Standouts play beyond their years
Youth was served during the opening round of the girls State B basketball tournament, as a group of underclassmen led their respective teams to victory during Wednesday’s early session at the Arena.
Curlew, returning from a third-place finish at state last season, overcame a slow start via a 27-point fourth quarter in a 58-36 win over Pateros (16-10).
“At the start the girls were looking like they’ve never been to the Arena before,” coach Dan Miller said. “A little bit of youth was showing early on, but then in the second half we relaxed and started playing basketball.”
The junior duo of Amanda Grumbach and Nichole Miller was instrumental in the victory. Miller scored a game-high 22 points for the Cougars (23-3), while Grumbach added 19, including 13 in the second half.
“By knowing there are no seniors on the team, it means you just have to step it up,” Grumbach said. “After getting those first-game jitters out, I just put my mind to it in the second half and started to take control.”
A pair of juniors also proved vital in St. John-Endicott’s 55-39 win over Morton.
With the Eagles (19-6) leading in the second quarter 26-13, junior guard Sydney Gossard got into foul trouble and was forced to sit. The Huskies (18-8) took advantage of her absence at the point, finishing the half on a 6-0 run. Gossard readjusted and picked up one foul the rest of the way and finished with nine points.
“I realized I needed to take a step back, Gossard said. “I just needed to move my feet more and keep my hands up – exactly what I should’ve been doing from the beginning.”
Junior Ellen Miller scored in double figures for the 25th consecutive game, leading SJ-E with 19.
Prior to the game, SJ-E head coach Don Kemper laid out a simple game plan for his team to follow if they wanted to win: box out and control the rebounds. The Eagles did just that, as they won the battle 50-25.
“The first game is out of the way, we don’t have any jitters, and now we’ll just have to pick up where we left off,” Kemper said.
Juniors Erika Laete and Rachel Hansen provided Evergreen Lutheran with an early spark and finished with double-doubles in a 55-43 win over Toutle Lake (20-5).
The Eagles (22-3), who are making their fourth consecutive State B trip, led 37-16 at the half.
“We have some very talented athletes,” head coach Jeffrey Kurbis said. “Our juniors, a sophomore, and then some freshmen who stepped up big as soon as they stepped on the floor. It was sweet.”
Juniors Jacque Brown and Lauren Daling took care of the offense for a Waterville team that displayed a tenacious defense in a 49-20 win over Callam Bay.
Brown recorded game-highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Daling chipped in with 10 points for the Shockers (16-9), who limited the Bruins (11-12) to 19 percent shooting.