Pullman, Lakeside Pass Opening Tests

State 2A girls

Two years later, Pullman has earned another shot at Connell.

Unlike two years ago, Pullman still has a shot at the championship after one day of the girls State 2A high school basketball tournament.

Senior Christa Brossman scored 22 points Wednesday morning to lead Pullman to a 56-42 win over Eatonville in a tournament opener at the SunDome.

The win advances Pullman (20-5) to a 4 p.m. quarterfinal today against Connell (18-7). Connell inaugurated the tournament with a 64-50 win over Elma, which entered with a 22-1 record but missed its inside force, Nicole Rudy (15 ppg), because of a knee injury.

Brossman and senior center Debbie Curry are the only holdovers from the ‘98 Greyhounds, who placed fifth. Pullman opened that tournament with a 58-46 loss to Connell, then won its last three games. Connell started 3-0, then lost to Lakeside in the championship.

“This year was do-or-die,” Brossman said after knocking down 7 of 17 field goals and 7 of 12 free throws. “Debbie and I kept telling the team how great it is to be here.”

Lakeside won a state opener for the sixth consecutive year. The Eagles shook off a second-quarter minislump to defeat Nooksack Valley 71-51 in the afternoon. Lakeside’s quarterfinal opponent is Ephrata, a 75-46 winner over La Center.

Pullman 56, Eatonville 42

Brossman, the No. 2 scorer at the ‘98 tournament, took little time to show that she was back. The 5-foot-10 guard made two baskets in the first 26 seconds, and Pullman blazed to a 10-2 start.

Pullman’s press forced six turnovers during the quick start, but Eatonville (18-6) settled down midway through the first quarter.

“I think we got intimidated really early and just didn’t relax until the second quarter,” said Eatonville coach Dave Andersen.

Curry scored her only four points early in the second quarter, boosting the lead to 24-13.

But Pullman had just two second-quarter field goals. The Cruisers cut the edge to 27-24 with 1:21 left in the half, on the third of four 3-pointers by junior Tessa Stranik.

“We’ve been quicker than everyone all year,” Pullman coach Jack Brossman said. “But we found out they had some quickness in that second quarter.”

The next 12-1/2 minutes belonged to Pullman. Brossman scored 11 during a 23-3 run, and the Cruisers missed 10 of 11 third-quarter field-goal attempts.

Brossman also applied the defense on junior forward Liz Clark, this year’s Nisqually League most valuable player. Brossman held Clark to 2-for-10 shooting from the field.

Brossman and junior guard Klara Toth combined for 15 rebounds and had four steals apiece. Toth and junior forward Amy Chamberlain both hit 5 of 8 from the floor.

Brossman increased her career scoring to 1,775.

Strankik made 4 of 5 3-pointers and Clark had a game-high 10 rebounds.

Pullman 20 9 14 13 - 56

Eatonville 10 14 3 15 - 42

Pullman (20-5)-Brossman 22, Sheridan 0, Toth 12, Chamberlain 12, Curry 4, McEldowney 2, Ka. Dickson 0, Sedorff 4, Ke. Dickson 0, McGregor 0, Brown 0, Lees 0.

Eatonville (18-6)-Stranik 16, K. Toulouse 1, Clark 4, Uberuaga 5, N. Toulouse 2, Foust 4, Filzer 0, Wright 0, Kowall 4, Nilson 0, Nixon 2, Surface 4.

Lakeside 71, Nooksack Valley 51

The Eagles were cruising along with a 34-22 lead midway through the second quarter, but the young Pioneers (18-8) fashioned an 8-0 run to trail 36-32 at halftime.

“I think the problem was the kids thought the game was under control, and you can’t think that way at the state tournament,” said Lakeside coach Lisa Schultz.

The Eagles opened the second half with a 13-0 run and ultimately built their lead to 21 points on two occasions.

Senior Julia Vojtech ran Lakeside’s show, with game highs of seven rebounds and five assists, and 3-for-4 shooting on 3-pointers. Vojtech, bound for Lewis-Clark State, is one basket shy of 600 career points.

Schultz praised reserve Molly Stillar, a sophomore guard who hit 5 of 11 field goals. Eleven different Eagles scored.

“This is a whole different opener from 1999,” Schultz said. “(Ridgefield), our opener last year, weren’t nearly as good a team as Nooksack Valley.”

Both teams started four underclassmen. Pioneers junior Shelley Harder scored 20, on 9-for-14 shooting from the field. Junior Jill Soderbom tied Vojtech for game honors with seven rebounds.

Lakeside shot 16 of 21 from the line (76 percent) and had a 44-24 rebounding advantage. Six Eagles had four rebounds or more.

Nooksack Valley 18 14 5 14 - 51

Lakeside 19 17 22 13 - 71

Nooksack Valley (18-8)-Jackson 2, Mitchell 10, Harder 20, Sgalitzer 0, Soderbom 8, Wilburn 0, Shannon 0, Bruner 0, Stuit 0, Dykstra 11, Passe 0, Harmon 0.

Lakeside (21-5)-K. Reome 6, Giampietri 2, Vojtech 16, Barcus 14, Grubbs 6, K. Tikker 7, J. Reome 3, Jones 0, J. Tikker 2, Stilllar 11, Silva 2.