Dean plays like veteran, leads Prosser

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:04PM

Tajua Dean admitted she was nervous before Monday's game.

But once the first minute passed, the Prosser freshman point guard

played like a veteran in the Falcons' 38-33 win over Taft.

"Yeah, I was nervous," said Dean, who finished with 10 points in the

season-opening victory at Prosser's tournament. "But it got better."

Bria Redmond's free throw in the last minute of the first half staked

the Falcons to a 14-13 edge at the break. The Falcons broke the game

open with a 9-2 run to start the third quarter for a 23-15 advantage.

Prosser was up 29-21 going into the fourth quarter.

"Defense," Dean explained. "And we slowed it down."

Taft got within four on two occasions, the last on freshman Kyra

Vidas' basket with 4:09 left in the game.

Prosser then opened the door late in the game by turning the ball over

on six consecutive possessions, but Taft only scored once.

"I liked our intensity and that we didn't back down," said Taft coach

Kirk Vidas, whose team went 5-0 and won last season's tournament. The

Falcons finished 4-1 and ended up second. "We got pushed a bit, but

that's a good thing. Sometimes, it's good to get the players angry. I

was happy with the effort."

Redmond led all scorers with 15, while Vidas scored 12 for the Eagles.

Also at the week-long tournament are Steinmetz, Schurz, Jones and Amundsen.

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