EVERETT — Some coaches aren’t thrilled with the current draw system for regionals, which occasionally pits strong teams against each other before the state tournament.
King’s girls head coach Dan Taylor welcomes the competition.
Taylor’s Knights, the No. 1 team in the final 1A Associated Press poll of the season, defeated No. 7 Kalama 52-40 in a 1A state regional game at Everett Community College Saturday afternoon.
“We gutted that one out,” Taylor said. “It’s challenging because you draw another ranked opponent. … You’ve got two top teams playing right off the bat which to me, personally, I like. It gives us an opportunity to play a challenging opponent before we get to Yakima. If we play a quote-unquote, ‘easier’ opponent then it doesn’t help us to prep for that.”
Savanna Hanson had a double-double for King’s (20-3 overall) with 14 points and 12 rebounds and her younger sister, junior Daylee Hanson, added 16 points for the Knights.
“It’s great to have them,” Taylor said. “Their leadership has grown through the years. They make others better.”
King’s led most of the way, with Kalama getting to within six midway through the fourth quarter, 46-40. But Daylee Hanson countered with a 3-pointer of her own and Ashley Osborn – who netted 10 points in the game – added a lay-in as the Knights began to pull away for good against Kalama (20-4).
“I just applaud our girls for fighting through the adversity of shots not falling,” Taylor said. “… Kalama’s a great team. I knew that we would have to scratch and claw to beat them. So, I applaud (my girls) for their effort for 32 minutes for solid, all heart basketball.”
King’s, which finished second at last year’s 1A state tournament, knows it has a target on its back thanks to the No. 1 ranking. However, Taylor said the Knights are right where they want to be as they try to get back to the state championship game for the second consecutive season.
“It’s something we expect to try to achieve,” Taylor said of being the top-ranked team. “That was an expectation for us. We’ve been harping on (having) to play at a high level every single time because if we do want to win the gold ball, and do better than we did last year, then we have to take a championship approach every minute of every day.”
At Everett Community College
Kalama710167—40
King’s14151310—52
Kalama–McKenna LaRoy 0, Khloe Clark 0, Mackenzi Badger 12, Kaelyn Shipley 7, Haley Bannister 11, Parker Esary 8, Jzaamine Rowland 2. King’s–Ashley Osborn 10, Maddie Nielsen 1, Kendall Adams 2, Marilyn Jones 0, Hannah Echelbarger 0, Daylee Hanson 16, Anna Parker 9, Abbi Echelbarger 0, Savanna Hanson 14. 3-point goals–Badger 3, Shipley 1, D. Hanson 2, S. Hanson 1. Records–Kalama 20-4 overall. King’s 20-3.
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