Shorecrest Succumbs to Timberline's Pressure as Season Ends

BELLEVUE— The Shorecrest girls basketball team’s postseason run came to an end Friday after the Scots succumbed to Timberline’s pressure in the final minutes losing 52-46 at Bellevue Community College in the first round of the Class 3A state tournament.

Pressure on Scots’ point guard Brianne Lasconia made it difficult for Shorecrest to break the Blazers’ press in the second half. Lasconia had 10 points in the first half to lead all scorers but was held to one point in the second half and finished with nine of the Scots’ 24 turnovers. Timberline turned the ball over 15 times.

“You just can’t win a state tournament game with nine more turnovers than the other team,” Shorecrest coach Dori Monson said. “Timberline’s pressure did a good job on us in the second half. I thought we handled it real well in the first half. In the second half we got tired, we wore down and that was the difference.”

The Scots, who finish the year with a 15-9 record, led by as many as seven in the fourth quarter but were outscored 23-12 in period.

Timberline ended the game on a 21-8 run. Shorecrest forward Janie Uppinghouse made a couple shots to keep the Scots ahead and finished with a team-high 15 points, but in the end it wasn’t enough to keep the Blazers at bay.

Timberline started to inch closer in the final three minutes and a 3-pointer by Blazers’ guard Camille Williams tied the game at 44. She scored and was fouled by Mickey Greenburg on a drive to the hoop with 1:49 left and converted the free throw to give Timberline the lead for good.

Free throw shooting also led to Shorecrest’s demise. The Scots only made 5-of-14 from the line, a 36 percent mark. Timberline made 7-of-12 free throws for 58 percent.

Timberline’s leading scorer, the versatile Sasha Weber, was held in check for the first three quarters but scored half of her game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter.

Her 3-pointer with 1:02 to that put the Blazers up 50-46, proved to be a dagger that the Scots couldn’t recover from in the final minute.

The Scots, who were making only their second state playoff appearance, got off to a good start taking a 15-9 first quarter lead thanks to a pair of deep 3-pointers from Allison Jones and three free throws by Uppinghouse.

Shorecrest took a 25-17 lead on a basket by Lasconia with 2:06 left in the half. After Weber answered with a 3-pointer, Uppinghouse responded with a 3-pointer of her own and the Scots went into the half up 28-20.

Shorecrest shot 40 percent from the field in the first half compared to Timberline’s 28 percent. But the roles reversed in the second half with the Blazers shooting 46 percent to Shorecrest’s 32 percent. The Blazers also shot 35 percent from beyond the 3-point arc on 7-of-20 shooting to the Scots’ 23 percent (5-for-21) for the game.

Shorecrest ended up in the loser-out game after losing a fourth quarter lead to Glacier Peak and falling in overtime in the District 1 Championship. Timberline came into the game with a 22-1 record, its only loss coming to Kennedy in a bi-district semifinal game.

Injuries to starters Rachel Schrote, who would have been the starting point guard as a senior, and junior Shannon Schacle plagued the Scots, although after starting 2-7 they won 13 straight to take the lead title and qualify for state.

“I just couldn’t be prouder of how our kids stepped up but we sure wanted to keep going,” Monson said. “The hardest part of a loser-out tournament game is that I’m not going to be with this incredible group of girls every day for the next week.”

Only four players including Schrote graduate, and the core of juniors who Monson coached in AAU ball, including Lasconia, India Matheson, Uppinghouse and Greenburg all return.

“I’m ready for next season to get started now,” Monson said. “We’ve got a really good core group of girls coming back I’ll think we’ll be strong next season but that doesn’t take away the sting of how this season ended.”