KENT — Skyview picked a great time to have its best shooting game of the season. Unfortunately for the Lake Stevens girls basketball team, that game was against the Vikings.
Lake Stevens found itself watching Skyview put on an offensive clinic as the Storm ended the Vikings’ season with a 72-56 win in a state regional contest at Kent Meridian High School Saturday night.
“They shot really, really well,” Lake Stevens head coach Randall Edens said. “We haven’t seen them shoot that well in any of the tape we’ve seen.”
The Storm worked the ball inside on a regular basis in the first half. Once a few Skyview players got into foul trouble, the Storm switched to a perimeter game and the mid-range and long-range shots started.
Initially, it was exactly what Edens hoped to accomplish.
“We had a great demeanor coming in,” Edens said. “We got their bigs in foul trouble like we were trying to do.”
But then Skyview started making 3-pointers and began to pad its lead. Lake Stevens put a few runs together, but still trailed by 12 at halftime.
The Vikings started the third quarter with an 8-0 run, capped by an Abby Molstre reverse layup underneath the hoop, to make the score 40-36. The Vikings couldn’t get any closer the rest of the way.
“The made 3s were really the difference out of the gate,” Edens said. “We struggled a bit (at the start) trying to settle into the game.”
Skyview post Jocelyn Adams had her way in the paint. The 6-foot, 1-inch player scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Delaney Keser added 12 points for the Storm — all coming from behind the 3-point arc.
The loss ended Lake Stevens’ season and doubled the number of losses for the Vikings (22-2 overall) this year.
After the game, Edens criticized the new playoff format a bit, saying he didn’t think the Vikings, the champions from District 1, should play Skyview — 4A Greater St. Helens conference winners — this early in the postseason. The Storm (24-3) are ranked No. 5 in 4A.
“We feel we got penalized playing Skyview in a second-round game,” Edens said.
Brooke Pahukoa had a team-high 16 points for Lake Stevens and senior Katie Goddard scored 14 in her Vikings finale. Kali Long added 11 points and nine rebounds.
The upset meant that Lake Stevens, the No. 3 team in the final Associated Press poll of the season, will not head to the Tacoma Dome for a third consecutive season. Edens said he wished his seniors — Goddard, Molstre, Mallory Gipson and Dakotah Pilon — could have made the trip one more time as a Lake Stevens Viking.
“It’s disappointing for our seniors of course,” Edens said. “It’s a very special thing to get to that third straight game at the Tacoma Dome. You’re not prepared for this to be the end.”
At Kent-Meridian H.S.
Skyview18221319—72
Lake Stevens13151513—56
Skyview—McDonagh 5, J. Adams 24, Ward-El 11, Hendricks 0, Keser 12, H. Adams 0, Bowen 9, Hamilton 0, Swanson 11. Lake Stevens—Goddard 14, Gipson 0, Pilon 0, Pahls 2, Molstre 8, Pederson 0, Blackmon 0, Bri. Pahukoa 5, Bro. Pahukoa 16, Long 11. 3-point goals—Ward-El 1, Keser 4, Bowen 1, Goddard 3, Long 1. Records—Skyview 24-3 overall. Lake Stevens 22-2.
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