Grace falls to Cusick in regional game

Cusick’s second-half defense was a factor in Grace Academy losing in a Feb. 25 loser-out 1B state regional game at Everett Community College. Grace Academy fell to the Panthers 57-48.

“We knew they were a really good team. We knew it would be a good challenge,” Grace Academy head coach Bill Kelley said of Cusick, which is in Pend Oreille County in the northeast corner of the state. Cusick earned a spot at regionals thanks to their third-place finish in the District 7, 1B tournament.

The Eagles were in the lead, 11-8, after the first quarter and were up six points leading 30-24 at half time.

“It looked like we were in control,” Kelley said. Sophomore Zia Fackenthall scored 14 of her 21 points and senior Heidi Impola scored 10 points in the first half.

“We were getting out on their break and killing their press,” Kelley said of the first half.

Cusick switched to a man-to-man defense in the second half and the Panthers concentrated on defending Impola, who was held scoreless in the second half, Kelley said.

Cusick chipped away at Grace Academy’s lead throughout the third quarter before taking the lead 41-39 on a three-pointer with 55 seconds remaining in the period.

The fourth quarter saw the lead change several times before Cusick went on a 10-0 run late in the quarter to seal the game.

“The kids played hard the whole time. I’m really proud of them,” Kelley said.

In addition to her scoring, Kelley complimented Zackenthall’s defensive abilities. “She’s probably the best defensive player I’ve coached,” Kelley said.

In addition, junior Karis Jones scored seven points with 13 rebounds and seven assists.

Grace Academy earned a spot in regionals thanks to their 53-45 win Feb. 19 over Evergreen Lutheran for third place in the 1B tri-district tournament.

Kelley said the team took the lead early, but Evergreen Lutheran came back to tie in the first quarter. Grace Academy soon took the lead again and eventually stretched the lead to 10 points.

"It was a good, tight, close game," Kelley said of the tri-district, consolation game

Senior Kathryn Fehme scored eight points from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. "She hit a bunch of clutch one-and-ones at the end of the game," Kelley said.

In addition, Senior Heidi Impola scored 24 points with 19 points coming in the first half and sophomore Zia Fackenthall added 14 points.

Grace Academy started the tri-district tournament Feb. 12 with a 49-22 win over Northwest Yeshiva in Mercer Island. They followed that with a 52-37 win against Muckleshoot Tribal Feb. 15. The Eagles stumbled in the semifinals with a 73-32 loss against Mount Vernon Christian.

"It's pretty tough to stay with them. They were on fire," Kelley said of Mount Vernon Christian, which is the top-ranked, 1B team in the state.