Stanwood players cheer during a 3A girls game in the Hardwood Classic between Lynnwood and Stanwood at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Stanwood won, 74-69. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Stanwood players cheer during a 3A girls game in the Hardwood Classic between Lynnwood and Stanwood at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Stanwood won, 74-69. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Hot-shooting Stanwood girls sink Lynnwood, advance to 3A quarterfinals

The Spartans connect on 11 3-pointers and hold on for a 74-69 win.

TACOMA — The Stanwood and Lynnwood high school girls basketball teams treated the early crowd at Wednesday’s Class 3A Hardwood Classic to electric opening quarter where it seemed like neither team could miss.

The teams combined for 11 triples in the first period, draining them from the corner, the top of the arc and well behind the line.

But when the 3-point barrage began to slow down in the second, the Spartans started getting to the hoop and built a double-digit cushion.

Lynnwood made a pair of runs in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to reel in Stanwood. The Spartans are heading back to the state quarterfinals as a result.

Freshman guard Ellalee Wortham led a balanced attack with 21 points and sixth-seeded Stanwood came one 3-pointer shy of tying a single-game 3A girls tournament record on its way to a 74-69 victory over 11th-seeded Lynnwood in an all-Wesco showdown in the round of 12.

“I was confident our girls would be ready to role at 9 (a.m.),” Stanwood coach Dustin Swanson said. “We’ve practiced at 9 all season long and looked really well doing it. I was hoping Lynnwood might be sleepy-eyed or whatever, but they’re a fantastic team with a lot of firepower. So I’m not surprised both teams came out firing.”

The Spartans (20-5) advance to face fourth-seeded Mead in the quarterfinals at 9 a.m. Thursday. It’s a rematch of last year’s quarterfinals, which Mead won 52-33.

The squads traded blows in the first in a grand display of lethal perimeter shooting. Lynnwood’s Aniya Hooker opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and Stanwood’s Grace Walker answered back with two more. Spartans senior Tatum Brager connected on a triple that put her team up 22-16 for its biggest lead of the opening frame. Eight different players hit 3-pointers in the first.

The Royals (17-7) tied the game at 32 on a layup from Hooker with 3 minutes, 37 seconds left in the second, but Stanwood started to make its run right after. The Spartans’ started attacking the basket off the drive and 6-foot-4 senior center Vivienne Berrett went to work in the post. It resulted in a 15-3 run to end the quarter as Stanwood pulled ahead 47-35. Berrett had 10 of her 16 points in the period.

The Spartans pushed their lead to as many as 18 in the third after a 3-pointer by senior Chloe Santeford with 3:09 left in the quarter, but Lynnwood responded with a quick run and cut its deficit to 58-48 on a 3-ball from Hooker late in the quarter.

Wortham helped Stanwood push its lead to 70-53 midway through the fourth with a pair of 3-pointers from the corner and a contested layup. Lynnwood stormed back after as Hooker provided 11 points during a 16-3 run that cut Stanwood’s lead to 73-69. But the Royals ran out of time as junior Dina Yonas’ 3-pointer that made it a four-point game came with just 4.3 seconds left.

“There was a moment in the fourth where we were playing too fast on offense,” Swanson said. “With the lead we just wanted to execute and get a great shot. … But Lynnwood played good D and they got a couple steals and they hit .. tough shots.”

Wortham scored 13 of her 21 points in the second half during a breakout performance for the freshman.

“She’s an amazing player,” Walker said. “She can really shoot it and she can drive. She’s good at literally everything.”

Berrett posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Brager scored 13 points, Walker had 12 points and Santeford chipped in 10 for Stanwood. Sophomore Ava Depew added six rebounds, six assists and three steals. The Spartans hit 11 3-pointers as a team.

“There’s so much focus on Viv inside and we know that,” Swanson said of the Royals’ efforts to slow down Berrett. “We want to take advantage of her talents, but we have fantastic guards that can attack and hit the 3. They were all contributing big time.”

Hooker poured in a game-high 26 points to go with six rebounds and four steals for Lynnwood. Junior Kayla Lornez added 16 points, junior Teyah Clark had 10, Yonas scored nine and junior Nyree Johnson chipped in three points and 10 rebounds. The Royals combined for 10 3-pointers.

Talk to us

More in Sports

X
Spring 2023 All-Wesco teams

Note: All-Wesco teams are chosen by the league’s coaches. For any misspellings… Continue reading

X
Vote for The Herald’s Prep Athlete of the Week for May 22-28

The Athlete of the Week nominees for May 22-28 Voting closes at… Continue reading

X
AquaSox can’t make huge rally hold, lose to Hops

Everett takes the lead with six runs in the eighth, but allows two runs back in the ninth and falls 13-12 to Hillsboro.

The Everett Elite Flag Football 14-under team practices Sunday morning at Harbour Pointe Middle School in Mukilteo, Washington on January 16, 2022. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Community roundup: 3 Jackson grads to D-I baseball tournament

Plus, Jayden White is headed back to the NCAA track and field nationals, the Silvertips sign their first-round picks and more.

Washington's Sami Reynolds runs the bases against McNeese during an NCAA softball game on Saturday, May 20, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Local softball stars Reynolds, Mahler set for WCWS

Washington’s Sami Reynolds (Snohomish) and Stanford’s River Mahler (Monroe) each play prominent roles on their Pac-12 teams.

The Mariners’ Cal Raleigh smiles as a teammate throws bubblegum at him during an interview after Raleigh hit a single to drive in the winning run against the Yankees during the 10th inning of a game Wednesday in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Raleigh’s RBI single in 10th gives M’s 1-0 win over Yankees

George Kirby pitches one of the best games of his young career with eight shutout innings in Seattle’s 1-0 win.

X
AquaSox top Hops on wild pitch in 11th inning

Everett edges Hillsboro 3-2 in a game with strong pitching on both sides.

Alberto Rodriguez.
Rodriguez puts on power display, leads AquaSox to series win

The 22-year-old outfielder mashed 11 extra-base hits, including six home runs, as Everett took five of seven from Eugene.

Daniel Kim, left, and Ben Borgida, right, chat between holes during the Snohomish County Amateur golf tournament at the Everett Golf and Country Club in Everett, Washington on Monday, May 29, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Kim soars to 4-shot win in 92nd Snohomish County Amateur

The WSU freshman and Kamiak graduate’s 12-under final total was the historic tournament’s lowest since at least 2010.

Most Read