YAKIMA -- Normally a calm and collected player at the free throw line, Jazzlynn Brewster was nervous.
It was a one-point game with 7.3 seconds left in River Ridge’s 2A girls state quarterfinal game Thursday night against Burlington-Edison at the Yakima Valley SunDome. She was nervous all game and it’s understandable; this is the junior’s her first state tournament game.
So when she had a one-and-one opportunity at the line after being fouled with two free throws likely sealing the victory with the Hawks up by one, the butterflies began to rattle more.
“I was at the free throw line, and I was like, ‘dang it,’” Brewster said. “My free throw weren’t on all game.”
First one good.
Timeout Tigers.
Second one good to seal the Hawks’ 46-44 victory over Burlington-Edison.
A late-game free throw by B-E’s Ellary Torset with 0:06 left on the clock didn’t matter, as the Hawks celebrated their spot in today’s 9 p.m. semifinal against a familiar foe -- District IV rival and top-ranked Mark Morris, which defeated West Valley of Spokane in its state quarterfinal game. The team is also guaranteed a state trophy for the first time since 2011. There are few players Hawks coach Jackie Robinson would want more at the free-throw line than Brewster when the game is on the line.
“I trust her,” Robinson said.
In a back and forth game that featured 10 ties and seven lead changes, it was Burlington-Edison that took the lead at 43-42 with a putback by Torset, who finished with 11 points. That didn’t deter the Hawks, who despite turning it over on the next possession because of the Tigers’ press, got a much-needed bucket when Brewster’s layin with 28.2 seconds put the Hawks in front against at 44-43. Brewster scored the team’s final four points, as she, along with freshman Makenna Schultz, finished with 12 points. Savannah McGill did her usual damage on the glass, collecting 10 rebounds along with eight points and Catriece Baker came off the bench and had seven points.
The Hawks got 15 of their points from five 3-pointers and a momentum-shifting 3 from Morgan Bernethy inside 3 minutes left in the game put River Ridge (20-5) up 42-39.
With W.F. West’s 36-18 victory over Cedarcrest in Thursday’s earlier state quarterfinal game, that means half of today’s semifinal field is made up of 2A Evergreen Conference teams.
