It was a physical battle between two highly-touted girls’ basketball programs.
There were 36 fouls called and 43 free throws attempted to go along with 16 lead changes and eight ties, as No. 6 The Dalles stormed back from a 32-30 deficit with a 17-4 run in the final four minutes to grab a 47-36 win over No. 5 Summit Thursday in The Dalles.
With such a physical contest, TD point guard Kailin Hoylman exited action due to injury, so the already short-handed Riverhawks needed to muster enough energy to break past Summit’s pressure defense.
No matter what the situation calls for, all-league senior post Olivia Starks said someone finds a way to step up their game.
“We play as a team always. Especially in the last couple of weeks,” said Starks. “Even though we lost Kailin, she kind of set the tone for us in the first half. Even though she got injured, she set the pace and we rose up to that as a team.”
Early in the fourth quarter, The Dalles (6-6 overall) led by as much as 29-22, but the Storm battled back for a 10-1 run in a span of 2:44 to take a 32-30 lead with 4:42 left in regulation.
When faced with a challenge of forging a comeback in the final stretch, the Riverhawks used a 10 for 13 rate from the line, a 3-pointer by Katie Conklin, a jumper by Starks and at the 2:36 mark, Brooke McCall scored a basket on an assist from Starks that moved the lead to 39-33.
While The Dalles managed to execute offensively, Summit went 3 for 6 from the free throw line, committed two turnovers and missed their final 10 shots from the floor.
Perennial all-league point guard Sarah Heinly had 15 points, but was held to just one field goal for the first three quarters in the Storm loss.
Teammates Sarah Reeves had 10 points and Kelsey Norby had seven, as Summit hit 12 field goals, four from long range and went 8 for 13 from the line.
“I was very impressed with our defense,” said Riverhawk head coach Dan Telles. “We kept them on the perimeter and limited them to just one shot. When you can play like that, you give yourselves a chance.”
Summit (9-3, 1-0) had six field goals through the first three quarters and were held without a basket in the second quarter, with the Riverhawks holding on to a 15-12 halftime lead.
The Dalles saw that lead evaporate in the first 32 seconds of the third quarter, as Summit used a 5-0 spurt to go ahead 17-15.
In the final 6:21 of the third, Conklin and Starks combined for 10 points and Iliana Telles sank a 3-pointer to run the Hawk advantage to 28-22.
Conklin scored a team-high 22 points, and had a steal, a block and eight rebounds for a Riverhawks team that went 18 for 30 from the free throw line, including 14 for 20 in fourth quarter.
Starks had a double-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and Lori Cimmiyotti tacked on six points and eight rebounds.
Of the 14 baskets hit by The Dalles, nine of them came off of assists.
TD is now 4-0 when scoring 47 or more points.
“Not only is our passing getting better, it is the fact that we are reading defenses better, getting open and we are knowing where the next defender is and that helps us execute on offense,” said point guard Iliana Telles.
The Dalles has a week off until heading out for a five-game road trip, starting at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Redmond (2-8).
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