Lady Grizzlies Win State

The Lady Grizzlies began their quest for another state title in Boise over the weekend.  In the first round they faced the Rimrock Raiders.  One year ago, the Grizzlies were forced to play a play-in game due to conference allotments.  Grace was the district tournament champion from the High Desert Conference ,but was only given a ½ bid to state and had to play the third place team from district 3.  That team was Rimrock and the Grizzlies rolled to an easy victory, eliminating the Raiders from state tournament play.  Rimrock had their shot at revenge in the tournament this year.  Unfortunately for the Raiders the Grizzlies were ranked number one and favored to win the championship.  

As things kicked off, the Grizzlies definitely fell short of expectations.  Though they were able to claim an early 5-0 lead ,they struggled in many areas.  They were outrebounded, missing foul shots and forced shots from the floor.  One area that did look positive was their defense.  Rimrock's only bucket in the first was a long three point shot, and the Grizzly lead was 13-3.  Two minutes into the second, Grace led 17-6 after another Rimrock three.  As the quarter moved on, the Grizzly defense stayed strong and turned into quick transition points.  The Grizzlies were still struggling in other areas of their offense.  In their half court sets Grace struggled to make clean passes and had some uncharacteristic shot selection.  Their defense would carry the first half as Rimrock would only make three field goals and add a couple of free throws, and the Grizz would led 29-10 at halftime.

The Grizzlies would get things going in the third and begin to get back to their old selves and run the score up to 46-10, keeping the Raiders scoreless in the quarter.  Coach Christensen for the most part this season has had a main string of eight girls that he kept rotated in the third and starting off the fourth.  Two minutes into the fourth he started going deeper into his bench bringing in a couple of the younger girls.  By the four minute mark, Grace held a 56-11 advantage and the rest of the main string would take a seat on the bench while the six JV girls that got brought up would finish off the game and get some state experience.  

With a final score of 60-17, Grace advanced to the semi-final round and would face Prairie.  Prairie came in as the five seed and took down the fourth seeded Red Devils from Murtaugh.  Grace got some of their state tournament jitters out of the way in the opening round and would have to come ready to play against a tough Prairie team.  Smith-21, J. Christensen-9, Jorgensen-8, Stoddard-5, Straatman-4, K. Christensen-4, Yost-4, Gilbert-2, Steadman-2, Andersen-1.

Prairie came into the semifinal game as the only lower seeded team in the state tournament to win in any classification in the opening round.  Prairie was one of the teams in the tournament that could match the Grizzlies size and length.  After a sluggish start to the opening game the Grizzlies looked to get off to a quicker start in this one.  The Grizzlies came out showing great intensity, and their high pressure defense was able to create multiple turnovers early on.  While they were not able to take advantage of every turnover, they still jumped out to a 6-0 lead when the Pirates took their first timeout at the 6:14 mark.  Grace kept up the pressure and scoring. Prairie got on the board with their first basket at the 5:30 mark, and one and a half minutes later Grace would be leading 14-2.  Prairie started to fight back a little and went on a 6-0 run.  Grace committed several fouls that would put the Pirates in the bonus.  Jorgensen picked up a second foul in the first, and was the first of several Grizzlies that would face foul trouble throughout the game.  Grace finished on a small run of their own and led 18-8 after one.  

Good defense and well matched size made any scoring under the basket difficult for both teams.  The Pirates went on another run and cut the lead to 24-17.  Grace called a timeout at 3:36 to put a stop to the run.  From there the teams would trade baskets as the Pirates would get to within 5 points several times, but never closer.  The Grizzlies ended the first half on another run of their own and pushed the score to 34-23.  The third quarter would pick back up by both teams, as they traded baskets back and forth.  At the 5:45 mark, the Pirates used their third timeout, with the Grizz leading 36-27.  At the midway point of the quarter Grace led 38-29, and Andersen went to the bench for a breather.  Smith then picked up her 3rd foul and Grace found themselves with three of their starters on the bench.  Prairie would take advantage of the situation and at the 1:37 mark Grace would call a timeout as the lead was cut to four at 40-36.  The starters headed back in and went on a 5-0 run and finished the quarter up 45-36.  Jorgensen would get her 4th foul after making some big shots and head to the bench.  

