WIAA State Tourney Semi-finals: Kamiakin vs. Prairie (Recap)

The 3A semi-final game between (1) Prairie and (4) Kamiakin has been a long awaited matchup all season. The Kamiakin Braves spent the winter pounding on schools in the Tri-Cities area, while Prairie set the standard in the Vancouver, WA area. Both teams entered the game with state championship aspirations and the winner would be one step closer to that season long goal. Prairie jumped out to an early lead executing in the half court and feeding 2019 6'3 F <strong>Brooke Walling</strong>. 2020 5'11 G <strong>Kendyl Carson</strong> had some nice drives and 2019 5'8 G <strong>Cassidy Gardner</strong> handled the point with supreme confidence as she has done all year. Midway through the quarter Kamiakin finally got some shots to fall and that meant they could set up their full court press. Kamiakin would go on a late quarter run and end up leading 15-13 after one. 2019 6'0 SF <strong>Oumou Toure</strong> started finishing inside at a higher rate in the second quarter and when she gets rolling, she is very difficult to stop. The Butler signee is probably the best scorer inside of 5 feet in the entire state due to her athleticism and brute strength. 2019 6'0 F <strong>Symone Brown</strong> really turned up her rebounding efforts in the second quarter as well and that is when she's at her best. At the half Kamiakin would lead 30-29. The third quarter was played completely even! 2019 5'7 PG <strong>Alexa Hazel</strong> (Kamiakin)made some nice mid range jumpers throughout the game and was a good decision maker throughout the fourth quarter as well. The point guard battle between Cassidy Gardner and Alexa Hazel was as good of a point guard matchup as you will see in Washington. Tied at 52, Prairie's Kendyl Carson made a clutch floater with 30 seconds left to give them a 2 point lead. Toure came down for Kamiakin and and uncharacteristically missed a layup and then there was a controversial travel call after Toure grabbed her own board and was bumped to the floor. Prairie had possession 90 feet from their hoop and Kamiakin trapped, forcing a jump ball. A huge turnover by Prairie gave the Braves the ball and after multiple missed attempts by Hazel, Toure got the ball the scored a strong right handed layup to tie it at 54 with 4 seconds on the clock. A buzzer beater was off by Prairie, sending the game into overtime! In overtime the big players made big plays for both teams! The same usual suspects as mentioned above made this the most exciting game of the day so far. When it came down to it, Cassidy Gardner made yet another huge 3 and that would go on to be the dagger. Overall, this game was an outstanding battle between two great teams. Would have loved to see even one more overtime, but in the end Prairie just made one more play than Kamiakin. The final score would end at 67-62. Prairie advances to the 3A state championship and Kamiakin will play for third.