Falcons use defense to suffocate Bonney Lake

Three seniors on the Prairie High School girls basketball team know what it feels like to win their last game of the season at the Tacoma Dome. They want the chance to play in that building one more time.

“Our goal is simple, make it to the Dome,’’ said Prairie senior forward Emily Peters.

Peters and teammate Lindsay Asplund were on the active roster when Prairie won the Class 3A state title in 2012, the sixth in the celebrated history of the Falcons’ program. Prairie senior Jamie Phares was also a member of that team but she was not on the active roster due to transfer requirements.

Peters, Asplund and Phares are key components of this year’s Prairie team, which is attempting to get back to the Tacoma Dome after a one-year absence. Last year, the Falcons lost in the field of 16, failing to be one of the eight teams to advance to the final round of the state playoffs.

“A few of our seniors know what it takes to get there,’’ said Peters, a second-team all-Greater St. Helens League selection this season. “We would like to get there one last time and the underclassmen on our team are really generous. They want to play for our seniors.’’

Prairie opened that quest to return to the Tacoma Dome with a 44-28 win over Bonney Lake in a bi-district playoff game Feb. 11 at Prairie High School. The Falcons were scheduled to play Feb. 13 vs. Lakes, needing one more win in the double-elimination tournament to advance to the round of 16.

The Falcons, which improved to 16-5 with that win, struggled offensively in their game of the postseason, making only one of 19 shots from behind the 3-point line and shooting just 30 percent overall.

“I told the girls before the game that it’s the first round of the playoffs and they were going to come out nervous,’’ said Prairie coach Brett Johnson. “As long as they play their defense,  then there’s no facade. They know that none of them are great offensive players. It was their defense that got them here.’’

Actually, Prairie didn’t play its normal defense. The Falcons traditionally open with a fullcourt press, but Johnson elected not to this game according to Peters.

“It was very unusual that in this game we didn’t start out in our press like we normally do,’’ Peters said. “I think that’s what got us off at first.’’

Johnson made a strategic move in the second quarter that settled his team down. The Falcons switched to a 2-3 zone defense and the result was a seven-minute stretch in the second quarter in which Bonney Lake didn’t score.

“We don’t practice the 2-3 a lot but we executed it really well,’’ said Peters, who along with Phares contributed to five of the 28 turnovers forced by Prairie in the game.

“They were both all over the place,’’ Johnson said of Peters and Phares. “Jamie, I love the way that girl plays. She just has that athletic ability. She averages almost a (drawn) charge a game. She really gets after it.

“Emily had her hands moving constantly, touching the ball and deflecting the ball,’’ said Johnson, who was named 3A GSHL Coach of the Year by a vote of the league’s coaches.

Johnson also credited junior Cherita Daugherty with three blocked shots in the effort. Daugherty also led Prairie with 12 points. Phares made four of her six shots and finished with nine points.

Daugherty was the 3A GSHL Player of the Year. Asplund and Phares were on the 3A GSHL first team and Natalie Whitesel joined Peters on the second team.

Sophomore guard Jozie Tangeman also chipped in nine points in the win over Bonney Lake.

Both Johnson and Peters were confident the Falcons’ first game offensive woes would not be a problem as Prairie moved forward on its path to the Tacoma Dome.

“I’m very confident in our team,’’ Peters said. “We’re a good shooting team. We have to have the mindset to keep shooting and keep playing our kind of defense. If the other team doesn’t score, we’re golden. That’s our mindset.’’