MOUNT VERNON — The Darrington Loggers needed something to snap them out of their offensive funk. So what did coach Ben Bryson do?
He tweaked his defense.
The Loggers, who failed to reach 40 points in each of their previous three games, used a suffocating half-court trap to ignite their offense Saturday and the move paid off with a 55-37 victory over North Beach in the girls Class 2B state regionals at Mount Vernon High School,
The win earned the top-ranked Loggers (22-2) a spot in the 2B quarterfinals Thursday in Spokane. They play White Swan at 9 p.m.
Bryson devised his team’s defensive strategy Friday night after watching the Hyaks crush fellow Northwest 2B/1A League member La Conner 72-23 in the first round of the regional.
“We were all pretty down for it in the locker room before the game,” Darrington senior guard Renee Cousins said. “(The trap) has worked good for us as long as we stay out of foul trouble. It catches teams off guard.”
That seemed to be the case Saturday.
Befuddled by the constant double teams, North Beach committed turnovers on its first five possessions as Darrington sprinted to a 6-0 lead. All three baskets were lay-ins off steals.
By the end of the first quarter, North Beach had committed 12 turnovers, the Loggers led 17-7 and Darrington’s offense was back in business. “(That) got us going on our scoring,” Bryson said.
After a horrendous shooting night in Friday’s upset loss to unranked Adna, Darrington shot a more characteristic 45 percent (23-for-56) from the field Saturday. Especially heartening for the Loggers were the 16 points scored by Cousins, who shrugged off a recent shooting slump by hitting a pair of 3-pointers.
“I’ve been really, really struggling so it was nice,” Cousins said. “It definitely made me feel better and more confident.”
With both teams fighting for their postseason lives, the game was a bruising affair, with players frequently hitting the floor in pursuit of loose balls. The referees whistled the two teams for 43 fouls and called 16 held balls. Just the kind of game Darrington point guard Caresse Baker loves.
“Oh, that game was fun,” she said. “It was one of the roughest games I’ve played in. It definitely was in my top 10 of rough games.”
The aggressive play created foul problems for both teams. Baker and post Hailey Wales — who led Darrington with 22 points — each finished the game with four fouls, and Logger post Jessica Brooks fouled out with nearly six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
“We needed someone to come off the bench and give us some quality minutes,” Bryson said of losing Brooks.
That someone turned out to be freshman wing Amy Miles. Although Miles’ numbers were modest — two points, three assists and five rebounds — she earned high praise from her coach for her steady play, especially on the defensive end.
“She came in and played outstanding defense on their guards,” Bryson said. “They weren’t getting any threes. She bodied up against their three-shooters.”
Miles’ effort helped the Loggers advance to the quarterfinals of the state tournament for just the second time in school history and wipe Friday’s loss to Adna off their slate.
“We’re starting all over now,” said Bryson, who’s not a big fan of the new regional format. “That’s the good part of it … and maybe the only good part of it.”
At Mt. Vernon H.S.
North Beach 7 15 5 10 — 37
Darrington 17 10 15 13 — 55
North Beach—Skaar 12, Laranang 5, Pope 1, DelaCruz 1, Kramer 3, Buck 0, Bastian 2, Brown 0, Hahn 0, McCrory 9, Mosley 4. Darrington—H. Wales 22, R. Cousins 16, R. Wales 4, Baker 2, Miles 2, Franke 2, S. Jones 0, Brooks 6, C. Cousins 1, P. Jones 0, Anderson 0. 3-point goals—Laranang 1, McCrory 1, Kramer 1, R. Cousins 2. Records—North Beach not reported. Darrington 22-2.
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