Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography Studios Grant Union's Heather Mosley (33) gets the tip for the Prospectors in Friday's district contest against Union, her teammate McKenzie Wilson (12) is in the foreground.

LA GRANDE – Keeping the dream alive, the Grant Union girls are headed for Round 1 of the OSAA State Championship games.

They will travel to Monroe to face the Dragons at 2 p.m. Saturday.

They earned the trip by clinching third place at last weekend’s Wapiti District Basketball Tournament, held at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande.

Grant Union started with a 38-42 loss to Union last Friday, but blazed to a 48-14 victory over Imbler on Saturday.

All-League selections announced at the close of the tournament included Kori Pentzer and Heather Mosley for first team and McKenzie Wilson and Emily Mosley, honorable mention.

Pentzer was instrumental in Saturday’s 34-point win over Imbler as the lead scorer with 17 points, followed by Heather Mosley with 8.

Imbler’s Panthers likely had trouble deciding which Prospector to defend as seven others contributed to the scoring.

The most Imbler could manage for a quarter was 6 points in the first. After that, Grant Union held the Panthers to 3 points in the second and third, and 2 points in the final quarter.

Grant Union’s biggest offensive push came when they scored 14 points in the fourth quarter

Grant Union entered the contest as third seed; Imbler was seeded fourth. Although the Pros had beaten Imbler twice before, by more than 30 points each time, the team took nothing for granted in their quest for state.

Heather Mosley led in rebounding for the Prospectors with six, followed by Babe Nash with four. Pentzer had six steals and Heather Mosley had four.

“We came out with great intensity and determination,” said head coach Mark Mosley. “Our pressure defense proved to be the determining factor. We played well offensively and defensively as a team.”

Grant Union’s game against Union, seeded second, was a tougher battle. The two teams had traded wins in the regular season.

Mosley said that although the Pros played well defensively, they had trouble getting into an offensive flow.

They faltered at the free-throw line, shooting just 6 for 18.

“But, our overall effort was great, and even though we did not play a complete game, we still had our chances to win,” Mosley added.

Pentzer led the Prospector scoring with 20, followed by Emily Mosley with 10. Rebounding was led by Samantha Brock, Emily Mosley and Heather Mosley, five each; followed by Riley Sharp with four. Heather Mosley blocked two shots.

The girls are preparing for No. 5-ranked Monroe, which is 23-3 overall and 13-0 in league.

Grant Union is ranked No. 12 at 16-8 overall and 8-4 in league.

“I am extremely proud of the girls and our accomplishments to this point, now our goal is to get to Pendleton and compete with the final eight teams,” he said. “This is a great group of girls and it has been a joy to watch them grow as team.”

The stats

Grant Union girls vs. Imbler

Kori Pentzer: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 6 steals

Heather Mosley: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals

Riley Sharp: 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal

Emily Mosley: 4 points

Samantha Brock: 4 points, 3 steals

Babe Nash: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal

Mariah Moulton: 3 points, 2 rebounds

McKenzie Wilson: 2 points, 2 steals

Whitney McClellan: 2 points

Jozie Rude: 1 rebound