TACOMA -- There were 67 teams at the start, all of them with a single goal in mind: make it to state.
Kennedy Catholic finished in the final four again, the third time in four years.

"Playing on March 5 is every Class 3A girls basketball team's dream," said Kennedy coach John Barbee. "Our seniors have left a legacy."

The Lancers rolled past Auburn-Mountainview 55-35 on Saturday to finish fourth in the Class 3A girls basketball tournament at the Tacoma Dome.

Kennedy (25-4) absorbed a heartbreaking 46-40 loss to state runner-up Prairie (27-1) on Thursday in the quarterfinal opener before coming back and beating Glacier Peak 58-45 in consolation play on Friday and then Auburn-Mountainview (23-9).

It ended a remarkable four-year journey for Kennedy senior players Aminah Williams, Ali Madison and Jasmine Lemon. The trio played on the 2009 state championship team and got trophies in each of their four years at Kennedy, amassing a 100-12 record.

"It feels good to take home a trophy," said Lemon, a savvy, tough 5-foot-3 point guard who overcame an anterior-cruciate ligament injury from last year. "I'm glad we went 2-1 in the tournament. If you can't finish first or second you might as well place."

Lemon credited her coach for much of her team's success this year.

"It was fun playing for him (Barbee)," she said. "He really disciplined us a lot, something we really didn't have last year. Coach (Tom) Mummert was a good coach, but coach Barbee disciplined us more. That was something new to us. I liked that."

Mummert resigned last year amid controversy after leading the Lancers to a 75-8 record, three trophies and a state championship in his three years as coach at Kennedy.

In what might have been a state title game if Kennedy hadn't drawn then-unbeaten Prairie in the first game of the quarterfinals, the Lancers were in it until the end.

Aminah Williams, a University of Washington signee, scored on a follow shot to tie the game at 40-40 with 38 seconds to play

Angela Gelhar, who had a game-high 16 points, scored on an easy layup 18 seconds later off a beautifully executed skip pass from Lauren Goeke on the break.

Kennedy was forced to foul and the Falcons hit 4-of-4 free throws at the end to win it.

"We shot great free throws down the stretch and made a great press-offense play on a 2-on-1 break to give us the advantage," said one of the state's winningest coaches, Prairie coach Al Aldridge.

Aldridge and his Falcons are no newcomers to the state tournament. They have won trophies in 13 of 14 years and secured five state titles. Their prolific 138-game Greater St. Helens League winning streak was finally broken last year, the only season they haven't been to the tournament.

Prairie beat Kennedy 52-46 in the West Central/Southwest bi-distric tournament last week in another hard-fought battle that was won by the Falcons in the waning minutes.

"It was tough for both of us to have to play again in this venue after having to play last week to qualify," Aldridge said.

After a slow start, and down 5-0, Kennedy's transition game got rolling. The Lancers reeled off an 11-0 run on easy baskets benefited by several steals from Vivienne McClain and Williams.

The Lancers extended their lead to 17-8 and held on to take a 26-21 advantage at halftime.

Madison's inside game was clicking. She scored eight points in the first half, mostly on shots close in. Williams had four steals.

"We did a good job against their press early and they called it off," Barbee said.

The Lancers, however, were having trouble making three-pointers, and it became a bigger problem later in the game. They took 10 attempts in the game and didn't make a one.

"We shot 30 percent (16-of-53) and didn't make a three all night," Barbee said. "That comes back to bite you a little bit."

Prairie put up a trapping, zone defense in the second half. Kennedy's shots were not going down and the Falcons went on a 9-2 run and led 33-32 at the end of the third.

"They caused some problems with the trap, trying to take us out of our rhythm," Barbee added. "They made it a half-court game and that ended up being a good move by coach Al (Aldridge) over there."

The Lancers took the lead at 34-33 when Williams took her defender off the dribble for a layup.

Madison made an acrobatic left-handed scoop shot inside to make it 36-33 with 5:12 to play.

Prairie then answered by making 5-of-6 free throws to take back the lead at 38-36 with 2:41 remaining.

Lemon drew a foul when she penetrated the key and sunk both of her free throws, tying the game at 38-38.
Lanae Adams scored on a drive to give the Falcons at 40-38 lead with 1:59 remaining, leading up to Williams' tying basket.

Williams ended up a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She also had six steals.
Madison had 10 points and four rebounds.

"A well-played game by both teams," Aldridge said. "Aminah Williams had another outstanding game against us, as did Madison. I felt fortunate to get out with the win."

Kennedy 58, Glacier Peak 45

After Glacier Peak jumped to a 12-11 first-quarter lead, the Lancers came out smoking. Vivienne McClean hit consecutive three-pointers to put the Lancers out in front, 17-12, a lead they wouldn't relinquish -- and part of a 14-3 run.

Madison got six points and Williams five, all on free throws, in the flurry.

"We were all in synch today," Williams said. "This is the earliest game we ever played (9 a.m.) so I was surprised to see how much intensity we came out with this morning."

The Lancers would stretch their lead to 19 at 46-27 in the third quarter, but Glacier Peak fought back.

The Grizzlies, who lost to Kamiakin in overtime the day before, showed their resiliency, closing to within 53-45 on Olivia VanDlac's two free throws with 2:53 left. VanDlac would score 16 points in the game.

"God I love those guys," said Glacier Peak coach Brian Hill, who along with Federal Way girls coach Danny Graham played on the same Jerome Collins-coached Eagles team together. Graham's Eagles finished second in the 4A tourney.

"How could you not love a team that can battle like that and make it a great game."

One of the big factors in the game was Williams shutting down Glacier Peak's high-scoring guard Katie Hawkins, who was held to seven points and only two in the first half.

"My coach told me that she was one of their best players and to just come out today and shut her down and prove to people I am known for my defense," said Williams, a 6-foot forward/guard.

Williams led the team with 14 points and 10 rebounds. She also had five steals and two assists. Madison had 13 points and nine rebounds.

For Williams there was no doubt the Lancers wouldn't answer the challenge after losing to Prairie the first day, putting them out of state title contention.

"It shows if you're a good team you can play through adversity," said Williams, the daughter of former NBA player and WSU star Guy Williams. "Even though we lost yesterday we showed our character today. We didn't give up. We still wanted to play some more, so we still worked as hard as we could."

Kennedy 55, Auburn-Mountainview 35

The Lancers exploded for 11 unanswered points after falling behind 4-0 in the first quarter.

Kennedy's lead would stretch to 29-13 at the end of the quarter and a 46-25 advantage at halftime.
Williams scored 10 of her game-high 21 points in the first half. Lemon added six points (10 in the game) and five (six total) assists in the half.

"We usually start out slow in a lot of games, but today it was an early game and we were all tired from yesterday," Lemon said. "We said, 'come on guys, wake up (8 a.m. start), we can't get out of here with two losses on our backs, let's pick it up.' "

Lemon was one of eight seniors on the tournament roster, including Williams, Tia Hayes, Erin Gosseen, Danielle Bojourquez, McClean, Kelsey Trautmann and Madison.

Underclassmen include sophomores Jordan Armstrong and Dee Dee Green and ninth graders Myah Williams (Aminah's sister) and Diondra Bourgette.

"They are a great group of girls who support one another and that's what you want as a coach," said Barbee, whose team's only losses (four) came against two of the state's top teams, state champ Holy Names (28-0) and Prairie.

"They want to be a team first. I probably learned more from them (seniors) than they learned from me, if not more. I am so proud of them."