Todd Beamer hands Lynnwood girls first loss of season

Published 6:51 pm Monday, January 19, 2015

KENT — Todd Beamer gave Everett Edwards exactly what he wanted.

“We’ve been on a heck of a run. We look for losses,” the Lynnwood head coach said. “We schedule tough to try to play the best teams and to play teams that are going to challenge us.”

The Titans, the No. 3 4A team in the Associated Press poll, handed 3A No. 1 Lynnwood its first loss of the season, with a 55-43 win over the Royals in the King Showcase at the ShoWare Center Monday afternoon.

The loss was Lynnwood’s first since a state semifinal game on March 7, 2014.

“It was a good game. We scheduled tough and we looked to play the top teams and Todd Beamer is one of the top teams here in the state of Washington,” Edwards said. “They played great defensively. It’s the first time we met a team that played that style of defense where it had us a little bit uncomfortable.”

Lynnwood (12-1 overall), which is known for its aggressive defense, found itself on the other side against the Titans. The Royals led by as many as eight in the first half, but Todd Beamer overtook Lynnwood with an 11-3 run to start the third.

The third quarter was when things began to get away from the Royals, who were outscored 18-4 in the period. Lynnwood missed 19 straight shot attempts over a nine-minute period that spanned the third and fourth quarters.

“That third quarter got us,” Edwards said. “Bria Rice got loose in transition a little bit and was able to get into our six- and seven-point lead. I think that got their confidence going and the doubt going into our minds.”

Monty Cooper capped a late Lynnwood rally that got the Royals to within one point, 41-40, with a 3-pointer at 2:58 left in the game. But that’s as close as the Royals would get. Lynnwood scored three points the rest of the way as Todd Beamer (13-1) made free throws to pull away and clinch the victory.

“I love our effort,” Edwards said. “There was a point where we were down 10 points with about five minutes to go and things were looking bleak — like we were about to get blown out and we made a few adjustments and we made a run and I think we cut it to (one).”

Rice led the Titans with 16 points and nine rebounds. Quinessa Caylao-Do scored 14 points and Makenna Woodfolk added 11 — with both players making key free throws late for Todd Beamer.

The Titans forced three shot-clock violations by Lynnwood in the second quarter as the Royals tried to pass around Todd Beamer’s defense. Both defenses shined, forcing double-digit turnovers for each team — 12 for Todd Beamer and 10 for Lynnwood — in the first half.

Lynnwood began the second half with a lot of the same. A steal by Reily Walsh led to a steal by Todd Beamer’s Quinessa Caylao-Do. Both teams finished with nine steals and 16 turnovers apiece.

“It’s a big win, a big confidence boost,” said Todd Beamer head coach Corey Alexander. “To have the challenge like this, to beat the No. 1 team in 3A, it’s a big confidence boost. A couple of months ago it would’ve been a close game. They probably would have took it to us. It shows where we’ve matured at.”

Royals junior Mikayla Pivec posted a double-double for Lynnwood with 16 points and 15 rebounds — both team highs. Cooper scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as did sophomore Kelsey Rogers.

Despite the loss, Edwards believes the loss will be a positive for Lynnwood as it hopes to make another deep run at the state tournament. The Royals lost one non-league game last season, to Cleveland, in a year where they finished third at the state tournament.

“I truly believe that this loss could be the best thing that could happen to us at this point in the season,” Edwards said. “This is the first loss that this group has had, starting from the summer. … We love to play good teams. It’s really easy to schedule easy games and to try not to face adversity but we schedule tough. This game, it might not show now, but hopefully in a few weeks as we prepare for our district tournament we’re going to face some other adversity and we can draw on our experience here.”

At ShoWare Center

Tood Beamer 11 8 18 18 — 55

Lynnwood 15 11 4 13 — 43

Todd Beamer–Liesa Young 2, Quinessa Caylao-Do 14, Makenna Woodfolk 11, Japhera McEachin 2, Bria Rice 16, Nia Alexander 10, Jayln Piper 0, Darion Brown 0. Lynnwood–Reilly Walsh 0, Monty Cooper 11, Jordyn Edwards 0, Mikayla Pivec 16, Kelsey Rogers 11, Kaprice Boston 2, Taylor Fahey 0, Dani Hayes 3. 3-point goals–Caylao-Do 1, Woodfolk 2, Cooper 1, Hayes 1. Records–Todd Beamer 13-1 overall. Lynnwood 12-1.