Pivec leads Lynnwood girls to win in California
Published 5:57 pm Monday, December 28, 2015
LIVERMORE, CALIF. — The Lynnwood Royals celebrated Christmas with a trip to the largest girls basketball tournament in the country.
And it didn’t take the Royals long to prove they belonged.
After a close first quarter Monday, Lynnwood outscored Sacred Heart Cathedral 55-31 the rest of the way, as the Royals topped the Fightin’ Irish 75-46 in the opening game in the Platinum Division of the West Coast Jamboree at Las Positas Junior College in Livermore, California.
However, the Royals will continue on in the consolation bracket because of a traveling conflict and will play Oaks Christian, which fell to Bishop O’Dowd 47-40 Monday afternoon, at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at Las Positas.
“The first quarter I think we were kind of feeling each other out a little bit,” said Lynnwood head coach Everett Edwards. “They hit a couple of big shots and we were struggling a bit shooting the basketball. But I think in the second quarter we really picked up our defense. We got good separation in the second quarter and starting building momentum to the third quarter and kept it going.”
Mikayla Pivec had 27 points and 14 rebounds to lead Lynnwood (7-0 overall), the defending Washington 3A state champion. Jordyn Edwards added 13 points and eight steals against Sacred Heart Cathedral (4-4), a perennial strong team and the defending CIF Central Coast Section Open champion.
Kaprice Boston scored 16 points and Reilly Walsh added 10 points for the Royals.
The decisive win wasn’t necessarily the biggest goal for Lynnwood, but helped bolster the Royals’ confidence.
“Everything we do is preparing us for an attempt to defend our league title, then the district and state titles,” Edwards said. “This gives us a chance to play in a new environment. We’ve never played in this gym or against these teams before. It gives us newness and a chance to adjust. It gives us a chance to face adversity and hopefully get a win. But it’s not just about the wins and losses.”
The West Coast Jamboree, currently in its 16th year, is the largest high school girls basketball tournament in the country. The tournament has 128 teams in 16 divisions with games that takes place at nine venues throughout the San Francisco Bay area. Lynnwood is in the eight-team Platinum Division, which is made of several perennially strong California teams as well as other top-ranked squads.
The Royals are currently ranked No. 19 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings.
“It’s a pretty big tournament,” Edwards said. “There’s a lot of teams. We’re in supposedly the highest division in the platinum one.”
Despite the big victory, Lynnwood finds itself in the consolation bracket after a scheduling conflict regarding transportation. The Royals booked their flights home for late Wednesday evening, thinking the championship would be played by then.
However, the game was scheduled for later and Lynnwood was unable to change its flight itinerary.
As a result, the tournament directors decided the Royals would go through the consolation bracket. Edwards said his team is focused on playing good basketball and excited to get three good games against three quality opponents while in northern California.
“We hope we get three good games even though we can’t win the tournament,” Edwards said. “But we thought it was a good chance to come out and play three good games. Hopefully, we’ll represent the state of Washington and I think we did that.
“The only championship we worry about is the state championship in Washington.”
At Las Positas Junior College
Lynnwood2022249–75
Sacred Heart15101011–46
Lynnwood—Abi Yemane 2, Reilly Walsh 10, Rachel Walsh 0, Jordyn Edwards 13, Mikayla Pivec 27, Kelsey Rogers 2, Valerie Bell, Kaprice Boston 16, Taylor Fahey 4, Abby Douglas 0, Kaui Piilani, Kia Crawford 0. Sacred Heart Cathedral—not reported. Records—Lynnwood 7-0 overall. Sacred Heart Cathedral 4-4.
