Lake Stevens girls win, place fourth
Published 12:15 pm Saturday, March 5, 2011
TACOMA – Brittney Pahukoa had no idea what she had just done.
The Lake Stevens High School sophomore came off the bench Saturday morning and provided the first-half spark that carried the Vikings to a 53-45 victory over Bellarmine Prep and a fourth-place finish at the Class 4A girls basketball tournament in the Tacoma Dome.
But as she headed to the locker room at halftime, she was oblivious to her contribution.
Her teammates were not.
“I was the last one in because I was getting my water and they all started cheering,” Pahukoa said. “I’m like, I’m really glad you guys are getting picked up by it because I really didn’t realize it.”
Pahukoa scored 10 points, grabbed two rebounds and had two assists in 11 very productive first-half minutes. Her play helped ignite a 13-4 run that turned a three-point deficit for the Vikings into a 28-22 halftime lead.
Lake Stevens (23-4) never trailed the rest of the game.
“Brittany really did a nice job of bringing some energy to that starting group,” Lake Stevens coach Randy Edens said. “She’s done that all year.”
The second-quarter spurt coincided with Edens’ decision to slap on a trapping, full-court press, which immediately led to fastbreak opportunities for the speedy Pahukoa and her teammates.
“That’s in our arsenal,” Edens said of the press. “But to be honest, we hadn’t actually run that defense all year.”
It didn’t look that way to Bellarmine coach Kevin Meines, who watched his team respond by turning the ball over on five consecutive possessions.
“They did a great job on their press and we didn’t react too well to it,” Meines said. “Which is strange, because that’s what we do to people. They were able to turn it around on us.”
After grabbing the lead, Lake Stevens steadily extended its advantage. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Katie Goddard to open the fourth quarter gave Lake Stevens a 44-31 edge.
A 7-0 run by the Lions cut the difference to 44-38 with four minutes to play, but a rebound and basket by Pahukoa and a short jumper by Corinne Burke pushed the advantage back to 10 points. Lake Stevens then sealed the victory by hitting five free throws in the final 47 seconds.
Pahukoa finished with a team-high 14 points on a day when her sister, Brooke, the Vikings’ leading scorer, shot 1-for-10 from the field and scored just five points, 11 below her season average. Burke, a senior guard, added 10 and senior forward Meghan Warbis nine.
Senior guard Sarah Hartwell, a four-year starter for Bellarmine who is headed to Xavier next season, led the Lions, who placed sixth, with 23 points.
The fourth-place finish marked the first time the Vikings have placed at state in 25 years. It also matched the highest placing in program history.
Edens called the accomplishment “tremendously special” not only for the outgoing seniors, but also for those who will be back next season.
“Corinne and Meghan, our senior captains, they do so much,” Edens said. “We are really going to need kids to step up and rise to the occasion (next year).
“And I think they will.”
At the Tacoma Dome
Lake Stevens 11171015—53
Bellarmine Prep 13 9 7 16—45
Lake Stevens—Goodard 6, Puha 0, Pilon 0, Ziskovsky 0, Warbis 9, Wilson 0, Burke 10, Molstre 9, Brittany Pahukoa 14, Pahls 0, Brooke Pahukoa 5, Long 0. Bellarmine Prep—Beardemphl 3, Holmes 3, Potts 9, Christian 0, Wargacki 0, Swofford 0, Hartwell 23, Price 0, Petty 7. Records—Lake Stevens 23-4. Bellarmine Prep 22-7.
