'Signature shot': Veronica Sheffey's go-ahead score caps Woodinville's dramatic win over Sumner for first 4A title

Veronica Sheffey and Tatum Thompson might have proven they're one of the best backcourt duos in state girls basketball history, powering top-ranked Woodinville in a barnburner over Sumner for the 4A championship.

TACOMA, Wash. — With the state championship on the line, Veronica Sheffey went for her signature move.

She got to her spot at the top of the arc, crossed over to her right hand, spun her body at the elbow and let fly a contested fallaway jumper from her left hand that swished into the net with 10.1 seconds remaining in the 4A state girls basketball championship.

"My signature shot, that short 15-foot pull up," Sheffey said with a smile. "I just saw an opening and I made my move."

It was one possession after fellow senior Tatum Thompson hit a similar go-ahead shot for Woodinville.

And, for once in this bout worthy of state-title primetime, Sumner didn't have an answer.

Alyson Deaver had the ball deflected out of her hands underneath Sumner's basket in the final seconds and Sheffey, Thompson and the rest of top-ranked Woodinville's players erupted in celebration on their 65-63 victory over No. 2 Sumner for the school's first state title.

Sheffey, the University of San Diego commit, and Tatum Thompson, who will head to Boise State University, made a convincing case to go down as one of the greatest backcourt duos for a team in state history with the way they finished their seasons Saturday in the Tacoma Dome.

"They were so awesome," Woodinville coach Scott Bullock said with a laugh.

Sheffey put her stamp on championship history with her shining go-ahead bucket and final-possession deflection, finishing with a game-high 23 points on 10-for-19 shooting.

But, just like in Woodinville's wire-to-wire semifinal win over Eastlake in the semifinals, it was Sheffey and Thompson's connection they started building in the third grade that was so evident in their play. Thompson continually hit Sheffey for passes that seemingly only she in the packed Tacoma Dome could see. The 4A KingCo MVP also finished with 21 points with nine assists and seven rebounds.

Dynamic duo almost doesn't seem to begin to describe their play.

"Even before playing them, watching their games, I have been like, 'Dang, Tatum might be my favorite player in the state besides the kids on my own team,'" Sumner coach Katie Hyppa said. "That's a compliment as a basketball player. She's got it. I love their style. They look for each other and they are going to be great at the college level.

"I'm excited to see what they do in college. They are not fun to play against, but they are fun to watch."

But Sumner had scintillating playmakers of its own.

Alyson Deaver, powering Sumner to its first appearance in the state-title game despite two ACL tears in her career, had 20 points and nine rebounds and her twin sister, Catelyn Deaver, had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Alyson Deaver's coast-to-coast bucket, with the 6-foot-1 post rumbling down the lane, gave Sumner a 58-57 lead with 2:56 to play despite at one point trailing by 11 points. Sumner rallied, though, behind big plays from the Deaver twins and Lainee Houillon, who finished with a team-high 21 points.

And Sumner looked like it might continue the momentum when Houillon had a look at a fastbreak layup right after Deaver's go-ahead score. But Thompson raced from behind and stripped Houillon out of bounds.

It was a pivotal play. Instead of Sumner going up by three late, Woodinville got a stop and Thompson followed by scoring off an offensive rebound to put Woodinville back up, 59-58.

After Brooke Beresford scored on another Woodinville putback, Sumner's Catelyn Deaver punched right back, drilling a 3-pointer from the left wing to tie the game at 61-61 with 30 seconds to go.

After Sheffey's go-ahead score, Sumner had the ball under its hoop with 2.3 seconds left.

So Hyppa drew up a play to get Alyson Deaver cutting from the top of the key behind some decoy screens in the ball-side corner. And she was wide open, but the ball was instead passed to Catelyn Deaver in the corner.

Catelyn tried to enter it into her twin sister on the block, but the tough entry pass was bobbled before Sheffey deflected it as time expired.

"I was open," Alyson Deaver said with a smile, fighting back some tears.

"Wide open," Hyppa later said. "I think we weren't patient enough. It's not a play we run, it was a play we drew up and that's just how the chips fall. We still had a shot to tie it and that's all you can ask for in a one-possession game."

For Woodinville, though, the win pushed a giant monkey off its back.

The Falcons lost to Central Valley in the 4A championship in 2020, the last time there were postseason basketball games since the WIAA shut down the playoffs during the 2021 shortened season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That was after Woodinville also lost to Central Valley in the 2018 title game.

But former Central Valley coach Freddy Rehkow called Bullock before Saturday's game to offer advice.

"He just said to keep your girls relaxed, keep them doing what they do all year," Bullock said. "And he said he's 3-for-3 on coaches he's called before title games."

And it was full circle for Sheffey and Thompson, who grew into best friends despite their insatiable competitiveness throughout their high school careers and before.

"We've been talking about winning this for forever," Sheffey said. "That's all we wanted. I can't say enough about being able to finish off the season like that. I can't even explain it. It's just such a blessing.

"We worked everyday, me and Tatum — always going at it in practice or outside of it in our workouts."

Said Thompson: "Veronica, she's been working since she was born. She's been on the grind for forever. My freshman year, I was on the bench not playing varsity, but swinging. I saw Veronica out there playing and I was like, 'I have to be out there.'

"So this — it's the feeling of relief. I completed the journey with my best friend."