Lady Blackhawks upset Pullman, end season with Clarkston loss

Cheney High’s girls’ basketball team got a little bit of revenge for last year’s season-ending playoff-loss to Pullman.

The No.4-seeded Lady Blackhawks outscored the third-seeded Greyhounds 30-21 in the second half en route to a 50-38 win in a loser-out Great Northern League playoff game last Tuesday, Feb. 9, in Pullman. Last year, Pullman eliminated Cheney in the second round, 39-36.

It was the second year in a row Cheney has knocked off a higher seed in the opening round, eliminating second-seeded West Valley in 2015.

Holly Flynn led Cheney and all scorers with 12 points at Pullman, going 6 for 8 from the free throw line. Brette Draper had eight rebounds for the Lady Blackhawks to go with eight points, with Aijia Loffreddi also scoring eight points.

The win earned Cheney a fourth shot at second-seeded Clarkston, 48-20 winners over fifth-seeded West Valley, two days later on Feb. 11 in Clarkston. Head coach JT Johnson hoped to earn the match up with the Bantams, feeling his team had a better chance at playing them in the second night of playoffs and that it is difficult to beat a team four times in one season.

Neither worked out for the Lady Blackhawks as Clarkston scored 20 points in both the second and fourth quarters to eliminate Cheney 62-36. Haley Pemberton was the only Cheney player in double figures with 10 points, although they outshot Clarkston at the foul line, going 9 for 16 on the evening compared to the Bantams 6 for 9.

Cheney boys’ head coach Gregg Smith also hoped the fourth time might prove a charm for his Blackhawks against second-seeded Pullman. It also was not to be as the Blackhawks offense never really got started, and the Greyhounds came out like gangbusters, opening a 21-9 lead after the first quarter and 39-18 at the half, going on to eliminate fifth-seeded Cheney 70-43 in opening round playoff action Feb. 10.

Jamiel Worthem paced Cheney with 12 points while Riley Jones added eight and Ty Graham seven. The Blackhawks ended their season 1-11 in GNL play, 5-15 overall.

The Lady Blackhawks finished 3-9 in the GNL, 8-14 overall, posting their best overall record since the 2013-2014 season.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.