Comeback bid comes up short as Chiawana’s season ends with loss to U-Hi
It looked like the comeback might be on in Friday’s opening game at the Spokane Arena, but the Chiawana High School girls basketball team didn’t have enough in the tank to extend its season.
Kenedy Cartwright had game-highs of 19 points and three steals in the final game of her high school career as the Riverhawks fell to the University Titans 61-55 on Friday in a winner-to-regionals, loser-out game of the District 8 Class 4A playoffs.
After the game, Chiawana coach Steve Davis said he would undoubtedly miss Cartwright — the team’s lone senior and a two-time first team All-MCC selection — for her contributions to the program on and off the court.
“She’s that kid that you love to have in your program, because it’s more than just basketball,” Davis said. “She has fun with it, she brings that joy to the game and the practices and all that stuff. She’s one of the few kids who calls me ‘Stevie’ and just likes to have fun with it, and we’ll miss her for that.”
Cartwright fouled out of the game with about a minute left to go.
Chiawana (19-5) struggled to get much going in the first half, trailing 26-15 at intermission, but a change in mentality tied the score at 33-all at the end of the third quarter, and saw the Riverhawks trade the lead back-and-forth 10 times in the final eight minutes.
“We just told ‘em at halftime that they have to look to shoot the ball,” Davis said. “We’ve got a whole bunch of kids who look to pass the ball or do other things first. We told them ‘you have to shoot the ball,’ and they made some shots and we were able to get back into it.”
The comeback effort came up short in the end, with the Chiawana offense sputtering down the stretch and a 7-for-9 effort by the Titans from the charity stripe in the final 2 minutes serving as plenty to seal the win.
U-Hi got a balanced scoring effort from its starters, led by Claire Dingus’s 16 points, Ellie Boni’s 15 points and 13 boards, Kinsley Barrinton’s 13 points and 10 rebounds, and 15 points from Jasey Reamelow. Clare Eubanks added 11 points for Chiawana.
University (16-8) entered the day ranked No. 18 in RPI, and will likely be on the road for a loser-out game in the regional round.
UNIVERSITY: Dwyer, Ellie Boni 15, Claire Dingus 16, Rhodes 2, Woods, Taylor, Jasey Ramelow 15, VanSteenkist, Kinsley Barrington 13. Totals: 19-42 17-25 61.
CHIAWANA: Morales 8, Agundis 2, Pink 8, Bunger, Burton, Thorne 4, Clare Eubanks 11, Kenedy Cartwright 19, Kaelber 3. Totals: 16-62 15-20 55.
University | 14 | 12 | 7 | 28 | — | 61 |
Chiawana | 11 | 4 | 18 | 22 | — | 55 |
Highlights — U, Boni 13 reb; Barrington 10 reb, 3 stl. C, Cartwright 3 stl; Eubanks 2 blk; Kylie Thorne 7 reb.
Dustin Brennan: 509-582-1413, @Tweet_By_Dustin
This story was originally published February 16, 2018 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Comeback bid comes up short as Chiawana’s season ends with loss to U-Hi."