No. 1 Lynnwood beats Todd Beamer 62-38, improves to 14-0

Published 9:24 pm Monday, January 18, 2016

KENT — A year ago on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Todd Beamer handed Lynnwood one of just two losses the Royals had in a season that culminated in a 3A state championship.

The Royals got revenge Monday.

Fueled by a second quarter where Lynnwood outscored the Titans 22-5, the No. 1 ranked Royals cruised to a 62-38 victory, improving their record to 14-0.

“It felt very good,” Lynnwood head coach Everett Edwards said. “This was a game we had marked on our calender. They got us last year. This was one that when I had the opportunity to reschedule this game, I jumped right on it because this is a great atmosphere. This is a gym that resembles the Tacoma Dome in terms of the size and space and everything. We’re very excited to play this team and we’re very excited to get a win today.”

The Royals are used to the big stage, having played in the state tournament in Tacoma each of the last two seasons. They placed third as a 4A school in 2014 and won the 3A state championship last season.

But the Royals also remember the heartbreak that came in 2013* when they were one of the favorites for a state championship, but were eliminated in the state-regional round by Kentwood, 61-60.

That loss still sticks with the Royals.

“We treated this like a regional game, if you lose your season is over and if you win you go on,” Edwards said. “It’s a great chance to practice that mental focus of playing in an arena like this and an atmosphere like this, so we treated it like a regional game. That being said, it truly is a non-league game and it didn’t matter, but we really tried to focus and think about it that way.”

That focus seemed to work in the Royals’ favor. They jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first quarter thanks to seven early points from senior Mikayla Pivec. The Titans came back to tie the game at 12, but the Royals closed the quarter on a 6-2 run capped off by a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Pivec.

Pivec would add another 3-pointer in the second quarter and finished the first half with 19 of her game-high 21 points.

“That’s something that we’re working on,” Edwards said of Pivec’s 3-point shot. “A lot of people might not realize that Mikayla can shoot the three-ball. We’ve been putting in a lot of work on that. We’re trying to save her a little wear and tear. If she has to she can play inside, but she’s also a capable 3-point shooter and we’ve tried the last couple of games to have her shoot the three.”

Pivec, the 2014-15 Washington State Gatorade Player of the Year, said she has been working on her perimeter skills which she will need next year when she begins her college career at Oregon State University.

“I’ve been working on it a lot,” Pivec said. “I’m feeling more comfortable with it. In college, I’ll definitely play guard so I’ve just been working on my ball-handling and 3-point shot to get ready for that. My teammates set me up really well.”

Pivec’s three at the end of the first quarter seemed to give the Royals all the momentum they needed. They opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run to turn what looked as though it could be one of their toughest games of the season into a blowout.

“I felt like we controlled (the game),” Edwards said. “The first quarter was a little bit of a feeling out process, but I think we had a great second quarter. … We played great defense and we combined it with great offense.

“Defense is our battle cry,” Edwards added. “On the offensive side of the ball, it’s like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get, but we actually played OK offense, too. I think we had quite a few assists. We were doing some things and penetrating and looking for our teammates and playing good basketball that way. Top to bottom, we had a couple of hiccups here and there, but we played a good basketball game against a good basketball team.”

At ShoWare Center

Lynnwood 18 22 11 11 —62

Todd Beamer 14 5 11 8 —38

Lynnwood—Abigail Yemane 0, Reilly Walsh 8, Rachel Walsh 1, Jordyn Edwards 11, Mikayla Pivec 21, Kelsey Rogers 9, Valerie Bell 0, Kaprice Boston 8, Taylor Fahey 4, Abby Douglas 0, Kaui Piilani 0, Kia Crawford 0. Todd Beamer—Briawna Kelly 0, Makenna Woodfolk 9, Japhera McEachin 8, Bria Rice 0, Lexus Holden 0, Nia Alexander 10, Darion Brown 3, Makenzie Bond 8. Records—Lynnwood 14-0 overall. Todd Beamer 11-2.

*—Correction, Jan. 19, 2016: The original story included the incorrect year for Lynnwood’s loss to Kentwood.