Tigers take it to the wire

Girls basketball: Tigard is edged by McNary in state tournament nail-biter

By Dan Brood

The Times, Mar 18, 2010

STATE SMACK — Tigard junior Kelsey Kaelin (right) is fouled by McNary senior Megan Hingston as she goes to the basket during play at the state tournament.

DAN BROOD / The Times

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PORTLAND — The Tigard High School girls basketball team enjoyed what easily could be called a successful, fun-filled season.

And the Tigers came oh so close to extending that joyous season one more game.

Tigard saw its season come to an end when it fell 41-40 to McNary in a back-and-forth, Class 6A state tournament consolation semifinal thriller played last Thursday at the Rose Garden.

“It’s always hard to end with a loss like this,” Tigard senior guard Chelsea Biglow said after the game. “But we played hard all season and it was great to get this far. We loved playing together.”

McNary, the Central Valley Conference champ, improved to 19-6 on the season at that point with the win. The Celtics went on to beat Franklin 61-50 in the tourney fourth-place game.

Tigard, the Pacific Conference co-champion, finished its season with a final overall record of 21-7. The state tournament appearance was the first for a Tiger girls basketball team since 2003.

“I think we had a great season,” Tigard senior guard Jenny Eckhardt said. “We worked hard, improved all season and did a lot better than anyone thought we would. I’m really happy with how our season went.”

For the second year in a row, Tigard saw its season end with a heart-breaking loss to McNary. Last year, the Tigers fell 50-47 at McNary in a state playoff second round game. Last Thursday’s state tournament game, just like last year’s game, wasn’t decided until a last-second Tigard shot, which looked to be online, bounced off the rim, leaving the Celtics with a narrow victory.

“It sucked losing to McNary again,” Biglow said.

But Tigard didn’t lose the game, or see its season come to an end, without a battle. Last Thursday’s state tournament game between the Tigers and McNary featured 12 lead changes, including six in the fourth quarter. Tigard also came back from a five-point deficit with less than three minutes to play to twice take a one-point lead in the final 1:44 of the contest.

“It came right down to the end,” Tigard junior guard Kelsey Kaelin said. “We all played with a lot of heart today.”

It became apparent right from the start of the tournament game that it was going to be a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle the whole way.

McNary took a 7-3 lead on a three-point basket by senior Taylor Jones coming with 2 minutes and 26 seconds left in the first quarter. Tigard came back to take an 8-7 lead thanks to a three-point basket by junior post Maddie Black and a driving scoop shot by Eckhardt.

The Celtics, with senior Megan Hingston hitting a late three-pointer, came back to hold a 10-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Tigard sophomore Jessica Roshak drilled a three-pointer from the top of the arc off an assist from junior Katie Humphrey to give the Tigers a 15-14 lead with 1:39 left in the period. Kaelin, who was fouled on a drive to the basket with 0.7 seconds left in the second quarter, sank both of her ensuing free throws to give Tigard a 17-16 halftime lead.

Black sank another three-pointer for Tigard and she also sank a 15-foot jumper for Tigard in the third quarter, but McNary, getting six points from sophomore post Deven Hunter in the period, claimed a 26-25 lead going into the fourth quarter.

And that’s where things got really interesting.

Tigard, getting a free throw by Kaelin and a short-range jumper by Black, scored the first three points of the final stanza and took a 28-26 lead.

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