TACOMA — A season of high promise was interrupted by severe disappointment on Thursday afternoon as the Lake Stevens girls basketball dropped a heartbreaking 53-49 decision to Chiawana at the state tournament in the Tacoma Dome.
The Vikings rallied from a third quarter deficit that reac
hed eight points to go in front midway through the final period. Lake Stevens guard Brittney Pahukoa dropped in two free throws to push the lead to 47-44 with 3:12 remaining, and moments later the Vikings had possession after a missed Chiawana shot.
But in the closing minutes Lake Stevens managed just one more field goal while missing three times and twice turning the ball over. The Riverhawks, meanwhile, scored nine points in the last 2½ minutes, including a pivotal 3-point goal by forward Hayley Hodgins, to pull away at the end.
“They were a really tough team, but for three quarters I thought we matched that,” said Lake Stevens forward Meghan Warbis, one of six Viking seniors. “We were in it. But then in one quarter they took it away.
As disappointments go, she said, “and on a scale of 1-10, it’s probably a 9.”
Lake Stevens seemed a little jittery at the outset with a missed layin and three turnovers on the team’s first four possessions. Chiawana led 7-0, but from there the Vikings found a nice groove and they closed the opening quarter with an 18-4 scoring burst.
But Chiawana had an obvious size advantage — the Riverhawks have one 6-foot starter and three others are 5-10, while Lake Stevens has no one taller than 5-9 — and the Pasco school was able to finish with a 44-38 rebound edge, including 18 offensive rebounds that led to a 15-8 margin in second-chance points.
“That was huge, especially during the second quarter,” said Lake Stevens coach Randall Edens. “We knew it was coming, it was just a matter of how well we could hang in and scrap. … They were real aggressive. And after taking shots, they were just sprinting to the glass.”
The Vikings trailed 29-24 at halftime, and then saw the deficit grow to eight in the third period. But Lake Stevens didn’t win a Western Conference North championship and a District 1 title by giving up in tight spots.
Warbis had eight points in the third quarter as the Vikings started to turn the momentum, and forward Brooke Pahukoa dropped in a shot from right of the key in the period’s final seconds to pull Lake Stevens within 41-39.
Minutes later the Vikings slipped in front, but down the stretch they had too many missed opportunities — errant shots and turnovers, in particular — to hold their lead.
“We missed some stuff in tight that you just have to convert down the stretch,” Edens said. “Free throws and layins, those are my pet peeves. And if we convert some of those, we’re probably able to close that thing out.”
In the closing moments, he added, the Riverhawks “were just a little bit better about getting shots to go in.”
“I’m really regretting (missed) free throws and layins for the whole team,” Warbis added. “Obviously we’re thinking about all the little things.”
Brooke Pahukoa led the Vikings, as she has most of this season, with 15 points. Warbis and forward Abby Molstre each added 11 points, with Molstre also snagging a game-best 10 rebounds.
Lake Stevens drops into the consolation bracket and will face Mount Rainier loser at 12:15 p.m. today. The Vikings can still clinch a trophy with a victory, which would bring them back for a final game on Saturday.
“All our sights are on (today) and then getting to Saturday,” Warbis said.
At the Tacoma Dome
Chiawana 11 18 12 12 — 53
Lake Stevens 20 4 15 10 — 49
Chiawana: Reynolds 5, Gonzales, Sparks 4, English, Ellsworth 9, Loving, Valdez 3, Hodgins 21, Rivard 11. Lake Stevens: Goddard 7, Puha 3, Ziskovsky, Warbis 11, Wilson, Burke, Molstre 11, Brittney Pahukoa 2, Brooke Pahukoa 15. 3-point goals-Valdez 1, Hodgins 3, Goddard 2, Puha 1. Records-Chiawana 23-3. Lake Stevens 21-4.
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