MARYSVILLE – One week ago, the Lake Stevens Vikings were fighting just to get into the Class 4A Northwest District girls basketball tournament.
Now the Vikings are one win away from claiming the title.
Lake Stevens made the clutch plays when it counted down the stretch, and the Vikings continued their improbable run, defeating the Kamiak Knights 44-39 Saturday night in the district semifinals at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.
“Isn’t that crazy?” Lake Stevens coach Tom Tri said about reaching the title game. “I’m so happy for the girls. All year our goal was to make it to district and let things happen from there. But now we’re on a roll and we feel no pressure because no one expected us to be where we are now.”
Katie Holloway scored 12 points and had a key assist with 22 seconds remaining, and the Vikings, who needed to beat Mountlake Terrace in a pigtail game the previous Saturday just to reach the tournament, were 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 1 minute, 45 seconds.
It was Lake Stevens’ second straight upset – the Vikings defeated Western Conference 4A North Division No. 1 seed Monroe in the opening round. Lake Stevens (15-8), the North No. 5, faces North No. 2 Snohomish in the title game at 8 p.m. Friday at Marysville.
“We came from minutes away from not even coming to the district to being in the championship game, so it feels pretty good,” Holloway said.
“I think we just kept our hearts in it today. We didn’t give up. We were tired, but we kept on playing.”
Kamiak (13-9), the South No. 2, faces North No. 4 Oak Harbor at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Marysville in a loser-out contest.
“It was a good game,” Kamiak coach Doug Montzingo said. “Both teams played hard, both teams played tough. I thought it was even, which is what I expected, and it was a battle back and forth.”
Back and forth is almost an understatement. In a game that saw both teams play suffocating defense – Lake Stevens with its physical man-to-man, Kamiak with its pressure half-court trap – the teams traded the lead 12 times and the score was tied three times in the last 2:54.
The final tie came with 1:08 remaining when Kamiak’s Ashley Vick sank two free throws to make it 38-38.
Lake Stevens’ Brittni Estes made both ends of a one-and-one to give the Vikings a 40-38 lead with 1:04 to go. Kamiak’s Lauren McKnight made one of two free throws with 53 seconds remaining to cut the lead to one.
Then with time winding down on the shot clock, Holloway, triple teamed, found Kiana Fisher open with a cross-lane pass, and Fisher layed it up to give the Vikings a three-point lead.
McKnight missed a 3-pointer on Kamiak’s next possession, and Lake Stevens’ Abby Kelly sank two more free throws with 11 seconds left to provide the final margin.
“You have to give Kamiak credit, they played great defense,” Tri said. “Ultimately I think we lucked out. You could have flipped a coin to decide that one. It was anyone’s game in the fourth quarter and we were just able to make a couple of clutch plays. Then we made some huge free throws down the stretch.”
Holloway also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for Lake Stevens, and Hillary Mace chipped in with nine points and six boards.
Marci Garski led Kamiak with 17 points and Vick finished with 14.
Lake Stevens-West 3, Mace 9, Holloway 12, Kelly 2, Estes 8, Housden 2, Fisher 6, LaPlante 2. Kamiak-Vick 14, Garrski 17, Ghassemieh 2, McKnight 6. 3-point goals-none. Records-Lake Stevens 15-8 overall, Kamiak 13-9. |
Monroe 63, Marysville-Pilchuck 51: Three days after managing just 32 points in a first-round upset loss to Lake Stevens, Monroe rediscovered its offense in a hurry in the loser-out game. The Bearcats scored 19 points in the first quarter to take an early eight-point lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Monroe advanced to face Edmonds-Woodway at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Marysville.
Chelsey Zimmerman had a good all-around game for Monroe, tallying 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. The Bearcats also received strong production from their bench, with freshman guard Sarah Morton finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds and Tianna Moriarity adding 11 points and six boards.
Nikki Jordan had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Wesco North No. 3 Marysville, which stayed within striking distance thanks mainly to its offensive rebounding. Sarah Gribler added 10 rebounds for the Tomahawks, who finished with 19 offensive boards.
Marysville-Pilchuck-Bailey 3, Gribler 4, Zamora 6, Jordan 18, Evans 6, Dunbar 7, Stovall 4, Rekow 1, Parker 2. Monroe-D. Drivstuen 2, Heilman 7, Thompson 6, Zimmerman 10, Muhammad 12, Morton 13, Moriarity 11, C. Drivstuen 2. 3-point goals-Jordan 2, Evans 2, Muhammad 2, Heilman. Records-Monroe 20-2 overall, Marysville-Pilchuck 13-9. |
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