State prep girls basketball: Warriors take 6th in state 3A tourney

The Edmonds-Woodway Warriors closed out their trip to the 2016 Hardwood Classic on Saturday with a loss, but many on the squad still expressed the pride and joy they felt for battling together as a team and exceeding the expectations of many.

The Warriors fell to the Mt. Spokane Wildcats 58-42 Saturday in the 4th/6th place game of the 3A Girls Basketball Tournament at the Tacoma Dome.

After the loss, E-W was awarded the 3A girls state 6th place trophy.

“That was our goal: bring (home) hardware,” said Warriors Coach Rebekah Wells. “We wanted it to be a better hardware piece, but I guess it’s just a plaque on top of the hardware that could be changed,” she said with a laugh.

“It definitely means a lot to us,” said E-W’s Missy Peterson of capturing a trophy at the state tournament. “And the fact that nobody thought we could be here, it means even more.”

The Warriors won five of six district and regional games to earn a spot at the Hardwood Classic in Tacoma after finishing tied for fourth in the Wesco League South Conference with a 6-6 division record earlier this season.

E-W senior Mady Burdett liked the way her teammates embraced and responded to the challenge they faced this year. “It was really fun. It was definitely one of the better experiences of my life,” she said. “We came in with only two returning varsity players. We liked to consider ourselves the underdogs. And it was just fun; it was definitely my favorite season of all my years.”

In Saturday’s match-up with Mt. Spokane, the Warriors played the role of a fighter trying to comeback after being knocked down early. Mt. Spokane scored first and scored often, jumping out to a 23-7 lead a minute-and-a-half into the second quarter.

“We definitely got out-shot,” Wells confessed. “I mean, they shot 60 percent from the three-point line. Their shots fell more than they have from what we saw (in previous games), and our shots didn’t fall.”

The Wildcats were sharper than E-W, converting seven of their eight shots from beyond the three-point line in the first half, 12-20 in the entire game. The Warriors shot just 2-12 (16.7 percent) from three-point range in the first half.

“We were definitely a little flat and we weren’t able to pick it up as much as I would have liked to after some timeouts,” Wells observed.

Mt. Spokane was led by the 21 points of junior Jaidyn Lyman. Freshman Aspyn Adams came off the bench to score 13 points while senior Jordan Smith added 10 points for the Wildcats.

Peterson had her best scoring performance of the state tournament, scoring 18 points for the Warriors on Saturday.

Warrior senior Maddie Tudor closed out her prep basketball career with five points in the loss.

After going 1-2 at the state tourney, Wells chose instead to dwell on the squad’s entire season together and how it affected her. “This team is a great team; really fun,” she said. “They’ve changed my coaching style to be a little bit more relaxed because sometimes you can be a little more strict or you can be a little bit more relaxed … they like it more casual atmosphere, have fun with it, but still get things done.”

“It made me a better coach that way,” she continued.

“You always have the teams you reflect on and I think this is one of my favorite teams that I have coached because of their group dynamic. You walk in and there’s just so much camaraderie and friendship going on that everyone gets along with everyone. Everyone’s hanging out; everyone’s so nice. I walk into the gym and they make me feel welcome.”

“It’s an awesome group dynamic that I’ll definitely treasure,” she concluded.

Burdett explained that it was the solidarity among team members that Coach Wells and others on the squad felt and grew to love. “I’ve known Missy (Peterson) since middle school; I played with her on my select team – I played with a few of these girls on my select team too.”

“This group of girls – I wouldn’t want to spend (time) with anyone else,” she said.

One of Burdett’s teammates was her own twin sister Ally, who like Mady, put on a E-W uniform for the last time on Saturday. While Mady hopes to play college basketball somewhere next year, Ally is not planning on continuing with the sport.

“It’s going to be really emotional on the way back,” Mady said. “because she (Ally) is not going to play after this – it’s her last game ever. But we’ll probably play in the driveway, you know; maybe a little one-on-one, just like old times.”

Prep Girls Basketball: Mt. Spokane vs. Edmonds-Woodway, Mar. 5, WIAA 3A Girls State Basketball Tournament 4th/6th place game

Mt. Spokane 17 13 15 13 — 58
Edmonds-Woodway 7 12 12 11 — 42

Mt. Spokane scoring: Jaidyn Lyman 21, Aspyn Adams 13, Jordan Smith 10, Megan Nilsson 8, Sierra Poquette 3, Kaylen Carlson 2, Alyssa Powell 1, Miahna Waters, Maycie Williams, Tara Wasser, Averi Adams, Emily Nelson

Edmonds-Woodway scoring: Missy Peterson 18, Mady Burdett 9, Maddie Tudor 5, Courtney Simpson 5, Ally Burdett 3, Marivel Ortega 2, Adrienne Poling, Ingrid Fosberg, Izzy Callen, Emma Dickenson, Vernice Keys, Elie Shull

Records: Mt. Spokane 16-11; Edmonds-Woodway 17-12

— By Doug Petrowski

  1. What a fun ride, there is not a better way to make than through 5 loser out games. Brought tears of joy to many………………….Thanks a bunch DP

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