The scoring would increase a little in the fourth as both teams turned up the intensity.  With just 2:08 left, Smith would pick up her 4th foul and Prairie would take a timeout.  Out of the timeout, the Pirates hit a big three and cut the lead to just five points.  The teams traded a couple of fouls and each got to the line.  Grace missed their shots and Prairie made theirs.  The lead was just three points with under a minute.  J. Christensen finally hit a pair of foul shots, as by this point Prairie was fouling to save time on the clock.  After a quick score by the Pirates, J. Christensen would go back to the line leading by just three once again.  She would miss both this time but Smith would come up with a huge rebound at which point Christensen would once again get fouled and go to the line with just 20 seconds left.  She would miss again leaving the lead at just three.  Prairie pushed the ball quickly up the floor and had a look at a game tying three when Yost would stretch out and get the block.  The ball ended up with Stoddard with just 1.3 seconds left on the clock, who was fouled and headed to the line.  With two shots coming and very little time left she just needed to make one and the Grizzlies would need to avoid fouling and they would return to the championship game.  

Grace called a timeout to make sure everyone understood the situation.  Out of the timeout the rest of the Grizzlies cleared the lane, leaving Stoddard alone at the line with the Pirates.  She took a deep breath and miseds the first shot.  After another breath to calm herself, she would shoot the second and it fell for her this time.  With the four point lead, the Grizzlies would allow the open desperation buzzer shot that would be well short and the Lady Grizzlies would be victorious 56-52.

Lapwai was in attendance and saw any weaknesses that the Grizzlies showed.  One of those weaknesses was missed foul shots in the fourth.  Whether it was nerves or fatigue Grace went a dismal 6 for 16 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter alone.  They would need to correct this quickly and it won't be easy as the Idaho Center gives a whole different look at the basket being in such a large venue.  Yost had some crucial points and rebounds.  Also as mentioned above she had a big block at the end of the game.  Interesting scoring in this one J.Christensen-11, Straatman-10, Yost-9, Smith-8, Jorgensen-7, K. Christensen-6, Stoddard-5.

Some memories fade over time, while others seem to never leave your mind at all.  When you have a goal or a dream and you work hard every day to try to accomplish it, when that day finally comes you can experience a full gamut of emotions.  On Saturday, fourteen girls and their coaches had just that experience as they would feel everything from the highest highs to pain and suffering and finally that great feeling of a job completed.  

The Lady Grizzlies have had the goal of a state championship for some time now.  I suspect for many of them it started before their devastating loss in overtime a season ago in the opening round of the state tournament.  As this season began, they had high expectations and with a strong senior core they worked to prove they deserved the respect of the rest of the state.  The Grizzlies spent most of the season near the top of the polls along with Lapwai.  Both schools have great history in the sport and are perennial powerhouses in the division.  It has seemed like Grace and Lapwai have been set on a collision course all season ,and Saturday that battle of titans took place.  

When you make it to the championship game at the Idaho Center ,everything seems to get bigger.  The building is bigger, the crowd is usually bigger even the floor looks bigger.  The intros are no different, as every girl got to hear her name announced and the starters got that big game feel with their announcements. As these two teams took the floor they physically looked like mirror images.  Lapwai had some height and length to match Yost, Smith and Staatman.  They had some quickness and tenacity to match Christensen and Andersen.  With the teams being so even and long, it was no surprise that the game would begin with a big block by each team.  Grace struck first in the game, but the block party continued in the early going.  The tough defense made for a low scoring affair and with just 3:30 left in the first the score was a meager 4-2 in favor of the Wildcats.  Each team liked to get out and run and try to score in transition.  The problem with this is they are both used to running, so transition points are a little harder to come by.  Grace would temporarily grab the lead 5-4 but Lapwai would score the last four points of the quarter and lead 8-5 going into the second.  

Things would stay tight in the early going of the second as things inside would be difficult and a little physical.  The Grizzlies seemed to continue their foul shooting slump.  J. Christensen would try to break the streak of bad luck as she knocked down a pair of foul shots.  That got things going for the Grizz as Smith would start attacking more, and she would hit both of her next foul shots and get the Wildcats post presence in a little foul trouble.  Grace missed several opportunities to extend the slim lead they now held.  Fortunately for the Grizzlies, Lapwai would have their own struggles from the line and would not be able to capitalize on some free baskets.  With the Wildcats bigs in foul trouble Grace would really start attacking the rim and push the lead to a 19-13 halftime score.  

