Prep Girls Basketball: North Douglas overwhelms Hosanna Christian in 1A semifinal Larger
BAKER CITY — It’s on to the Class 1A girls basketball state championship game tonight for the North Douglas Warriors.
Junior point guard Kalli Frieze buried a 3-pointer from the right wing to put the Warriors ahead for good and then iced Friday’s 53-42 semifinal victory over Hosanna Christian at the free throw line down the stretch.
“That 3 was big,” North Douglas coach Jeff Davis said. “And I knew as soon as it left her hand it was dead center because she stepped right into that shot.”
Frieze stepped into most of her shots — she made 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and was 7-for-10 at the free throw line — as she scored 21 points, grabbed eight boards, dealt out four assists and nabbed two steals in a complete-game performance.
“She was huge,” senior Dani Baker said. “She went out there and was the leader I’ve always thought she could be when I was not in the game. I asked to sit out (in the first half) because I thought she could handle it. All my confidence was in her.”
Baker, who sat the final five minutes of the first half with three fouls, scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half.
The Warriors (26-4) will be bidding for their first state championship in girls basketball when they take the floor at 6:30 tonight against No. 1 Country Christian (26-2) at Baker High School.
The Warriors haven’t lost since dropping a 61-50 decision to Country Christian on Jan. 18.
Their 15th straight win didn’t come without some drama. The Warriors were foul-prone and struggling on offense throughout the first half. They managed just three points in the second quarter and trailed 17-15 at the intermission.
“I felt like I was letting my team down, but then I got a whole new mindset at halftime,” said Baker, who played the entire second half without committing another foul. “I have to leave everything on the court because this is my last chance at a state title.”
While Baker sat, North Douglas concentrated on staying in the game by defending. The Hawks were also content to work the ball around until someone lofted a 3-pointer. It was most often a contested trey.
“Our defense kept us in the game,” Baker said.
After struggling with nerves and the Lions’ 2-2-1 zone press — North Douglas was caught twice for 10-second backcourt violations when players didn’t see open wings and had 12 turnovers in the first 16 minutes — the Warriors flipped the script in the game’s final 11 minutes.
“We were just more patient with the ball,” Frieze said of the adjustment against the press. “We moved the ball and saw each other better.”
“That’s something we’ll have to clean up before (tonight),” Davis said. “When we did find someone in the middle of the floor we broke it pretty easily. We found enough spots under pressure to get the job done and we hit our free throws. I’ve seen teams shoot themselves right out of a victory by missing those.”
Hosanna Christian had a nine-point lead with 3:14 left in the third quarter, but from that point on, the Warriors had a 20-point advantage. They took the lead on Jhana Lane’s three-point play at 36-35, then surged in front for good when Frieze buried the biggest 3 of her young life.
“That was pretty cool,” Frieze said of the go-ahead 3.
Lane finished with 13 points and 10 boards.
Raelynn Murray led Hosanna Christian with 14 points and eight, but it took her 21 field goal attempts. Mady Bush added 13 and Meredith Bush had 12 in defeat. The Lions hit 27.5 percent of their shots while going 11-for-39 from 3-point range as they seemed unwilling to challenge Lane or Baker inside the arc. As it was, Lane and Frieze both had a blocked shot.
HOSANNA CHRISTIAN (42) — Raelynn Murray 5-21 0-0 14, Kensler 0-1 0-0 0, Me. Bush 4-14 0-0 12, Ma. Bush 4-11 2-6 13, Tuttle 1-3 0-0 2, Johnston 0-1 0-0 0, King 0-0 1-4 1, Brancacio 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-51 3-10 42.
NORTH DOUGLAS (53) — Kalli Frieze 5-7 7-10 21, R. Black 2-4 0-0 4, Baker 7-13 0-0 15, MacDowell 0-1 0-0 0, Lane 5-9 3-7 13, P. Black 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-35 10-17 53.
Hos. Christian 10 7 16 9 — 42
N. Douglas 12 3 17 21 — 53
3-Point Goals — H.C. 11-39 (Me. Bush 4-11, Ma. Bush 3-9, Tuttle 0-1, Murray 4-18), N.D. 5-11 (Frieze 4-6, Baker 1-5). Team Fouls — H.C. 17, N.D. 9. Fouled out — None. Rebounds — H.C. 22 (Murray 8), N.D. 39 (Lane 10). Assists — H.C. 7 (Tuttle 3), N.D. 10 (Frieze 4). Turnovers — H.C. 8, N.D. 17.
