An Irish Heater for Webster
O'Dea sets up fifth meeting of the year with top-seeded Rainier Beach
TACOMA — If O’Dea’s Brian Webster were superstitious, he’d have bacon, potatoes, and eggs for breakfast before meeting top-seeded Rainier Beach at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday morning.
After all, that proved to be the breakfast of champions on Wednesday when Webster got out of bed feeling like his shot was on. That feeling never subsided as he scored the Fighting Irish’s first 12 points of their 62-52 victory over No. 10 seeded Shorewood.
That win sets up a re-re-re-re-rematch (that’s five) against Rainier Beach in the state 3A quarterfinals at 10:30 a.m. It was widely expected that this matchup would take place in the state championship game. O’Dea (19-6), the No. 2 seed, dashed that by losing to Lincoln (Tacoma) 71-58 in Round 2 last week.
“We were definitely upset, frustrated,” Webster said. “But it is what it is. It’s part of basketball.”
His quick start was part of his determination that his team didn’t get knocked farther off track.
Webster finished with 29 points, hitting 8 of his shots inside the 3-point line.
“They (his teammates) build off my energy, so I try to get them going because they need me,” the senior guard said afterward.
Did they ever. Despite Webster’s fireworks, the Irish were never quite able to shake the Stormrays, whose largest deficit was 13 points. The Marlows, sophomore Tyler (20 points) and Jaden (12) wouldn’t let them.
Shorewood’s lack of long-distance shooting was its undoing. Webster had four threes to just one for the Stormrays. And that was the difference on the scoreboard.
Even with coach Jason Kerr urging them to, “attack … attack … attack,” the Irish were unable to run the less-athletic Stormrays off the court. That transition weakness is something the Vikings no doubt will look to exploit.
As for his team’s 0-4 mark against Rainier Beach (26-1) this season, Webster didn’t seem concerned. After all, his 40-foot bomb near the end of the game at Rainier Beach on Jan. 15 could have set the stage for an upset. However, KJ Hightower’s layup with seconds left gave the Vikings the hard-fought victory.
The last matchup, for the District 2 title, O’Dea exploited Rainier Beach’s propensity for slow starts. They held the Vikings to just four points in the first quarter, built a 16-point lead early in the second quarter, and didn’t yield a basket to Beach star Tyran Stokes until 125.6 seconds remained in the first half.
Sill, Rainier Beach rallied for a 56-47 win.
“We’re excited,” Webster said. “We’re ready to go. … We’ve got to bring the energy early, like we usually do. And then play defense and take care of the basketball.”
But he may not repeat Wednesday’s breakfast menu. Webster says he’s not superstitious.
BEACH AT STATE 3A
The Shoes of Ili-Meneese Make a Difference
Viks Led by a Freshman and a Sixth Man
3A FAN GUIDES
Check out Wednesday’s South Seattle Emerald for Beach’s “Family Business”