Bainbridge bounces back from a loss to Mount Si, downing Nathan Hale by 9.
SEATTLE – It was not a pretty game by any means, but the Bainbridge girls basketball team stayed alive by defeating Nathan Hale 49-40 Thursday in a loser-out game in the 3A Sea-King District tournament.
The win comes on the heels of a close loss in their district opener to Mount Si, 54-51 on Tuesday.
The Spartans are struggling to work past the loss of senior center Megan Burris, who is done for the year with an ACL tear.
“I feel bad and sad for her,” head coach Penny Gienger said. “It’s sad for us. She was the anchor for our defense for three years. It changes things for us. We have to find different ways to score.”
Lindsay Bratonia agreed.
“It’s different,” she said. “(Burris’) presence was huge inside. Now we have to learn different positions” to make up for her loss.
Now playing with a four-guard lineup, the Spartans slowly got out to a 13-10 lead after the first quarter and worked their way to a 27-19 lead at halftime.
Brittany Gray led the way with eight points, all of them inside.
But Courtney Fisher kept things close with four points on putbacks after a Hale player missed her free throws.
In the third quarter, Bratonia and Emily Farrar scored the first four points to put Bainbridge up by 12.
But that was it for the next several minutes as the Raiders went on a 11-3 run to close the gap.
Kaylin Hudson banked in a three while Fisher scored inside and Teelin Gray and Lauren Burton both scored on layins.
The Spartans got their points from Farrar who split a pair of free throws and Angela Failla, who scored inside on a nice pass from Anna Wood.
“Nathan Hale is a good team,” Gienger said. “They’re scrappy. They’re not coming to lose.”
In the fourth, both teams struggled to hit shots from anywhere.
Bratonia sank two free throws and scored off a putback, getting fouled in the process. But she missed the free throw.
“Our free throw percentage was not good tonight,” Bratonia said.
Hale couldn’t connect from the charity stripe either as both teams were sent to the line as fouls were handed out left and right.
Nineteen fouls were called on the teams in the final period.
“We had some bad luck with the refs,” Bratonia said.
Gray and Caitlyn Salo both scored to give the Spartans a 10-point cushion in the final minutes.
Gray also grabbed several rebounds in the closing minutes and made a big steal. Jesse Vincent also had a key block.
Against Mount Si, the Spartans went up by one after the first quarter. But the Wildcats went on a 10-0 run in the second to take a 29-20 lead.
Salo hit a three while Gray scored to take it down to four.
In the third, the Wildcats went on another 10-2 run as Caitie Richards hit two threes to push the lead back to double digits.
Salo and Gray combined to trim the lead back, but Lauren Sanchez connected on another three.
The Spartans caught another unfortunate break when Madison Yakaboski, Mount Si’s top player, went down with a knee injury as she was battling for a rebound with Weese.
Bainbridge came out in the fourth on fire, but Richards wouldn’t quit, scoring eight points on two threes, including one where she drained it over two Spartan defenders.
“She didn’t want to lose,” Gienger said of Richards. “She carried them.”
Bainbridge went on an 8-2 run to close the lead to three, punctuated by a Farrar three from the corner. That was the last score for either team, as the Spartans were called for traveling on the ensuing possession and the Wildcats were able to run enough time off the clock, forcing Bainbridge to throw up a wild shot at the end.
The Spartans play next Tuesday at Ingraham at 4:45 p.m. against an opponent yet to be determined.
To advance, Gienger said their guards will have to rebound more with Burris out, and connect on their foul shots if they want to advance to state.
Bratonia said they’ll be ready.
“We’ll have to focus on blocking out, but we love to fast break,” she said. “We’ll work hard.
“We’ll just focus on one game and play each quarter as it comes.”
