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Fourth quarter, section title belong to tough Washington

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Washington’s Tajah Gordon scored 9 points with 14 rebounds against Frazier Thursday.

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Washington’s Haley Hamilton drives through the defense of Frazier’s Hannah Fell and Jovanna Isaac during the second quarter Thursday.

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Washington’s Haley Hamilton, Mikala Maltony and Emmalea Beck celebrate after beating Frazier 36-32 Thursday.

It’s a good thing the outcome, not style points, is the only thing that matters in girls high school basketball. That was the case after Thursday night’s de facto Section 4-AA championship game between Frazier and Washington.

Washington found enough strength in the fourth quarter to soar past the Commodores, 36-32.

“It has been awhile,” Washington head coach Mike Maltony said. “It is a new section this year. The seniors pulled it together. They haven’t won a section championship. They were fighting and ready to go.”

After scoring only 19 points through three quarters, the Prexies (10-2, 13-9) poured in 17 in the final eight minutes.

“We could have packed it in earlier in the third quarter when we were down seven, but we fought back,” Maltony said. “We make our stupid mistakes, like throwing the ball away, but we played one play at a time. We did a good job with protecting the ball late in the game.”

Frazier (9-3, 12-7) looked to be in complete control of the game early in the third quarter, scoring the first six points of the half to increase their one-point halftime lead to 20-13.

With a loss becoming more evident at that point, Washington senior point guard Taylor Ellis took matters into her own hands on Senior Night. Ellis connected on back-to-back three pointers to bring the Prexies within one. Ellis found her shooting stroke after going 0-for-7 in the first half.

“That was huge,” Maltony said. “That was a big lifter. When she hit those, the team just lifted up. We were ready to go after that.”

The Prexies dug deep in the fourth quarter, using an 8-0 run at the 4:50 mark, turning a 24-23 deficit into a 31-24 advantage. A key piece to the run was the Prexies’ suffocating defense, causing turnovers and ill-advised shots by the Commodores.

“Defensively, on the inside our girls played an outstanding game,” Maltony said. “We had (Tajah) Gordon, (Mikala) Maltony, (Emmalea) Beck and (Haley) Hamilton. Haley and Emmalea are seniors and they wanted to go out on top. I told them you have to own the boards and they did a good job boxing out.”

“I guess we just got outplayed,” Frazier coach Ken Poling said. “Actually, I know we did.

“I thought it was the whole game that was the deciding factor. The turnovers were the key.”

It wasn’t just the Commodores who had the turnover bug. Washington was able to overcome their 22 turnovers — 11 in each half — and press on. Frazier had 13 turnovers.

“That has been our problem all year,” Maltony said. “We just take off like a bat. We are one dimensional. We see the basket and we are going. If we see one open person we are launching it. That is the way the girls have played continuously. It hurts us but it helps us too.”

Leading the way for the Prexies was Maltony with 11 points. Gordon just missed a double-double with nine points and 14 rebounds.

Senior Jamie Muccioli had a game-high 15 points for the Commodores. Washington will quickly bask in the glory of being section champion but the Prexies knows they can’t get too confident with the playoffs starting next week.

“I don’t want to be overconfident because I know what we can do and what we can’t do,” Maltony said. “There are a lot of good teams out there. I told them in the locker room after the game that the first season is over and now it is time for the second season. We have to tighten up mistakes and be on our game.”

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