TACOMA — Junior Mikayla Pivec and Jordyn Edwards are the faces of the Lynnwood girls basketball team and get much of the credit for its success, but they aren’t the only reason the Royals are playing for the 3A state championship at 3 p.m. on Saturday against two-time defending champion Cleveland at the Tacoma Dome.
Lynnwood’s supporting cast is arguably just as valuable, a point all of its members proved in Friday’s 63-37 victory over No. 3-ranked Bellevue in the semifinals.
Less than seven minutes into the game with Lynnwood leading 7-6, senior forward Monty Cooper went down with an ankle injury and was unable to return to the game. Without Cooper in the rotation, Lynnwood head coach Everett Edwards turned to sophomore guard Taylor Fahey to play meaningful minutes.
Most of Fahey’s playing time this season came when the outcome of the game wasn’t in doubt, but with a spot in the state championship game on the line for the Royals, Fahey found herself on the floor helping her teammates get the win.
“It was incredible,” Fahey said after the game. “I just love to be here with this team. Even coming in here to this game, I knew that I had to play my role. To be able to step up and play, it was just incredible. Whatever I could do to help my team I was ready to do it.”
Those not familiar with the Lynnwood team might not have even noticed Fahey, which is a good thing. She looked like she fit right in.
“I was ready,” Fahey said. “He (Edwards) called my name and I just jumped right up. I was like, ‘This is it. This is my time. I’ve got to go in and play for Monty. I’ve got to do my job for this team.’ I guess I was ready. It was nerve-wracking, as it is any time, but I was just ready to go in.”
Fahey wasn’t the hero of the game, but she came into the game and made her only field-goal attempt and knocked down one of two free throws to finish with three points. More importantly, she didn’t make mistakes and the Royals didn’t miss a beat.
After the game, Fahey’s performance earned her a hug and some words of encouragement from Cooper.
“Our team is a team,” Cooper said. “When one goes down, we step in and we play just as hard for her, not just for themselves, but for the team. We all just do it to get the win.”
For the Royals, their success starts with preparation. So when Edwards needed to call on Fahey, he wasn’t concerned.
“She’s just an all-out effort player, which is kind of the script for Lynnwood,” Everett Edwards said. “If you play hard and you play defense, then you can play for us. She’s just an all-around great character kid that works her tail off. I’m very excited that she came in and gave us some minutes because we really needed it.”
Like the rest of the players on the Lynnwood roster, Fahey understands her role.
“She doesn’t complain about minutes and when you ask her to step in and make a play, she steps in and just goes as hard as she can,” Everett Edwards said.
Fahey wasn’t the only player to step up on Friday. Senior guard Dani Hayes scored 10 points and made two 3-point field goals to help lead the Royals to the win.
Hayes also made two 3s in the Royals’ quarterfinal win over West Seattle on Thursday.
“The unsung hero for me is Dani Hayes,” Everett Edwards said. “She’s doesn’t score all the points and she doesn’t get the limelight and all the write-ups and the articles, but she is the heart of our team. At 5-foot-3 she will stand up to anybody and fight anybody — on the court.”
Other players, such as sophomores Reilly Walsh and Kaprice Boston, have all had their moments to step up when the Royals have needed them this season.
“We have a good and a long bench,” Hayes said. “When you have subs that can come in and play as hard as the starters, it’s great.”
Even Pivec and Jordyn Edwards have had adjusted well to roles that have changed this season. When point guard Jasmin Edwards, Jordyn’s older sister, graduated last June after the Royals placed third at last year’s 4A state tournament, Pivec and Jordyn Edwards, along with Hayes have stepped up to fulfill the team’s leadership role.
“We’re an effort team and both Jordyn and (Mikayla) are effort players,” Everett Edwards said. “They lead by example. They lead by playing as hard as they possibly can on both ends of the court. You can’t ask for much more than that from your leaders. Everybody else kind of keys off the efforts from Jordyn, Mikayla and Dani.”
After a 24-point victory over the No. 2-ranked Wildcats in the quarterfinals and a 26-point victory over the No. 3-ranked Wolverines in the semifinals, the Royals’ celebrated teamwork is just one win away from delivering the Lynnwood High School its first state championship in girls basketball.
“This team is phenomenal,” Fahey said. “We just have each other’s backs. We always are there for each other, on the court and at school and everywhere.
“We just play our roles.”
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