Lakeside, Riverside Score Opening Wins

2A girls

The official championship is two days away, but Lakeside and Elma would beg to differ.

Today’s quarterfinals of the girls State 2A basketball tournament include an 8 p.m. game between Lakeside (22-1) and Elma (23-1), two powerhouses riding huge winning streaks.

“I told the kids that No. 1 and No. 2 are playing (today),” Lakeside coach Lisa Schultz said after her Eagles built a huge lead and dispatched Goldendale 65-52 in Wednesday’s opener at the Tacoma Dome.

“It’s too bad this game is on a Thursday, and not a Friday or Saturday.”

Elma, which has won 23 straight since its season-opening loss to a much larger Oregon school, crushed Meridian 84-39 in the game prior to Lakeside taking the court. The Eagles have won their last 21, the loss a one-pointer to Idaho A-1 Lake City, a state placer.

And what of Omak, the team that ended the year ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press poll? The Pioneers (21-2) ran into a never-say-fold Riverside team and lost 56-50, opening up the possibility of an all-Great Northern League semifinal on Friday.

No Riverside team, boys or girls, had won a state tourney game.

“I told the kids to relax, enjoy the moment, and now we can chase people,” said coach Chris Wren of the sixth-ranked Rams (18-5), who play Cascade-Leavenworth (18-6) at 9:30 tonight.

Pullman, which defeated Riverside twice during the playoffs, opened the morning with a 58-46 loss to Connell. Fourth-ranked Connell had ended Omak’s 21-game winning streak last Saturday.

Lakeside 65, Goldendale 52

The Eagles were never in jeopardy because of a 13-3 start. A second-quarter Lakeside flurry pushed their lead to 33-16, then an 18-4 run in the third resulted in a 55-31 edge.

“If that’s not the No. 1 team, then I can’t imagine who would be,” said coach Brian Wanless, whose Timberwolves (16-8) committed 34 turnovers, 23 on steals.

Schultz rested her starters so that none played the equivalent of three quarters.

“With that Elma group coming up, we needed to save ourselves,” said Schultz, whose teams won trophies at the last three Class A tournaments.

Lakeside junior Nikki Petticrew had 10 rebounds, 10 steals, and hit three 3-pointers. Senior Brianne Jolley scored 19 in 19 minutes, and senior Janel Long added six assists.

Jolley picked up two early fouls, which affected some of Schultz’s plans in the first half. The St. Mary’s-bound forward avoided foul trouble in the second half.

Timberwolves senior center Amber Pantages scored 29 on 14-of-17 shooting from the field. A dozen of her points came in the fourth quarter, against second-teamers.

All year, Schultz has followed the progress of Elma, a team which surpassed 100 points eight times.

“I think we can play some really good defense against them,” Schultz said.

Goldendale 10 10 13 19 - 52

Lakeside 15 18 22 10 - 65

GOLDENDALE - McConkey 0, Guzman 0, Marvel 0, Weiss 13, Barrett 0, Arceo 0, Guenther 7, Conroy 1, Niles 0, Amidon 2, Pantages 29.

LAKESIDE - Nuechterlein 0, Vojtech 8, Giampietri 6, Reome 2, Heebink 4, Petticrew 14, Hampton 0, Pear 4, Jolley 19, Grubbs 8, Long 0.

Riverside 56, Omak 50

The Rams fell behind 19-8 early in the second quarter but rallied behind an unlikely star, sophomore guard Jamie Rizzuto.

Rizzuto, who averages 6.1 ppg, made 5 of 6 3-pointers on the way to 20 points, a season high by six.

“I knew my shot was on,” Rizzuto said. “Sometimes I’m shy about it, but not tonight.”

Rizzuto and junior Tracy Koesel hit 3-pointers during a 10-0, second-quarter run that still left the Rams behind by one. Riverside took a 27-26 halftime lead when Rizzuto completed a four-point play then converted a layup 12 seconds later.

The Pioneers opened the second half well, but the Rams pieced together a 16-2 run for a 44-34 edge with 7 minutes left.

Wren said switching to a 1-3-1 zone shored up the defense, and the quicker Rams licked their chops when Omak also switched to zone.

“We were kind of getting locked in before that, and it opened up some shots,” said Rams senior Bernice Stime, who finished with game highs of nine rebounds, eight assists and six steals, and also hit five late free throws to seal the win.

Omak had roared back for 48-47 and 50-49 leads, but Riverside held the Pioneers scoreless for the final 1:26.

Riverside 6 21 14 15 - 56

Omak 12 14 8 16 - 50

RIVERSIDE - Koesel 3, Rizzuto 20, H.Wood 1, Stime 9, A.Wood 9, Ke.Shorts 7, Lorenz 2, Snyder 5. OMAK - McCormack 12, Orr 0, Sullivan 2, Lisenbey 16, Wipprect 7, Short 7, Haeberle 2, Taylor 4.

Connell 58, Pullman 46

Senior guard Erica Ewart hit three 3-pointers in a span of less than 2 minutes early in the third quarter as the fourth-ranked Eagles (21-3) built a double-digit lead to pull away from the Greyhounds (12-14).

Pullman had its final lead, 14-12, with 6:41 left in the first half but stayed within four points of Connell until Ewart’s flurry. Connell finished with nine 3-pointers, as Ewart, Charie Freeman and Christine Smith combined for 9-of-19 shooting from long range and 44 points.

“They go deep with shooters, while we have one shooter and a lot of battlers,” said Pullman coach Jack Brossman. “But I wouldn’t trade these girls.

“Everyone doubted that we belonged here, but I think we’re a better team than even we think. We’re going to use this as a ‘sponge’ experience. We’re going to soak it up.”

The one Greyhounds shooter, sophomore wing Christa Brossman, scored 13 of her 24 in the first half and finished 11 of 20 from the floor. Ewart guarded Brossman in the second half, slowing her down slightly.

Pullman sophomore Debbie Curry had a game-high eight rebounds. The Greyhounds had lost their final six Great Northern League games before winning 4 of 5 at district, including three wins over ranked teams.

Pullman plays Montesano (15-10) at 9 this morning in a loser-out game. Connell meets Blaine (14-9) at 5 tonight in a quarterfinal.

Pullman 12 11 9 14 - 46

Connell 12 13 18 15 - 58

PULLMAN - Brossman 24, Umbreit 2, Mirkovich 0, Keck 2, Pedersen 9, Paulson 0, Rydbom 2, Couch 0, Neil 0, Curry 3, Johnston 4, Pollastro 0.

CONNELL - D.Freeman 2, C.Freeman 14, Garcia 0, Clyde 0, Booker 0, Ewart 16, Smith 14, Wood 2, Grassi 0, Davidson 3, H.Taylor 2, C.Taylor 5. , DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: TODAY’S GAMES Pullman vs. Montesano, 9 a.m. Lakeside vs. Elma, 8 p.m. Riverside vs. Cascade-Leavenworth, 9:30 p.m.