Lake Stevens’ Nisa Ellis looks for an open teammate to pass to during the 4A girls state basketball game against Gonzaga Prep on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 in Tacoma, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Lake Stevens’ Nisa Ellis looks for an open teammate to pass to during the 4A girls state basketball game against Gonzaga Prep on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 in Tacoma, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Lake Stevens girls come up short against Gonzaga Prep

The Vikings’ playoff run ends with a 49-46 loss in the Class 4A Hardwood Classic’s round of 12.

TACOMA — The ninth-seeded Lake Stevens girls basketball team’s season ended Wednesday in a 49-46 loss to eighth-seeded Gonzaga Prep in the Class 4A Hardwood Classic round of 12.

Lake Stevens trailed 47-43 with less than 15 seconds remaining in the game when sophomore Tessa Anastasi made a 3-pointer to pull the Vikings within one point. Gonzaga Prep freshman Aylah Cornwall, who was a scoring threat all game, was fouled and made both free throws to spread the lead 49-46. Lake Stevens’ attempt at a 3-pointer to tie it was blocked.

“We battled, we fought and tried to do what we could to scrap back into the game,” Lake Stevens head coach Seth Dodge said. “We went through a spell where we couldn’t score the ball. (Gonzaga Prep is) a good team. They can finish around the rim really well. We just didn’t have enough in the tank tonight.”

Lake Stevens’ Noelani Tupua runs after the ball during the 4A girls state basketball game against Gonzaga Prep on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 in Tacoma, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Lake Stevens’ Noelani Tupua runs after the ball during the 4A girls state basketball game against Gonzaga Prep on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 in Tacoma, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

The game was tight throughout the first half. Gonzaga Prep led 15-14 after a 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer, and Lake Stevens took a 24-21 lead entering halftime. In the second half, the Bullpups clicked on both sides of the ball. Gonzaga Prep gained its biggest lead at 35-26 in the third quarter, and never trailed from there.

Gonzaga Prep kept a tight watch on Lake Stevens post Nisa Ellis and limited the senior to just two points. Meanwhile, 6-foot-3 Gonzaga Prep senior Gillian Bears dominated the paint and finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. The Vikings hoped to slow down the explosive Cornwall, but she tallied a game-high 18 points and had 12 rebounds and three assists.

“(Gonzaga Prep) kind of took us away with their length and how big they were. We know Nisa (Ellis) can score against the best of them, and it just didn’t work out,” Dodge said. “They were able to get their hand around her where we wanted to make passes. We wanted to play inside out, which we did at times. We took a couple questionable shots or didn’t move the ball enough when we needed to. But, we did a lot of good things. I’m proud of these girls.”

Freshman Noelani Tupua paced Lake Stevens with a team-high 15 points and seven rebounds, and senior Kamryn Wenz contributed eight points and seven rebounds.

“I love the group I got to coach this year,” Dodge said. “The biggest thing is for us to know that we did it together. That was our word all year is doing it together.”

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