TACOMA/EVERETT — It’s a long drive from The Herald’s office in Everett to the Tacoma Dome.
On the drive down Thursday I realized I’ve covered five Hardwood Classics and never been fortunate enough to see a local team bring home a state championship.
Well, this year that streak ended.
The Lynnwood girls claimed the 3A trophy on Saturday — while in Yakima both the boys and girls teams from King’s brought back the big trophy that goes along with being 1A state champions.
All in all, it was a pretty successful state tournament.
The Royals beat up on teams all season, winning their games by an average of 30 points. That didn’t really change in Lynnwood’s first two games at state, with the Royals winning by scores of 60-36 and 63-37.
That set up a showdown with two-time defending champion Cleveland in the 3A state title game. With 31 points and 17 rebounds by Mikayla Pivec, Lynnwood defeated the Eagles 54-42 for the Royals’ first state championship at the Tacoma Dome.
“This is the biggest stage for the state of Washington,” said Lynnwood head coach Everett Edwards after he set the championship trophy down. “It just goes to show that hard work does pay off. We really worked hard, starting in the summer, and to get the ultimate prize, it just is surreal. It seems like a dream. And what a great dream it is.”
Pivec was in the zone, scoring the first 12 points of the game for the Royals. She was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and prompted at least one Cleveland fan sitting behind me to yell, “Man, somebody stop her!”
It wasn’t just Lynnwood who left Tacoma with some hardware. Arlington made it back to Tacoma for the third consecutive season and for the second time in three years placed in the top six. This year, the Eagles bounced back from a tough loss to Bishop Blanchet in the first round Thursday morning with victories against Wilson and West Seattle — by a combined four points.
Led by senior Jessica Ludwig, junior Jayla Russ and Gracie Castaneda, who was a second-team all-tournament selection, Eagles head coach Joe Marsh was proud of the way all of his players responded after a 67-44 loss to the Braves.
“I told (the team), ‘Hey, we’ve still got some life. There’s still time to go get a trophy,’” Marsh said after the 41-40 victory against West Seattle in the fourth-place game. “And we came out and beat two really good teams. I’m just so proud of the way they responded. This team is all about heart.”
On the boys’ side, Marysville Pilchuck continued a strong finish to last season with a 2014-15 campaign that saw the Tomahawks return to the state tournament for the first time since 1993.
It wasn’t an easy draw for Marysville Pilchuck, which was rewarded with No. 6 Eastside Catholic in its opening round. However, the Tomahawks led from the first basket until there was 3:03 left in the game, before falling to the Crusaders 42-35.
Still, Marysville Pilchuck proved it belonged at Tacoma. Senior Michael Painter closed out his high school career at the state tournament and was a second-team all-tournament selection.
“All I want from my kids is to play as hard as they can play, to leave everything out on the court,” Gould said before the game against the Crusaders. “If we do that, and don’t outscore Eastside Catholic, big deal.”
Another great story occurred at the Yakima SunDome, where the King’s girls returned to the state championship for the second straight year. This season, however, it was different ending with the Knights defeating Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls 43-27.
Savanna Hanson, the tournament MVP, finished with a game-high 16 points and six rebounds to lead King’s.
The third time was the charm for the King’s boys, who lost in the state title game the past two seasons. Noah Bundrant, the tournament MVP, and senior Calvin Kispert helped the Knights rally to a 45-40 victory over Lynden Christian, the same opponent King’s defeated in a district championship game before a scary bus accident on Feb. 14.
“A special ending to what has been a crazy few weeks,” King’s boys coach Rick Skeen said. “We’re all so thankful to be talking and walking, and we believed in our message, ‘Saved for a reason.’ This is a group that I will never forget and I don’t think they will forget each other.”
It was a special ending for all of our local teams. After spending what seems like my entire life at the Tacoma Dome last week, all I could think about on the drive home Saturday night was how much I wished I could go back on Sunday.
And I had a while to think about it. Did I mention it’s a long drive?
Herald writer David Krueger covers prep sports for The Herald. He can be reached at: dkrueger@heraldnet.com.
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