MARYSVILLE — With three 10-point leads in the second quarter, the dream of going to state for the first time in 13 years seemed very real for the Marysville-Pilchuck girls basketball team in a 4A District 1 playoff game against Edmonds-Woodway on Friday night.
In the fourth quarter, after the Warriors stormed back to take a four-point lead of their own, that dream seemed in danger of slipping away.
But the Tomahawks battled back themselves and pulled out an exciting 56-54 victory that sends them to the 4A state tourney for the first time since the 1996-97 season — the senior season for current Marysville-Pilchuck head coach Julie Martin, who is in her seventh season.
“This whole season, the (Tomahawks) have been working their hearts out,” Martin said. “To be able to go to state is just unimaginable to them. … I’m so overwhelmed right now. It’s so great.
“They’re so competitive and a really great team. One of the best I’ve coached. They have the heart you want in a team,” she said.
The win moves Marysville-Pilchuck into the upcoming district championship game. The Tomahawks will take on Lake Stevens, a Western Conference North rival, at 8 p.m. next Saturday at Jackson High School.
Against Edmonds-Woodway, which came into the game with just one defeat this season, Marysville-Pilchuck jumped to a 14-6 lead through one period and pushed the margin to 21-11 midway through the second quarter. The lead was still 10 late in the period, though the Warriors closed to 28-20 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Edmonds-Woodway began to chip away at the deficit. Guards Madeline Kasper and Alex Kenney both scored six points in the period, and the Warriors were within 42-38 heading into the final eight minutes.
Edmonds-Woodway scored the first four points of the last quarter, and from there the two teams traded baskets until the Warriors ran off six straight points for a 52-48 edge. But they would score just two points the rest of the way, and the Tomahawks got some timely free throws to move back in front in the late moments.
Warriors forward Angela Woods had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but her running shot from the lane bounced off the rim just before time expired.
“Edmonds-Woodway is a great team,” Martin said. “They have shooters and they have drivers. … But we just run, run, run … to get them tired. And I think my girls did a really good job of pushing the ball and working together.”
Guard Morgan Martinis had 18 points to lead Marysville-Pilchuck, including four 3-point goals.
At Marysville-Pilchuck H.S.
Marysville-Pilchuck14141414—56
Edmonds-Woodway6141816—54
Marysville-Pilchuck — Lentz 3, Martinis 18, Adams 13, Peterson 2, Heckendorf 8, Enberg 12. Edmonds- Woodway — Kasper 9, Nash 7, Kenney 7, Albertson 9, Donaldson 10, Woods 12. 3-point goals — Martinis 4, Adams 1, Kasper 2, Kenney 2, Woods 1. Records — Marysville-Pilchuck is 17-5. Edmonds-Woodway is 20-2.
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