SMS led by 17 points when Stiles departed, and Washington cut the lead to nine. But the Lady Bears have surrounded their great player with some awfully good players. And senior guard Tara Mitchem eased the crisis with 23 clutch points. Mitchem made big plays all night, teaming with Stiles to carve up Washington's zone defense like a Thanksgiving turkey. The Bears shot 62.5 percent from the floor.
Basketball is a team game, and it showed it tonight.
It takes everybody to win. Before checking out, Stiles gave us the usual feats of basketball legerdemain. Curling around screens to pop 3-pointers. Twisting and squirming to the basket. Making passes over the top of Washington's zone defense.