TACOMA — In the most important game of her life played on the biggest stage, Lynnwood’s Mikayla Pivec played her best game.
The junior scored 31 points — including her team’s first 12 of the game — and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Royals to their first ever state championship in girls basketball on Saturday night, defeating the two-time defending state champion Cleveland Eagles 54-42.
Pivec was named the tournament MVP.
“I kind of had a feeling she would (play her best game), Lynnwood head coach Everett Edwards said. “She just really stepped up and got us off to a great start. You could kind of tell early on how things are going to go for certain players just being around them for so long. You could tell just at the start of the game. It’s great to know that she’s going to be a solid player for us — not only at the start, but for the entire game.”
While what most people talked about after the game was Pivec’s performance, she was more concerned with what the win meant.
“It’s a great feeling to be called state champions,” Pivec said. “I don’t really care about stats as much as being state champions.”
It was the first time the Royals have made the state championship game in school history. Pivec knew not to take the opportunity for granted.
“You don’t know how many chances you’re going to get in the state championship game,” she said. “You just take advantage of the opportunity because you may not get there next year.”
Pivec provided nearly all of Lynnwood’s offense in the first half. At halftime, she had 22 points and had made 10 of the Royals’ 11 field goals. Sophomore Kelsey Rogers was the only Lynnwood player besides Pivec to score in the game’s first two quarters.
Pivec added nine more points in the second half, but her teammates picked up the slack.
“Personally, I struggled in the first half,” junior guard Jordyn Edwards said. “I’m just really glad that Mikayla stepped up and got us off to a good start. Going into the second half we knew we had to step up and kind of be more organized on offense, but props to Mikayla. She did an amazing job.”
Pivec’s dominance carried over into the third quarter. Her jump shot to open the quarter sparked an 8-0 run for the Royals, turning a four-point deficit into a four-point advantage.
Lynnwood never trailed again.
“She has a great will to win and she’s just very competitive,” Everett Edwards said. “I think she knew this was the biggest stage and I think she knew that this was the moment that she wanted to seize and she completely seized the moment. What a great thing for her and what a great thing for our team.”
In addition to Pivec’s 31 points and 17 rebounds, she also finished with three steals and two assists. She made 10 of her 13 shots in the first half and finished the game 14-for-20.
Pivec’s big night didn’t come against just anyone. She was guarded by Cleveland’s Joyce Harrell, a Boise State recruit who was named to the all-tournament second-team.
“She’s a very talented player and I just tried to be aggressive,” Pivec said. “She ended up being in foul trouble, which helped a little bit.”
Harrell was limited to 21 minutes of playing time.
The Royals have lost just 11 games in the past four seasons and have played a difficult non-league schedule each season, so Everett Edwards said Pivec was prepared for the challenge.
“We’ve played against some very good teams and some very good players,” he said. “I think it’s at a point where we’re kind of used to that.
“In essence, it was kind of just another game against a very good team. It just happened to be on the biggest stage.”
Cleveland head coach Jamie Redd had nothing but praise for Pivec after the game.
“Pivec is an amazing player,” she said. “I’ve been around basketball for a long time, and to see a kid go for 31 (points) and 17 (rebounds), I’m like wow. That’s just sheer will…. She just kept working. She’s one of those kids that just never stops moving.”
Pivec capped off her performance with two put-backs in the span of 38 seconds late in the fourth quarter. The second gave the Royals a 12-point lead.
“She’s just an offensive-rebounding machine and just a great all-around player,” Everett Edwards said. “She does some great things effort-wise and I’m very happy that she had her best game on the biggest stage to help Lynnwood win a championship.”
Cleveland got to within six points with less than minute to play and possession of the ball, but Pivec came up with one more loose ball after a Harrell miss that secured a win for the Royals.
“I always have said for a couple of years now that I think Mikayla has magnets in her hands,” Everett Edwards said. “The ball just tends to find her.”
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