Maturing Sumner turns away Davis of Yakima in WIAA 4A girls basketball regionals, 2 takeaways

After Davis of Yakima sends game into overtime, Spartans stay poised behind senior Lainee Houillon for 63-61 victory in Auburn

AUBURN, Wash. - When Davis of Yakima ninth grade guard Cheyenne Hull intercepted a pass with less than five seconds remaining in Saturday’s Class 4A state regional game at Auburn High School and converted a layup as time expired to send the game to overtime, the fourth-ranked Sumner Spartans could have folded.

But senior guard Lainee Houillon wouldn’t let that happened.

Houillon rallied her team in overtime and the Spartans escaped with a 63-61 win to advance to the WIAA state quarterfinals Thursday at the Tacoma Dome.

“The good news is, you’ve got another couple minutes to play,” Sumner girls coach Katie Hyppa said of the game going into overtime. “That’s a good sign. We want to play as many minutes as possible, up and down (the court). I think just resetting mentally (helped us). Lainee kind of took leadership and control there, which was awesome to see.”

Houillon is the team’s leader, but the Spartans are largely a young basketball team. They start two ninth graders and have seven players that are either freshmen or sophomores. But you wouldn’t know it by how they play.

“They’re mature and they’re skilled and they’re tough,” Hyppa said. “There is still some stuff to work on, you saw that at the end of regulation. There is still some stuff to work on, but that’s OK. That’s what we do this for, to coach them and get them better. We talk to them all the time that the biggest thing is just be confident. They’re good basketball players and they’re great kids. They’ve got to be confident.”

Ninth grader Kawehi Borden led the Spartans with 17 points. Sophomore Olivia Collins added 16, and Houillon finished with 14.

Senior Esmeralda Galindo scored 20 points to lead the way for Davis, and Hull chipped in 16.

Here are two takeaways from the Sumner-Davis of Yakima game:

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RESILIENCE KEY FOR SUMNER

The Spartans had to bounce back in overtime to get the win, but they also had to bounce back from an awful third quarter that saw them score just three points.

“It’s the worst quarter we’ve had this season,” Hyppa said. “That’s kind of what we told the girls, ‘Hey, it can only go up. From the charity stripe, we’ve got to be better, we’ve got to hit some shots, but defense is going to win this game.’ At the end of the day, that’s what we pride ourselves on. When our defense is clicking, our offense does too.”

The fourth quarter saw several lead changes, but the Spartans always had an answer for whatever the Pirates threw at them.

“We’re going to face good teams,” Houillon said. “We were kind of prepared for it. It was good to experience that, and now we know what to prepare for from here on out. It was a rollercoaster out there.”

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PIRAT'ES' SCRAPPY DEFENSE KEPT THEM IN IT

The Pirates may have came up short, but they proved they will be a tough out at the Tacoma Dome. Davis continuously got its hand in passing lanes, especially when it mattered most as Hull was able to get a steal and convert the layup to send the game to overtime.

“That’s a good team,” Hyppa said. “That’s a tough team overall. They’re scrappy and feisty.”

Davis will play a loser-out game at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday.

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