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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

East Valley girls return to state for third straight year

Michael Anderson Correspondent

ELLENSBURG – The East Valley Knights are back in the State 2A tournament for the third straight season.

The Knights toppled a pesky North Kitsap squad, 60-39, in a state regional game Saturday afternoon at Ellensburg High School.

The Knights’ opponent on Thursday in the Yakima Valley SunDome will be determined today during the draw at WIAA offices. East Valley finished fifth in the 2015 event following a sixth place finish in 2014. That upward trend pleases Collins as EV heads back to Yakima.

Just the same, his senior-dominated team would prefer to skip three steps in that progression and go straight to the top.

Despite an advantage in state-level experience – the Vikings haven’t qualified for state since 1988 – the Knights struggled with what head coach Rob Collins thought was nerves.

“We had 10 turnovers in the first half and they outscored us in the second quarter,” he said. “I told the girls that shouldn’t have happened. Most of the mistakes were unforced.

“They really wanted to get back to Yakima and I think they were too focused on that and not on the game. That played into the first half a little bit.”

Senior Hannah Burland made sure her teammates got a return to the Palm Springs of Washington as Yakima is know. Burland had 24 points to lead three Knights in double-figure scoring. Jordan Phelan had 13 and Genesis Wilkinson added 10.

“Hannah came out in the second half and just took over,” Collins said. He credited junior point guard Elle Burland — Hannah’s cousin — with keeping the team running its offense. The result of that was a 31-17 scoring advantage in the second half.

“I have all the faith in the world in Elle,” Collins said. “It may not have looked like her best game but it was what we needed.”