YAKIMA — The King’s girls basketball team held Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) to just 19 percent shooting and won the Class 1A girls state championship with a 43-27 victory at the Yakima Valley Sundome Saturday.
“Our girls are so long and lengthy and speedy,” King’s head coach Dan Taylor said. “We have track-type athletes. Our girls played a phenomenal tournament defensively.”
It is the second 1A state championship for the Knights, who also won two state titles at the 2A classification.
The Knights showed no nerves in the opening quarter, opening up a 7-0 lead before taking a 24-10 advantage into the halftime break. Lakside shot just 2-for-18 in the first half, including 0-for-4 in the first quarter, and scored six of its 10 first half points from the free-throw line.
“We always say we need to throw the first punch,” Taylor said. “That helps us gain momentum and build on top of that. Our girls, like most other teams, get very nervous so they did a great job of getting those jitters out.”
The Eagles would continue to struggle from the field in the second half, shooting 5-for-28 in the final two quarters. Lakeside finished 1-for-15 on 3-pointers and would do most of its damage from the charity stripe, converting on 12-of-15 free throws.
The Knights held Granger to 18 percent shooting in the opening round and Cashmere to 17 percent in the semifinal.
Savanna Hanson, the tournament MVP, finished with a game-high 16 points and six rebounds to lead the Knights, who finished the season with a final record of 24-3. Hanson scored 12 points in the first half during the Knights’ hot start.
“She’s been working her tail off in the offseason throughout her four years,” Taylor said of Hanson. “She was able to calm the nerves of all our players and establish that strength and courage to go out there and play our best game. She was that team leader that made her teammates better and made them believe in themselves.”
The girls victory was one of two state titles for King’s Saturday, as the boys team defeated Lynden Christian in the championship.
“It’s been an amazing evening,” Taylor said. “I’m so proud of our girls. We’ve had several girls step up collectively and I think that is what helped carry us through.”
Jocelyn Cook-Cox finished with 13 points and earned all-tournament first team honors for the Eagles, who never led and could failed to get closer than four after falling behind 7-0.
At Yakima Valley Sundome
King’s 13 11 9 10 — 43
Lakeside 4 6 7 10 — 27
King’s—Ashley Osborn 5, Casey Kispert 0, Maddie Nielsen 2, Kendall Adams 4, Kenzie Schwab 0, Marilyn Jones 5, Hannah Echelbarger 0, Daylee Hanson 7, Anna Parker 4, Abbi Echelbarger 0, Savanna Hanson 16, Audrey Friedline 0, Bella Galindo 0. Lakeside—Lindy Jacobson 2, Shaye Swannack 0, Kelsey Jones 1, Callie Best 0, Sonja Marikis 7, Stefanie Marikis 2, Jackie Mahowald 2, Sienna Swannack 0, Jocelyn Cook-Cox 13. 3-point goals—So.Marikis 1, D.Hanson 1, S.Hanson 1. Records—King’s 24-3 overall. Lakeside 23-2.
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