Girls basketball: Spruce Mountain stymies Wells, advances to B South final
Feb. 21—PORTLAND — Spruce Mountain shut down Wells and broke away in the fourth quarter to earn a 38-24 victory in a Class B South girls basketball semifinal Tuesday at the Portland Expo.
The second-seeded Phoenix (19-1) advance the B South final to face the winner between No. 1 Oceanside (19-0) and No. 4 Medomak Valley (13-6) Friday at 2 p.m. at the Expo.
The Phoenix are the first girls or boys basketball team from Spruce Mountain to reach a regional final.
Olivia Mastine was a catalyst on both ends of the court for the Phoenix. She scored 11 of her game-high 13 points in the second half of Tuesday's game, and seven of those points in the fourth quarter. She also was an active participant on defense, helping Spruce Mountain hold the third-seeded Warriors (17-3) to five second-half points, and only one in the fourth quarter.
Aubrey Kachnovich and Jaydn Pingree contributed eight points apiece for the Phoenix, while Elizabeth Grondin, Emily Dubord and Avery Bessey each made an important 3-pointer.
Cali Leighton led Wells with 10 points, while Kendall Maxon had six.
Leighton scored six of her points in the first quarter, as the Warriors controlled both ends of the court, holding Spruce Mountain to five points and feeding the ball into the post, particularly Leighton, and building a 11-5 lead after one.
Spruced Mountain defended the post better in the second quarter, holding the Warriors to eight points while also starting to score on offense.
In the first quarter, the Phoenix were limited to two baskets — a 3-pointer by Kachnovich and a field goal by Jaydn Pingree. Five Spruce players scored in the second, including 3s by Avery Bessey and Emily Dubord and four points by Jaydn Pingree.
Bessey's 3 tied the score at 19-19, which ended up being the halftime score.
