Wrapping up 4A…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Halfway through our look back at the state championships. This one will be abbreviated as I did not see one 4A boys game, so I’m not going to comment on it.
All I’ll say is I was shocked that McGuinness with Daniel Orton could not defend its title. Must really say something about how talented that Star Spencer team is when they put it all together.
But I did see a lot of the 4A girls.
Boys champion: Star Spencer, 67-61 vs. McGuinness
Girls champion: Vinita, 51-45 vs. Cache
One last time to watch Cache’s Taylor Thompson. What an absolute treat she’s been. She can just pull up from 25 feet and nail it. Or she can take you off the dribble and score. Not to mention, her defense.
But the Vinita team was clearly the best in the tournament. As Justin Harper pointed out to me while there, the Hornets beat No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6. Couldn’t beat No. 3 because that’s what they were.
Three girls really stood out for Vinita: Dana Downing, Tosha Tyler and Caitlyn Spurgeon.
Spurgeon is/was just a freshman, so it was kinda amazing to watch not only her poise but her big-time clutch performances in both the semifinals and the championship.
Thompson scored 20 points but didn’t score one in the fourth quarter. The lingering image for me from this year’s tournament is Thompson crouching down in tears with the Vinita team celebrating about 10-12 feet away from her.
Wow.
In fact, the whole Cache team really took that loss hard. Every team is disappointed about not winning it all, but some of those Cache girls were almost beyond devastated.
Anyway, congrats to Vinita and Thompson, hey, be keepin’ tabs on ya at Fresno State.
And finally, if you haven’t had a chance to catch Brandon Chatmon’s “Mic’d Up” with McGuinness coach Tondrell Durham, here is your chance. Special thanks goes to McGuinness for allowing Brandon to do this. It means a lot to us.
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