How Does Prairie Match Up?

Holy Names Academy of Seattle — Prairie’s opponent in the Class 3A state girls basketball title game — is 28-0 and has rarely been challenged. So, what should the Falcons do to stop the Cougars?

“I don’t know,” Holy Names coach Lee Adams said. “Or I probably don’t want to reveal it.

“That’s a good question; nobody’s ever asked me that. I’ll have to get back to you after the game.”

Holy Names is led by Erika Johnson, who is headed to the University of California and is rated by ESPN.com as the 21st best recruit in the country. Johnson is 6-foot-1, can handle the ball, can shoot the 3, and is a powerful post presence. The good news, from Prairie’s perspective, is that she is 7 of 25 from the field in the first two games at the Tacoma Dome. The bad news is that she has compensated for that by grabbing 36 rebounds.

More bad news: Holy Names also has Claire Conricode, who is headed to a Division I program at the University of the Pacific and made five 3-pointers in a 57-28 semifinal win over North Central of Spokane. Sophie Reichelt, a 6-foot-1 junior, made four 3s in that game.

“Prairie is really well coached and it will be a battle,” Adams said. “That’s what our kids have wanted all year is to battle.”