MONROE — As it has aimed to do all season, the Lake Stevens girls basketball team used active defense to engage transition offense on the way to clinching the Western Conference North Division crown on Tuesday night at Monroe High School.
The Vikings blitzed Monroe by forcing turnovers and racking up a 10-point lead by halftime in a 62-41 league win in the penultimate game of the regular season for both teams.
“We had some great defensive energy to start with,” Lake Stevens head coach Randall Edens said. “We were able to get out in transition and get some easy baskets to start … In those kind of games you’ve got to be able to do all the little things.”
Five-foot-nine wing Brooke Pahukoa scored a game-high 20 points and junior guard Katie Goddard added 15, including two 3-pointers, for the Vikings.
“We had really good balance tonight,” said Edens, mentioning Goddard’s outside scoring paired with junior Abby Molstre and Pahukoa on the inside as catalysts. “We had a lot of help (from every player) and we able to enjoy it at the end.”
Lake Stevens (11-3 league, 16-3 overall) won the 4A District 1 tournament last season after placing third in the league standings. This year the Vikings are the North No. 1 seed heading to district and playing with focus.
“If we get the kind of effort we got tonight on defense I really like the way it looks going forward,” Edens said. “We’re exactly where we want to be … I’m tremendously proud of all of (my players) and all their commitment.”
Suzanna Ohlsen scored a team-high 17 points for Monroe (9-5, 11-8), which goes into Thursday’s finale at Arlington tied for second place with Stanwood..
At Monroe H.S.
Lake Stevens 20 9 17 16 — 62
Monroe 9 10 13 9 — 41
Lake Stevens—Goddard 15, Puha 0, Ziskovsky 0, Warbis 8, Wilson 0, Burke 4, Molstre 13, Bri. Pahukoa 2, Bro. Pahukoa 20, Long. Monroe—S. Ohlsen 17, O’Hara 2, Brazel 5, Johnson 0, Alexander 9, Wangner 0, Smith 2, Shore 1, Murphy 1, Wilkins 2, Snell 2. 3-point goals—Ohlsen 1, Brazel 1, Goddard 2, Bro. Pahukoa 1. Records—Lake Stevens 11-3 league, 16-3 overall. Monroe 9-5, 11-8.
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