Alas for the T-Birds, heavy legs, a short bench, and too much of the Warriors' Missy Peterson spelled their doom as E-W advanced with a hard-fought 43-35 win.
Shorewood finished the season with a 14-10 record.
T-Birds coach Mark Haner, limited to playing only six players Friday night (with starting senior Jasmine Pollard called out of town suddenly following a death in the family) took its toll down the stretch Saturday.
The T-Birds trailed by two with one minute to play and had the ball in their hands with a chance to tie or take the lead. But in the game's key possession, several players eschewed open shots, opting to pass the ball instead. One too many passes resulted in a Warriors' steal that Peterson converted into a bucket to clinch the win.
Peterson led all scorers with 24 points. Her value to her team can best be demonstrated by the fact that when she was whistled for her second foul midway in the first quarter, her team had racked up a 13-2 lead. In her absence, the T-Birds ran off fourteen unanswered points to take a 16-13 advantage.
"I think we just plain ran out of steam in the fourth quarter," a disappointed Haner said after the game. "Ask me tomorrow and I'll be proud of what we accomplished this year, to be playing for third place with teams like Glacier Peak and Stanwood on the sidelines watching. But right now, it hurts to have been this close."
--Frank Workman
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