“It’s a matter of executing every time down the floor. We have to come down defensively every time and say ‘hey we’re not going to give you a good percentage shot,’ and then you have to execute it that way,” said Tide assistant coach Bob Niehl.

 

Olympia (9-2) got out to a hot start thanks to 32 first-half points by Nate Menefee, with eighteen of the 5-foot-10 guard’s 32 coming from behind the arch.

 

“It all started on the defensive end. We were able to get out in transition, where I could be open and just knock down shots,” said Menefee.

 

Halftime adjustments made by Tide head coach Mark Lovelady and assistant Bob Niehl shut down Menefee in the second half, as he scored just six points in the final 24 minutes of play.

 

“We talked about ‘let somebody else beat ya,’ you know?” said Niehl. “We did that a little better in the second half and as a result, we slowed him down.”

 

With Menefee neutralized, Tacoma (2-11) chipped away at the Reign lead. The Tide finished the third quarter on a seven to nothing run and extended it to 21-7 midway through the final period, cutting Olympia’s lead to two. Justin Murray, the Tide’s leading scorer on the night, was the primary contributor, pouring in 10 of his 16 points in the fourth.

 

“We had some five-minute stretches where we out played them,” said Tide assistant coach Bob Niehl. “And then there were some five-minute stretches where we didn’t play well at all.

 

After the momentum switched from team to team one last time, the final stretch belonged to Olympia. The Reign scored five straight points, giving the team a 96-87 advantage, and then sank a free throw to end the hopes of a Tacoma come-from-behind victory.