Chelsea Haskey hit one of two free throws with 5 seconds left to give the Wolves a three-point lead that held up in Black Hills’ thrilling 55-52 girls basketball win over Tumwater on Tuesday night at Black Hills High School.
Tumwater guard Tayler Weiks’ 3-pointer at the top of the key with two defenders in her face fell short to preserve the Wolves’ victory.
The game was the conclusion of the first half of Class 2A Evergreen Conference play for both teams and was the first game of a doubleheader. The Black Hills boys teams defeated Tumwater, 67-43, in the second game to complete the sweep for the T-Birds.
Taylor Pottschmidt, who finished with six points, hit the go-ahead basket to give the Wolves a 54-52 lead with 22.3 seconds left on a running 8-footer.
Tumwater’s Haley VandenHazel had a chance to tie the game with 8.6 seconds left after being fouled on a put-back after a failed shot by Katie Bergquist. VandenHazel, a transfer from Hoquiam, missed the first free throw, then the second, and Black Hills’ Carmen Jenkins snagged the rebound.
Haskey then hit one of two free throws after being fouled. She finished with a team-high 16 points. Shanae Sauls chipped in 14 points.
Neither team led by more than two points during the fourth quarter, which featured five ties and four lead changes. Tumwater (6-7 overall, 3-4 EvCo) grabbed the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter, at 44-43, on Mackenzie Cooper’s put-back shot. Weiks gave the T-Birds their largest lead at three, 46-43, with a 3-pointer.
Sauls and Haskey combined for five of the Wolves’ final seven points. Sauls tied the game at 50 with a running floater in the lane, and Pottschmidt hit the go-ahead basket.
The teams combined for 26 made free throws, with 21 of them coming in the first half. Sauls had seven of her 11 first-half points from the foul line.
Black Hills (8-5, 4-3) built a 10-point lead with 4:45 left in the first half after Saul hit two free throws. But Tumwater chipped away, then closed out the half on a 10-3 run, including the final six points.
Weiks’ jumper tied the game at 32 in the closing seconds of the half. She scored a game-high 17 points for Tumwater.
Boys
Black Hills 67, Tumwater 43: A 15-4 second-quarter run helped the Wolves separate themselves from the Thunderbirds in the second game of the doubleheader.
Two minutes into the fourth quarter, the Wolves (6-7 overall, 5-2 EvCo) had a 34-point lead at 61-27.
“We played well, and they didn’t play as well as they could’ve,” Black Hills coach Thomas Rowswell said. “The pace of the game was ours.”
Black Hills held Tumwater scoreless for almost a four-minute stretch of the second quarter while building a 36-21 halftime lead. Brian Kohler’s basket with 2:29 left in the quarter snapped the T-Birds’ scoring drought.
The defensive domination continued throughout the entire third quarter. Black Hills held Tumwater (6-7, 4-3) to only one field goal and four points – all scored by Demetrious Jones.
Meanwhile, the Wolves went to work on the offensive end, outscoring the T-Birds 16-4 in the quarter.
Anye Turner led Black Hills with a game-high 21 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks.
Jared Pauley and Taylor Charette had 12 points apiece.
Jimmy Jensen led Tumwater with 13 points and Jones added 10.
Pauley got his first start with the absence of Kyle Davidson, who rolled his ankle during practice on Monday.
“He stepped up huge for us,” Rowswell said of Pauley. “It’s a testament to his character.”
After starting out the season 0-5 and losing six of their first seven games, the Wolves have now won five straight EvCo games, with two of those coming on the road last week against Elma and Hoquiam.
Tumwater started league play with four straight wins but has since dropped its past three.
mwochnick@theolympian.com
