EVERETT — Mikayla Pivec really wanted to miss some school.
Uh, she means play basketball.
The Lynnwood junior did all she could to help her Royals punch their ticket to next week’s 3A state tournament. The 5-foot-10 wing scored 24 points and grabbed 24 rebounds as Lynnwood routed Central Kitsap 71-39 in a 3A regional at Everett Community College Saturday night.
“I’m really excited. I get to miss a few days of — I mean, play a lot of basketball,” Pivec said with a laugh after the game. “And have fun.”
The win sends the Royals back to the Tacoma Dome for the second consecutive year. Lynnwood (22-2 overall) finished third in the 4A tournament last season.
Pivec’s big game helped make sure the Royals return this season to see how they can do in the 3A bracket.
“Wow,” Lynnwood head coach Everett Edwards said. “I knew she had 14 boards at the half. … That just shows her tenaciousness and her effort on the boards. Those are Dennis Rodman-type numbers.”
Pivec, who finished three assists short of a triple-double, had 10 points and 14 rebounds in the first half alone. By comparison, Central Kitsap had 27 rebounds by the entire team.
“The first goal is to win the game but I’m going to try to do whatever it takes,” Pivec said. “I went after the boards today and a few of them came to me.”
Central Kitsap head coach Nicole Nelson left Saturday’s game very impressed with the Lynnwood junior.
“I had heard that she is one of the best, if not the best, guards in the state,” Nelson said. “She’s an amazing player. She’s solid. She’s fundamentally sound and she has a big basketball IQ.”
Pivec and Jordyn Edwards provided a spark for the Lynnwood offense early. Edwards, who left school early on Friday because of illness, needed a quick nap before the game.
She still came out and made two big 3-pointers in the first quarter. Edwards finished with 12 points — all in the first half — and five assists.
“I just shot when I was open and I was glad it went in,” Edwards said.
The Lynnwood coach used a different former Chicago Bull as a comparison for Edwards.
“It was a situation, you go back to Michael Jordan having his great game when he wasn’t feeling good,” Everett Edwards said. “Jordyn was sick yesterday. She left school a little bit early and she wasn’t feeling good today. (It was a) situation where she came out, hit some big threes and got us going.”
Two other Royals scored in double figures in the contest. Kelsey Rogers (15 points, eight rebounds) and Reilly Walsh (12 points) also helped lead the Lynnwood offense, which scored 23 straight points in a run between the first and second quarters.
“They were a great team and we all played real well together,” Jordyn Edwards said. “It’s a big confidence booster for the first round in Tacoma.”
Taylor Krouse and Maddie White scored 16 points each for Central Kitsap (21-5), which shot 29 percent (13-for-45) in the game. Krouse had 12 points in the third quarter, which saw Central Kitsap go on an 8-0 run to make the score 44-22.
“It was a situation where I think they might have got a little tired,” Everett Edwards said. “I think our pressure got to them. They came out with great fight in that third quarter and they actually took it to us in the start.”
“We knew that we had a tough draw and we prepared as much as we could,” Nelson said. “They’re a very, very good team and we just didn’t quite get it tonight.”
Despite the big win, Edwards said there are still little things — like free throws — for the Royals to work on. But the Lynnwood coach is happy to get out of the game healthy and advance to the Tacoma Dome.
“There’s always things to work on,” Edwards said. “… I’m just very happy to make it through this game without any major injuries and we’re excited to get to practice on Monday and get ready for the Dome.”
At Everett Community College
Central Kitsap 6 8 15 10 —39
Lynnwood 16 25 18 12 —71
Central Kitsap—Katie Thorsen 2, Maddie White 16, Starr Rodenhurst 0, Olivia Krog 0, Vanessa Davies 0, Hannah Fergus 2, Taylor Krouse 16, Kayla Reuter 0, Mackenzie Page 3. Lynnwood—Madison Eyer 2, Reilly Walsh 12, Jordyn Edwards 12, Mikayla Pivec 24, Sarah Grant 0, Kelsey Rogers 15, Kaprice Boston 4, Taylor Fahey 0, Valerie Bell 0, Abby Yemane 2, Danielle Hayes 0. 3-point goals—White 2, Walsh 2, Edwards 2. Records—Central Kitsap 21-5 overall. Lynnwood 21-2.
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