SPOKANE — The Neah Bay girls were in decent shape for their first-ever state 1B basketball championship when sharpshooter Allie Greene buried a 3-pointer to give the Red Devils a 28-18 midway through the third quarter.
Mount Vernon Christian was reeling from Neah Bay’s relentless defense, shooting less than 25 percent from the floor up to that point.
But then the Hurricanes’ 6-foot-1 Allie Heino got hot, hitting for 10 points in the second half, all from the paint. And the Red Devils went completely cold from the floor, making only two baskets over the final 12½ minutes of the game.
In Neah Bay’s first-ever girls’ state championship game, the Red Devils ultimately fell 37-33 to No. 1 seed Mount Vernon Christian.
It was the Neah Bay girls’ highest finish at state, completing its season with a 14-4 record. The Red Devils came in third in 2019.
And this is a very young team with only one senior, Oceana Aguirre and one junior, Allie Greene. The rest of the roster is sophomores, freshmen and even three eighth-graders who played significant minutes for the Red Devils this season. Eighth-graders are allowed to play high school sports at the 1B level. All of those players will be back next year to try to vie for an even higher spot at state in 2023.
Defense rules
Neah Bay and Mount Vernon Christian had played once before this season, in the Tri-District tournament championship game, with the Hurricanes prevailing 65-51.
In this game, Neah Bay had Mount Vernon Christian on the ropes most of the game. The Red Devils took a 23-14 lead into the halftime break. The Hurricanes shot just 22.7 percent from the floor (5-for-22) in the first half.
Greene, who hit three 3-pointers for the game, scored all of Neah Bay’s seven points in the third quarter. She buried a 3-pointer with 4:30 left in the third to give Neah Bay a big 28-18 lead.
The Hurricanes managed to cut the lead to 28-25, but Greene made a clutch shot in the key at the third-quarter buzzer to give Neah Bay a 30-25 lead going into the fourth.
The fourth quarter turned into a defensive battle as the Red Devils managed just one field goal over the final eight minutes. Heino, who was playing with a back injury, got hot inside, making three baskets for the Hurricanes in the fourth quarter.
Aguirre made a clutch 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter to give Neah Bay a 33-29 lead.
Mount Vernon Christian put on a full-court press over the last couple minutes of the game and Neah Bay had trouble with it, turning the ball over several times. The play of the game came with about 39 seconds left with the score tied at 33-33 when Mount Vernon Christian’s Caitlyn Vander Kooy stole the ball and drove for a basket to give the Hurricanes their first lead at 35-33 since early in the first quarter.
The Red Devils turned the ball over with 23 seconds left in the game in their final chance to tie.
Greene led the team with 13 points with her three treys. Aguirre, playing in her final game for Neah Bay, had 10 points and 13 rebounds, while Amber Swan had 12 rebounds. Heino led Mount Vernon Christian with 11 points.
Returning to the team next year are Allie Greene, eighth-graders Angel Halttunen, Qwaapys Greene, Cerise Moss, and sophomores Amber Swan, Ezrah Ray and Ryana Moss.
MVC 37, Neah Bay 33
NB 11 12 7 3 — 33
MVC 7 7 11 12 — 37
Neah Bay (33) — A. Greene 13, Aguirre 10, R. Moss 4, Q. Greene 3, Swan 3.
MVC (37) — Heino 11, Broog 8, Rozema 6, Vander Kooy 5, Russell 4, H. VanHofwegen 3.
