EVERETT — The Lake Stevens girls basketball team had trouble doing something it had been great at in its previous 22 games this season in Saturday’s 4A District 1 tournament semifinal game against Monroe — making free throws.
The Vikings let Monroe hang around in the first half and gave the Bearcats a chance to steal the game late due to their poor free-throw shooting.
But while her teammates struggled, senior Hailey Wilson shined. Wilson was 12-for-12 from the line and finished with 18 points to lead the Vikings to a 46-39 win and a spot in next Thursday’s district championship against Snohomish.
“She’s been a varsity player all four years,” Lake Stevens head coach Randall Edens said. “As we would tell her and (senior) Emma (Smith), these are the moments that you’ve worked hours and hours and hours for. To see her rise up to the occasion and hit those, it’s super sweet on a day like today.”
While the Vikings had their troubles from the free-throw line, the Bearcats shooting woes came from the field. Monroe missed its first 14 shots and trailed 15-2 early.
“We’ve talked about how we’re going to live and die by our shots,” Monroe head coach Ashley Tuiasosopo said. “We’ve got shooters and we’ve got athletic kids, so that’s just what happens. Lake Stevens played that 2-3 zone and that makes it tough when you extend it out, you don’t always get the looks you want. It was just tough.”
Monroe shot just 4-for-32 in the first half, but trailed by just seven at 22-15. Edens felt his team missed a chance to extend its lead before halftime.
“We didn’t shoot free throws very well in the first half and it got us a little bit in the second half,” Edens said. “We’ve been a very, very good free-throw shooting team — actually the best in my 11 years. It’s just in those moments. You can talk about it. You can shoot a boat-load of them in practice. You can try to do all these different simulations, but until you’re in the moment and you’ve got to rise to the occasion…and I know we will.”
Monroe battled back to tie the game at 36 in the fourth quarter, but Lake Stevens finished the game on a 10-3 run to preserve the win. The Bearcats will face Jackson in a loser-out game on Tuesday.
Sophomore forward Kylee Griffen chipped in 17 points and 17 rebounds to go along with Wilson’s 18 points. Griffen scored seven of those points in the first quarter to help the Vikings build a lead they would never give up.
“Her energy and ability to create and make things happen allow the rest of our team to really settle into their roles,” Edens said. “I think that’s kind of been the biggest evolution of our team is that sometimes we kind of just get caught watching her play and we’ve certainly had our time where we would get caught watching Hailey play. And now it’s those two can go do their thing, but we need the others to help. We’ve got more and more of that and I certainly think our bench responded today.”
Griffen, however, was not immune to the struggles from the free-throw line. The normally sure-shooting sophomore finished 5-for-14 from the line.
“We’ll want her to shoot all 14 of those again,” Edens said. “She’ll want that moment, there is no doubt about it. She’s been doing it all year long. There is nothing we would change whatsoever. You go to (the) well with your horses that have gotten you here. She’ll be fine.”
The Bearcats were led by junior Jadynn Alexander, who finished with a game-high 20 points.
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
At Everett Community College
Lake Stevens 15 7 12 12 —46
Monroe 4 11 14 10 —39
Lake Stevens— Laycie Taylor 0, Emma Smith 3, Kristen Glick 3, Riley O’Toole 0, Anna Dominick 0, Marissa Walton 5, Rocky Leenstra 0, Kylee Griffen 17, Hailey Wilson 18. Monroe— Kat Ragusa 0, Corrina Roppo 3, Kittra Evenson 2, Jadynn Alexander 20, Emily Donnelly 0, Katie Piland 0, Abby Hunt 0, Hannah Drivstuen 8, Monique Fierke 6. Lake Stevens—15-8 overall. Monroe 15-6.
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