.

The seventh-ranked Mustangs (22-3) began with a 9-3 run that saw Rachel Anderson score on a putback, Hunt hit two free throws and then a 3-pointer and Jones add two more from the foul line.

They led 11-6 at the break, 24-17 at halftime and 37-31 after three quarters with Jones scoring 12 of her team’s 14 points during a portion of the second half.

In the final period, Prosser steadily added to its lead, then got a 3-ball from Anderson, who followed with a transition bucket off a feed from Petersen for a 46-35 advantage with 5:16 left.

West Valley was still within 48-41 after Nilles’ driving banker with 2:36 to play, but the Mustangs finished with a 7-0 burst punctuated by Hunt’s steal and ensuing layup.

“I’d say this would have to at least be one of our best games of the year, if not the best,” Little said. “But we’d like to play an even better one tomorrow night.”

Tri-City Herald

Prosser girls knock off WV, play for state title

By Rene Ferran, Herald staff writer

YAKIMA -- Tamara Jones doesn't make it her habit to check out the Internet to see what's being said about her Prosser girls basketball team.

But the junior made an exception before Friday's 2A state semifinal game against West Valley (Spokane), and she didn't like what she read.

"Everything I saw said it was going to be River Ridge and West Valley in the finals," Jones said. "But we weren't going to let that happen."

She's right. It didn't happen. Prosser instead finally got over the semifinal hurdle at the SunDome and erased the memory of last year's loss to the Eagles at the same time, defeating them 55-41.

"We talked about that a little bit before the game," said Jones, who had another monster night with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 12 rebounds and three steals. "But we didn't let it get to our heads. We just focused on tonight's game."

The Mustangs (22-3), who lost in the semifinals the previous two years, led wire-to-wire in handing the Great Northern League champion Eagles their first loss of the season.

Now, Prosser gets a chance at some more revenge in tonight's championship game against top-ranked River Ridge (25-1), which beat the Mustangs in both the 2007 and '08 tournaments.

"We'll have fun with this, but we'll be locked in tomorrow," said Prosser coach Mark Little, who led the Mustangs to their only two other finals appearances -- a win in the 1A final in 1989 and a loss to West Valley in the 3A final in '97. "River Ridge is fast and athletic, and they're a little more balanced offensively."

The way the Mustangs have played defense in this tournament, though, that may not matter. For the third straight game, they shut down a high-powered offense by taking away its two biggest weapons and not getting burned by any role players.

"Defense, defense, defense," Jones said. "That's all we talked about before the game. Take away 32 (Shanique Nilles) and 52 (Hannah Love) and get in their heads."

Tayshia Hunt had primary duties on Nilles, who has drawn interest from Gonzaga and Portland State, and made her work for her 23 points.

"That No. 11 girl (Hunt) did a really great job making sure I didn't get the ball," Nilles said. "Props to her. Moves that usually work for me didn't tonight. As a team, we had an off night, and they played a huge part in that."

Meanwhile, Rachel Anderson locked down on Love, frustrating her into a five-point night on 2-of-12 shooting before she fouled out in the final minute.

"I knew she likes to drive a lot and is good with her right hand," Anderson said. "So my focus was making her go left and staying in front of her."

Anderson also played a big part in Prosser finally getting some separation early in the fourth quarter after a Nilles basket drew West Valley (24-1) within 41-35.

Anderson stepped out and buried a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the arc, then after a Nilles miss, she caught a tough lead pass from Helen Petersen and laid the ball in for a 46-35 lead with 5:16 to play.

The Eagles got no closer than seven the rest of the way.

"I knew they weren't expecting me to shoot the 3, and I felt comfortable taking it," said Anderson, who had nine points and six rebounds. "I wanted to show them how balanced a team we really are."

That balance ensured that Jones couldn't receive the defensive scrutiny that WV's stars did.

Hunt added 11 points, Kelli Wilson had a key steal and layup down the stretch, and freshman Sydney Mercer hit a couple of baskets while giving Jones a breather.

"Everybody contributed," Jones said. "If it wasn't for that, we wouldn't have won this. It wasn't just one person, but everybody."