“Emily Pierce sank four free throws in the final 17 seconds as the Spartans defeated sixth-ranked White River 58-54 and qualify as the #1 seed from District 3 for the 3A State tournament, which begins Wednesday at the Tacoma Dome. The Spartans were down by 12 points with less than five minutes to play but Pierce and Fab Rezayat powered the comeback. Rezayat drained a three-pointer with 50 seconds remaining to tie the score 54-54 as she scored 11 of her career-high18 points in the final five minutes. Pierce had 19 points to lead all scorers, while Alice Russell had 10 points and three blocked shots to celebrate her 15th birthday.Christine Schwager added eight and Morgan Zajonc chipped in three.The girls’ basketball team will open 3A tournament play at 10:30 Wednesday morning against Seattle’s Rainier Beach (19-8) at the Tacoma Dome. If they win, they will play the winner of Blanchet (23-3) and Aberdeen (19-4) Thursday at 3:30. If they lose to Rainier Beach, they will play the loser of the Blanchet-Aberdeen game at 9 a.m. on Thursday. To view the complete bracket with records and gametimes, see www.wiaa.com. “