John Najar knew exactly what was about to happen.
When No. 5 seed Klamath Union (19-4) went into halftime with a 23-24 lead over No. 11 seed Marist Catholic (13-13) in the OSAA 4A girls basketball fourth place game Saturday, it seemed to be either side’s for the taking. But that wasn’t quite the feeling Najar had.
“I knew it was over for them, because the third quarter is usually our quarter,” Najar said.
The Pelicans’ third-year head coach was right. Klamath Union outscored Marist Catholic 19-7 in the third quarter en route to a 54-43 win that secured the highest state tournament finish in program history.
It was the Pelicans’ second-ever fourth place game; they lost to Corvallis 52-35 in their only other appearance in 1989. Klamath Union’s 19 wins are also the second-most in program history (the Pelicans won 22 games in the 1980-81 and 1988-89 seasons). The team was a combined 18-23 in Najar’s first two years and hadn’t made the state tournament since 1990.
“I told our seniors that I’m so proud of them for the legacy they’re leaving behind, because it usually takes a couple of special groups to spark something,” Najar said. “They’re that special group. I really feel that.”
As they did throughout the state tournament, Klamath Union struggled to score in the first quarter. The Pelicans shot 2-of-7 (28.6%) from the field in the opening frame and started the second trailing 12-6 after Spartans freshman Talia Tyner hit a buzzer-beating jump shot.
In the first minute of the second quarter, Dianara Peña made a layup, intercepted a pass and buried a three to cut Marist Catholic’s lead to 12-11. Farrah Zumwalt came up with another steal for Klamath Union on the Spartans’ next possession, and Andi Harmon gave the Pelicans their first lead on a putback with 6:18 left in the period. There would be four more lead changes before the half ended as the teams essentially traded points.
McKenna De Lee gave Marist Catholic the lead back on a triple with 7:18 remaining in the third quarter, but the Spartans didn’t score again until Tyner made a free throw at 3:43 to end a 10-0 Klamath Union run. The Pelicans shot 7-of-12 (58.3%) from the field in the third, including 3-of-7 (42.9%) from three.
“I’ve learned…that if we’re struggling from the outside, go in, and then once you get those closer, higher-percentage shots, then the threes start to fall,” Najar said. “We honed it in, we got into the paint and then we started kicking it out, and that’s when we caught fire.”
Klamath Union started the fourth quarter up 43-30 and led 46-31 with five minutes to go, but Marist Catholic went on a 9-1 run to draw within 47-40 with 54 seconds on the clock. The Pelicans proceeded to make 7-of-8 free throws to ice the game.
Najar said he was responsible for allowing the Spartans to close the gap by “getting a little bit conservative.”
“I should have kept on the gas a little bit longer. But…this is only my third year, so I’m learning too.”
Dianara Peña was named the Klamath Union player of the game for the second day in a row after scoring a game-high 19 points (on 7-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-7 from three) with 5 steals, 4 rebounds and 2 assists; Keely Hall had 13 points (including 9-of-10 free throws), 7 rebounds and 3 steals; Kshalee Thomas had 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists; Andi Harmon had 5 points and 3 rebounds; Dakota Neese had 4 points and 6 rebounds; Erin Garcia had 3 points and 3 rebounds; Jazzi Wilson had 2 points; and Farrah Zumwalt had 2 steals.
McKenna De Lee was named the Marist Catholic player of the game after leading the Spartans with 15 points (on 6-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-8 from three), 3 rebounds and 2 assists; Claremont-Mudd-Scripps softball signee Avia Tuguldur had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists; Addie Ruckwardt had 6 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists; Paige Onstad had 5 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists; Kaylynn Guevara had 5 points and 3 rebounds; Talia Tyner had 4 points and 2 rebounds; and Kegan De Lee had 2 rebounds.
Marist Catholic shot 44.4% from the field and 37.5% from three in the first half but saw those percentages drop to 24% and 10% in the second. The Spartans outrebounded the Pelicans 33-29 but lost the turnover battle 18-9 (Klamath Union outscored Marist Catholic 16-10 in points off turnovers).
Marist Catholic graduates Onstad, Ruckwardt, Tuguldur and Guevara from this year’s team, while Klamath Union graduates Thomas, Hall, Garcia, Peña and Neese.
“I love them,” Najar said. “I’ve told them I love them. I’m going to miss them. They’ll always be special.
“It’s going to be hard to replace them, but we have some girls that are coming up that are hungry.”
