Kamiakin’s run to title stops in semis
A day after playing beyond their years, the youth of the Kamiakin Braves showed.
Turnovers, poor shooting and allowing too many offensive rebounds sunk Kamiakin in its first Class 3A state semifinal since 2011 on Friday at the Tacoma Dome. Kamiakin never recovered from a poor start, falling 44-30 to Arlington.
“We hadn’t faced pressure like that — they had about two or three girls on us,” point guard Alexa Hazel said. “That wasn’t something we expected, and I don’t think we adjusted quick enough. We got in a little funk and we couldn’t get out of it.”
The Braves (15-11) will face defending state champion Lynnwood in the third-place game at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Kamiakin struggled throughout the game to get much going offensively, shooting 35.5 percent for the game and turning the ball over 27 times.
“We hadn’t faced pressure like that all year,” Kamiakin coach Lane Schumacher said. “We didn’t handle it very well, and that was the difference in the game.
“They do a great job with ball pressure and rotations.”
In the quarterfinals Thursday, Kamiakin scored 26 points in the first quarter and led 31-8 at one point. The Braves did let that big lead get away, but the hot start seemed to calm them against Edmonds-Woodway.
That didn’t happen Friday as Arlington forced six turnovers in the first quarter and seven more in the second.
“You have good games, you have bad games, they started out on a nice strong run and we didn't recover from that,” Hazel said. “You got to go home, reflect on that, turn around and come back hard.”
Defensively, Kamiakin gave up 20 offensive rebounds and seven 3-pointers, as Arlington consistently drove into the middle of the Braves’ zone and kicked out to open shooters who knocked down shots.
“This shows where we need to be, to be a contender,” Schumacher said. “We’re not there yet, but I believe we can get better.”
Oumou Toure scored nine points, pulled down five rebounds and blocked four shots in the loss. Hazel added five points and four rebounds.
Both teams struggled early on, as the game was tied 2-2 midway through the first quarter, but Arlington started hitting outside shots and pulled away.
After Kamiakin took a 3-2 lead with 4:07 left in the first quarter, the Eagles went on a 16-2 run to put the game away.
Post players Symone Brown and Chanceler Williams were bright spots in the third quarter, combining for seven points.
The Braves pulled within 30-17 late in the third quarter, but Arlington went on a 12-0 run to end all hope of a comeback. Kamiakin did go on a 10-0 run midway through the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late.
Oumou Toure had a number of emphatic blocks on defense, but the Braves were overmatched by the Eagles (25-1).
While Kamiakin is surely unhappy with its loss Friday, the Braves were a bit of a surprise to be in the game at all.
The Braves had won four consecutive elimination games to reach the state tournament and are loaded with youngsters.
A poor Friday night in the Tacoma Dome doesn’t take off the potential shine going forward for the program.
KAMIAKIN – Symone Brown 1-2 1-4 3, Kiley Larsen 1-4 0-0 2, Kendyl Holle 1-5 0-0 2, Alexa Hazel 2-6 1-2 5, Oumou Toure 3-7 3-4 9, Lexi Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Salee Westermeyer 0-0 0-0 0, Rylie Clark 1-1 0-0 3, Chanceler Williams 1-2 2-2 4, Payten Wishman 0-1 0-0 0, Jayden Williams 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 11-31 7-12 30.
ARLINGTON – Gracie Castanedas 2-8 2-2 6, Serafina Balderas 2-9 0-0 6, Sevi Bielser 2-5 0-0 6, Emma Janousek 2-6 0-2 4, Jayla Russ 3-11 0-0 6, Sarah Shortt 1-6 0-1 2, Selena Gutierrez 0-1 0-0 0, Olivia Larson 0-1 0-0 0, Peyton Brown 4-14 0-0 11, Abby Anderson 1-2 1-2 3, Tahlia Miears 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsey Mellick 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-65 3-7 44.
Kamiakin | 3 | 7 | 7 | 13 | — | 30 |
Arlington | 14 | 8 | 14 | 13 | — | 44 |
3-point goals – Kamiakin 1-8 (Clark 1-1, Holle 0-3, Larsen 0-2, Toure 0-1, J. Williams 0-1), Arlington 7-35 (Brown 3-12, Balderas 2-7, Bielser 2-5, Russ 0-4, Castandea 0-2, Shortt 0-2, Gutierrez 0-1, Larson 0-1, Mellick 0-1). Rebounds – Kamiakin 39 (Brown, Larsen 6), Arlington 34 (Russ 6). Assists – Kamiakin 2, Arlington 10. Total fouls – Kamiakin 10, Arlington 13.
This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 10:43 PM with the headline "Kamiakin’s run to title stops in semis."