Right out of the gates in the third, Smith would once again go at the post players of Lapwai and score an and-one, getting the defender in more foul trouble.  Active hands and being in the passing lanes by the Grizzlies would keep Lapwai frustrated and cause multiple turnovers.  The tough Wildcat defense would force Grace to use the majority of their shot clock on multiple possessions.  Yost would pick up a third foul, sending her to the bench and bringing in Jorgensen.  These two have spelled each other for most of the year and have really complimented one another.  Grace would push the lead to eleven before a slight momentum shift that would conclude with a Lapwai three point shot and the lead would be cut to just four points with two minutes remaining in the quarter.  Grace would have to use two quick consecutive timeouts and look a little out of sorts.  As the quarter was winding down Smith grabbed a rebound and get fouled on the putback attempt.  She hit both free throws and time ran out on the third with Grace clinging to a 30-25 lead.  

As the fourth quarter began the Lapwai bigs were on the bench.  Jorgensen and Smith took advantage and the lead would grow to 11.  Lapwai would make an and-one, then at the 5:43 mark send their posts back in to stop the Grizzly onslaught.  It was just a short time later when Straatman drove to the basket and went down hard on the floor.  She stayed down as a trainer and coach Christensen attended to her.  She eventually got to her feet, but headed straight to the locker room with an apparent arm injury.  One of Lapwai’s bigs fouls out on that play, and due to the injury K. Christensen subbed in and did the foul shot duties.  She hit both shots, and the Grizzlies played on without one of their key players.  

At this point, both fan bases were letting themselves be heard as the tension began to build.  Grace got a little antsy and started forcing quick shots that weren't falling, then fouling on the defensive end. The Wildcats got to within two and Grace called a timeout at 1:38.  Lapwai had been on a 10-2 run at this point.  Straatman came back out of the locker room and joined her team courtside ,but her arm would be in a sling with an apparent break.  Out of the timeout ,Lapwai got the ball back and with 54 seconds left in the game go to the line with the chance to tie.  They missed both shots and Grace had the ball with the full length of the court to go.  The Grizzlies had too many empty possessions and desperately needed a score to push the lead to two possessions.  Smith got fouled, but the foul shooting woes were back and she missed both.  Lapwai got the ball and pushed to their end.  The ball went out of bounds under the basket with just 27 seconds left and the score still 42-40.  

Lapwai called a timeout to set up a play.  They were in a great position to tie the game up coming out of the timeout.  That's when Jorgensen stepped up as she has done many times here late in the season and get, a steal on the inbound.  The pass went to Stoddard who was quickly fouled.  She made one of two and the lead was 43-40.  The Wildcats flew down the court and got a good look at a three.  The ball looked like it got halfway down then popped out.  Smith grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled.  She would go to the line with less than ten seconds left in the game, still plenty of time for Lapwai if she missed to get the ball down the court and tie up the game.  

Smith did just that and missed both shots once again, however Jorgensen would came up with another huge play as she grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled herself with 7.8 seconds left in the game.  She then broke the Wildcats’ hearts as she made both shots, taking it to a two possession game.  Lapwai got a shot off ,and Smith added another rebound and trip to the foul line with :05 seconds left.  She finished her career with two made shots at the line ,and the starters all came out of the game.  The Lady Grizzlies accomplished that goal of becoming state champions with the score of 47-40.  

The pure joy and exuberance was clear on their faces as the final buzzer sounded and they received all the fanfare of banners, medals, and pictures.  They headed to the locker room victorious, and the curtained celebratory area would fill up with the Grace faithful to await the Champs.  As the girls entered the specified area several minutes later they were cheered and celebrated.  You could see the red eyes and fresh tears on their faces from that special moment that had just taken place in the locker room for the very last time for the seniors.  The girls made their way through the crowd and most didn't bother stopping and talking until they reached their mothers for an embrace.  It was now the parents' turn to get misty eyed as their pride was on display.  The tears quickly turned to smiles, joy and laughter as all in attendance got to spend a few minutes with the victors.  As I said, some memories will fade like who scored what basket and how many points everyone had but those moments like hugging your coach who is also your father on the court as a champion.  Those moments will last a lifetime and every girl will have those types of memories for years to come.  Congratulations Lady Grizzlies, you are State Champions.