Schorno 3-pointers power Tornados into Game 4 with Capital

2A GIRLS: Senior's 16 second-half points help Yelm notch 54-51 victory over Lynnwood

GAIL WOOD; Staff writer | • Published March 12, 2010

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TACOMA – Austin Schorno seemed an unlikely candidate for sparking a comeback.

The Yelm senior guard went 1-for-4 from the field in the first half against Lynnwood in a loser-out consolation game Thursday at the girls 3A state basketball playoffs.

But with the Royals on a 13-3 run and leading 34-30, Schorno buried back-to-back 3-pointers, sparking Yelm’s wild 54-51 comeback victory.

“Hitting that first 3 definitely helped,” said Schorno, who scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the second half.

“I didn’t make much in the first half. So, that 3 gave me the confidence.”

Yelm, which reached state for the first time in 19 years last season, today will play its fourth game this season against league rival Capital, a 49-47 winner against Bonney Lake after trailing by 18.

“Austin always has the green light to shoot,” Yelm coach Russ Riches said. “She gets a lot of leeway because she’s always been really steady. She hit some big ones today.”

Lynnwood opened the third quarter with a 13-3 run, taking a 34-30 lead on Arsenia Ivanov’s basket from the corner. Yelm, sparked by Schorno, then finished the third quarter with a 12-2 run to open a 42-36 lead on Sydney Anderson’s basket.

“It was a roller-coaster game,” Lynnwood coach Everett Edwards said. “It was a game of momentum swings and they got the last swing.”

Midway through the fourth quarter, Lynnwood went on a 6-0 run to open a 47-44 lead on Mokun Fajemisin’s steal and layup with 4:41 left. But Schorno, a 5-foot-8 guard averaging 8.6 points per game, took control again. She drove past two defenders and knifed inside for a layup, cutting the Royals’ lead to 47-46.

Moments later, Schorno swished a 3-pointer for a 50-47 lead.

“She hit some big 3s to get them back into the game,” Edwards said.

With 2:08 left, Katelyn Smith, Yelm’s leading scorer this season with a 16.8 average, fouled out. But Samantha Jennen, a 5-7 junior forward, replaced Smith and helped hold Lynnwood to just one basket in the final 2 minutes.

“I was worried when Kate fouled out,” Riches said. “But Samantha came off the bench and played their big kid tough. She was outsized by 4 or 5 inches, but she came up big.”

With 24 seconds remaining, Lynnwood’s Laycee Hill sank her first 3-pointer after three misses to cut the gap to 52-51. But Yelm quickly pushed the ball up the floor and scored on Anushka Maldonado’s layup with 15 seconds left.

The Royals then missed a 3-pointer and a layup at the buzzer.

Yelm shot only 30 percent (18-for-59) from the field. Lynnwood shot 40 percent (19-for-47). But Yelm held a 50-31 rebounding edge, giving the Tornados 12 more field-goal attempts and eight more free throw attempts.

“We told our kids at the start of the game we had to take away the drive, we had to control the boards and we had to take care of the basketball,” Riches said.

“Rebounding was a big difference.”

Yelm went 1-2 in three games against Capital this season, losing the last meeting, 56-43.

“Our kids want Capital,” Riches said. “They’ll be ready for them.”

Three Tornados finished in double figures. Smith had 15 points and freshman post Maldonado added 13.

Fajemisin’s 13 points led No. 8 Lynnwood, which finished the season with a 19-7 record.