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Late Free Throws Give Sehome Girls Win: Todhunter Clinches Victory for Mariners

Posted on: Friday, 3 March 2006, 09:00 CST

By Doug Pacey, The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Wash.

Mar. 3--TACOMA - As sophomore Brittany Todhunter stood at the free throw line in the final seconds of Sehome's Class 3A state quarterfinal contest with Ellensburg, coach Colin Cushman called out to her.

"It's easy, piece of cake," he bellowed. "Nothing but the bottom."

Leading by one with three seconds left, Todhunter swished both, giving the Mariners a three-point lead and a 41-38 victory.

The win puts Sehome in the girls' basketball semifinals for the first time since 1993. The Mariners will face Issaquah at 8:30 tonight.

Sehome senior guard Megan Busch scored a game-high 21 points. She was 5-for-11 from the field and 9-for-9 at the free throw line.

Busch gave the Mariners breathing room late in the fourth when she stole the ball and raced down court for a laying, putting her team up 39-36.

Sehome (19-6) surged to a 16-3 lead in the first quarter and a 26-15 advantage at halftime, but the Mariners found themselves behind by the end of the third quarter.

The Bulldogs (19-9) led 36-31 - their largest lead of the game - four minutes into the fourth quarter, but Sehome answered with an 8-0 run, getting four points and two steals from Busch in that span.

"Megan played great," Cushman said. "We're a young team, so I'm not too surprised that we had some problems."

Reserve guard Jackie Zender gave Sehome the lead for good (37-36) with 3:12 left when she drilled a 16-footer moments after entering the game.

Ellensburg had a chance to tie the game after Todhunter's free throws, but Kayla Standish's half-court short brushed the bottom of the net.

Standish, a 6-foot-2 sophomore center, scored nine of her 11 points in the second half, helping the Bulldogs outscore Sehome 23-15 after halftime. She also finished with 11 rebounds.

"Standish in the second half, that's the story right there," Cushman said. "She's the real deal."

Todhunter had 7 points and 10 rebounds for Sehome, the No. 3 seed from the Northwest District.

The Mariners did not allow a field goal until Ellensburg's Rebecca Sharon made a laying 36 seconds into the second quarter. Sharon led the Bulldogs with 18 points.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Wash.

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Source: The Bellingham Herald, Wash.

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