BAKER CITY — It’s on to the Class 1A girls basketball state championship game tonight for the North Douglas Warriors.
Junior point guard Kalli Frieze buried a 3-pointer from the right wing to put the Warriors ahead for good and then iced Friday’s 53-42 semifinal victory over Hosanna Christian at the free throw line down the stretch.
“That 3 was big,” North Douglas coach Jeff Davis said. “And I knew as soon as it left her hand it was dead center because she stepped right into that shot.”
Frieze stepped into most of her shots — she made 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and was 7-for-10 at the free throw line — as she scored 21 points, grabbed eight boards, dealt out four assists and nabbed two steals in a complete-game performance.
“She was huge,” senior Dani Baker said. “She went out there and was the leader I’ve always thought she could be when I was not in the game. I asked to sit out (in the first half) because I thought she could handle it. All my confidence was in her.”
Baker, who sat the final five minutes of the first half with three fouls, scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half.
The Warriors (26-4) will be bidding for their first state championship in girls basketball when they take the floor at 6:30 tonight against No. 1 Country Christian (26-2) at Baker High School.
The Warriors haven’t lost since dropping a 61-50 decision to Country Christian on Jan. 18.
Their 15th straight win didn’t come without some drama. The Warriors were foul-prone and struggling on offense throughout the first half. They managed just three points in the second quarter and trailed 17-15 at the intermission.
“I felt like I was letting my team down, but then I got a whole new mindset at halftime,” said Baker, who played the entire second half without committing another foul. “I have to leave everything on the court because this is my last chance at a state title.”
While Baker sat, North Douglas concentrated on staying in the game by defending. The Hawks were also content to work the ball around until someone lofted a 3-pointer. It was most often a contested trey.
“Our defense kept us in the game,” Baker said.
After struggling with nerves and the Lions’ 2-2-1 zone press — North Douglas was caught twice for 10-second backcourt violations when players didn’t see open wings and had 12 turnovers in the first 16 minutes — the Warriors flipped the script in the game’s final 11 minutes.
“We were just more patient with the ball,” Frieze said of the adjustment against the press. “We moved the ball and saw each other better.”
“That’s something we’ll have to clean up before (tonight),” Davis said. “When we did find someone in the middle of the floor we broke it pretty easily. We found enough spots under pressure to get the job done and we hit our free throws. I’ve seen teams shoot themselves right out of a victory by missing those.”
Hosanna Christian had a nine-point lead with 3:14 left in the third quarter, but from that point on, the Warriors had a 20-point advantage. They took the lead on Jhana Lane’s three-point play at 36-35, then surged in front for good when Frieze buried the biggest 3 of her young life.
“That was pretty cool,” Frieze said of the go-ahead 3.
Lane finished with 13 points and 10 boards.
Raelynn Murray led Hosanna Christian with 14 points and eight, but it took her 21 field goal attempts. Mady Bush added 13 and Meredith Bush had 12 in defeat. The Lions hit 27.5 percent of their shots while going 11-for-39 from 3-point range as they seemed unwilling to challenge Lane or Baker inside the arc. As it was, Lane and Frieze both had a blocked shot.
HOSANNA CHRISTIAN (42) — Raelynn Murray 5-21 0-0 14, Kensler 0-1 0-0 0, Me. Bush 4-14 0-0 12, Ma. Bush 4-11 2-6 13, Tuttle 1-3 0-0 2, Johnston 0-1 0-0 0, King 0-0 1-4 1, Brancacio 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-51 3-10 42.
NORTH DOUGLAS (53) — Kalli Frieze 5-7 7-10 21, R. Black 2-4 0-0 4, Baker 7-13 0-0 15, MacDowell 0-1 0-0 0, Lane 5-9 3-7 13, P. Black 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-35 10-17 53.
Hos. Christian 10 7 16 9 — 42
N. Douglas 12 3 17 21 — 53
3-Point Goals — H.C. 11-39 (Me. Bush 4-11, Ma. Bush 3-9, Tuttle 0-1, Murray 4-18), N.D. 5-11 (Frieze 4-6, Baker 1-5). Team Fouls — H.C. 17, N.D. 9. Fouled out — None. Rebounds — H.C. 22 (Murray 8), N.D. 39 (Lane 10). Assists — H.C. 7 (Tuttle 3), N.D. 10 (Frieze 4). Turnovers — H.C. 8, N.D. 17.
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