Knights soph shines with season on line

SEATTLE – The East Valley team that took the court Thursday morning looked eerily similar to the team that struggled from the field Wednesday.

The Knights shot 17.2 percent from the field in the first half and struggled against Kennedy.

But a different EV team came out after halftime and sophomore Kelsi Jacobson put a run on the Lancers (18-10) to help the Knights (11-15) win 48-47.

“We realized this could be our last game,” Jacobson said. “Everyone wanted it really bad, for our school and to prove everyone wrong.”

Despite taking the No. 1 seed from the Eastern Regional, many people doubted EV’s strength with a record less than .500.

The Knights face Issaquah in a loser-out game at 9 a.m. today.

“They realized they had their backs against the wall after the first half,” EV coach Freddie Rehkow said. “You can’t be intimidated. You’ve just got to play.”

Jacobsen didn’t look intimidated in the second half. She hit three consecutive 3-pointers midway through the third quarter to cut Kennedy’s lead to 27-26. Kylee Williamson followed it up with a 3-pointer to give EV the lead in the third quarter. She finished with a game-high 15 points.

“Kelsi’s done it for us before,” Rehkow said. “She’s capable.”

But this time it was different. In the program’s first trip to the state tournament, there’s a little more on the line. Plus, a second loss would have meant the end of the season.

“I just wanted to do it for the seniors,” Jacobson said.

From those 3-pointers, the Knights took off, shooting 54.2 percent in the second half.

“They caught fire,” Kennedy coach Don Hoffman said. “We got out of our zone defense, but probably a minute too late.”

If that minute was full of 3-pointers, the defense shift cost the Lancers 12 points. EV outscored Kennedy 19-6 in the third quarter.

“When they were hitting those 3s, they were a couple of steps behind the line,” Hoffman said. “Those were monster.”

As time wound down, EV had a four-point lead. Kennedy’s Presley Neufeld hit her only 3-pointer of the day with a launch from 3 feet past the midcourt line that hit at the buzzer.

Daidra Brown led the Lancers with 14 points and Jacobsen finished with 13. Ashley Grater led all players with 18 of the Knights’ 45 rebounds.

Rehkow, who has made a state trip before as an assistant at Central Valley, has stressed things besides basketball. He wants the girls to leave an impression on the other teams, not just with a trophy or a win, but with respect.

“The best thing is the girls are getting complimented on being a class act,” Rehkow said. “All season long, we’ve said we win with class, lose with class and walk away with class.”

An added bonus? With their game today, the Knights don’t have to go back to class.