SPOKANE — Trailing by eight around the midway point of the third quarter, top-seeded Neah Bay rallied to reach the state semifinals, blowing past the No. 10 Oakesdale Nighthawks with a dominant fourth quarter in a 51-36 quarterfinal victory Thursday morning at the Class 1B state girls basketball championships at the Spokane Arena.
The two-time defending state champion Red Devils (22-1) advanced to face No. 5 Wellpinit (22-2) in a state semfinal at 3:45 p.m. today.
Neah Bay struggled to hit shots in the first half offensively and was hard-pressed to stop Oakesdale’s 5-foot-10 junior forward Brynn Henley inside on the defensive end.
The Red Devils connected on just 1-of-14 3-pointers in the first half as Neah Bay adjusted to the spacious shooting background in the arena.
Henley had 12 points at the break as the Nighthawks pulled ahead 21-18 at halftime.
Greene got going in the third quarter, absorbing contact, drawing fouls and hitting 4-of-4 from the free-throw line and scoring eight of her game-high 20 points.
A nifty lefty layup by Wiinuk Martin pulled Neah Bay within 33-31 as the Red Devils ended the third on a 9-3 run. Martin added a team-high nine rebounds and four points.
Neah Bay’s defense tightened in the second half, limiting Henley to just two points after halftime — and forcing the forward into 10 turnovers for the game.
Caylee Moss came out on fire in the fourth, knocking down three triples, including the go-ahead basket from long distance, as Neah Bay ended the contest on a 15-0 run over the game’s final 5:20.
Elder sister Cerise Moss added 15 points for the Red Devils.
Neah Bay 51, Oakesdale 36
Oakesdale 9 12 12 3 — 36
Neah Bay 11 7 13 20 — 69
Oakesdale (36) — Henley 14, M. Crider 8, Perry 7, Kjack 5, Hockett 2.
Neah Bay (51) — Greene 20, Ce. Moss 15, Ca. Moss 9, Halttunen 4, Martin 4, B. McGimpsey.
