It didn’t matter what the Skyline girls basketball team tried in the final 5 minutes of Friday’s KingCo 4A title game — the ball simply wouldn’t go through the hoop.
“We just didn’t execute in the fourth quarter,” said Spartan head coach Greg Bruns, after losing 55-47 to Woodinville.
Skyline, which scored just five points in the final quarter, went 0-for-7 in the final 5 minutes and 10 seconds, committing four turnovers.
“I think we just got tired in the fourth quarter and that’s what killed us, said senior Lindsey Nicholson, who led her team with 13 points.
The end was a huge contrast to the start of the game.
Skyline was on fire out of the gates, led by the hot shooting of Nicholson. The senior guard connected on her first four attempts, including three 3-pointers. The Spartans led 8-0 to start the game and held an 18-10 advantage early in the second quarter.
Woodinville quickly worked its way back into the contest, however.
And the comeback came largely behind the effort of 6-foot-1 Deidre Miller. Her bucket with a minute left in the first half, started a series of 8-for-9 made shots to close the game. The junior, who missed her first eight shots, scored a game-high 21 points.
“We told her to maybe take a little bit more time, get her feet set, relax,” Woodinville head coach Scott Bullock said. “We never told her to stop shooting that’s for sure.”
Miller gave the Falcons their first lead of the game a minute into the third quarter, 25-24, drilling one of her five three-pointers.
“It’s my first big game out there,” said Miller, whose knee injury forced her to miss the first 15 games this season along with her entire freshman and sophomore seasons. “I just had to get rid of all the negative thoughts and I relaxed a little bit.”
Skyline retook a seven-point advantage with 50 seconds left in the third quarter on a Christy Confano three-pointer. Woodinville closed the game out on a 20-5 run, however, to seal the victory.
“If you take anything away from this, this is what the state game is going to be like,” Bruns said. “It’s about executing when you have to and getting quality shots when you need to.”
As the No. 2 team from District 2, Skyline will travel to Rogers High School in Puyallup on Friday, Feb. 25 to face the No. 7 team from District 3/4. That game is a loser-out contest. The winner will play another game, Saturday, Feb. 26 at Puyallup High School. The winner of that game will move into the eight-team, double-elimination portion of the 4A state tournament March 3-5 at the Tacoma Dome.
“We’re still excited,” Nicholson said. “We’re not done here. We’re still planning on doing well in state. Our goal is to get to the Tacoma Dome, to get the top eight. This game’s a bummer, but it’s not over for us.”
Woodinville secured the District 2 No. 1 seed and will play its opening game against the District 3/4 No. 2 team at Inglemoor High School. The Falcons are guaranteed at least two more games.
