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The Eagles walked away with a few nicks and bruises, but on top in the most important area — the scoreboard. A 60-52 win puts Joseph, 28-0 overall, back into the state championship game for the second year in a row. “It’s nice to know that we’re going back,” senior Megan Yost said. “We still have work to do. There’s no sense of accomplishment yet. We didn’t come here to be the second best team.” The Red Devils entered the game after knocking off the only other undefeated 1A girls team — Triad. However, in the first quarter the game looked like it would play to form and end in a rout by the Eagles. Despite missing its first six shots from the field, Joseph opened up a 14-9 lead after one quarter. Emily Staigle sparked the surge with six consecutive points off the bench. “That was huge,” Joseph head coach Lance Homan said. “In every playoff run different players step up off the bench to help out. (Lena) Moro did that (Wednesday) and Emily did it for us tonight.” Then the mouse got out from under the cat’s paw. Lowell’s Heidi Norris went to work in the paint. The Red Devils senior pulled down two offensive rebounds during one possession, and gave her team a 19-16 lead with 5:59 left in the first half. But, the Eagles continued to swat their opponent. Then watch it scurry and swat again. Joseph decided to pounce in the third quarter. An 0-of-5 stretch from the field and five turnovers helped fuel a run by the Eagles.
 POSTED PARKS: Joseph junior Nicke Parks drives around the corner during the fourth quarter against Lowell. Observer photos/PAUL HARDER Parks’ drilled a jumper from the right wing, Colby Patton from the left wing, and a Paige Bailey lay-in capped the sizzling 15-1 run. Still, Lowell kept coming. With the 6-foot-3-inch Parks on the bench in foul trouble, the Red Devils found room to work in the paint. “(Nicke) makes a big difference when she’s out there,” Yost said. “Teams focus on her, and she still comes through. It also opens the way for other players to make shots.” Four times during the fourth quarter the Red Devils made it a one possession game. In the end the two Joseph posts stood tall. Parks scored six point and grabbed two rebounds in the final eight minutes. Yost went into her own world. The senior spent a majority of her time at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. “We shoot tons of free throws in practice,” Yost said. “I always shot at the same basket with the same people. That’s what I try to visualize when I’m shooting during a game.” Yost connected on 8-of-11 from the charity stripe in the closing quarter. Parks led Joseph with 16 points. Yost finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. The rematch Joseph still had to store some energy for cheering after the game. No, the boys team wasn’t playing in the same gym, and it wasn’t for another local girls team. The Eagles devoted the efforts toward its perspective opponents when Southwest Christian played St. Paul. A year ago the Buckaroos ended the Eagles’ championship dreams in overtime 54-49. “We want another shot at them,” Yost said. “It really doesn’t matter who we play, but we want another shot at (St. Paul) They ended our season with a loss last year. That left us feeling a little unsettled.” A dominating performance by St. Paul against Southwest Christian brought the Joseph dream into reality. The Buckaroos cruised to a 49-28 semifinal win. Brittani Brown led the way with 25 points and added nine rebounds. Julie Drescher tallied 11 points and 12 rebounds. Brown and Drescher combined to score 33 points in the title game in 2007. Parks paced the Eagles with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Harshman 0 1-2 1, Yost 2 11-13 15, Bailey 6 2-9 14, Patton 2 0-1 4, Parks 7 2-3 16, Moro 1 0-2 2, Bird 0 0-1 0, Staigle 4 0-0 8. Totals 22 16-31 60. LOWELL (52) K. Rice 2 5-7 10, R. Rice 3 6-8 13, Williams 1 1-2 3, Norris 8 3-8 19, Erlei 3 1-2 8, Dickenson 0 0-0 0, Larson 0 0-0 0, Hartwig 0 0-0 0, Kellar 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 16-27 53. Joseph 14 8 18 20 – 60 Lowell 9 15 10 19 – 52 3-point goals: Joseph, none; Lowell, K. Rice; R. Rice; Erlei. |
