Lady Cruisers eyeing post-season play after away game victory

After a tough week of games against Franklin Pierce and White River where the Lady Cruisers had a couple of losses, they were looking to get back on track when they traveled to Trojan country to take on Fife.

The Cruisers started off slow and trailed 17-8 at the end of the first quarter.

Eatonville got things going in the second quarter, as senior Peyton Hutchings seemed to catch fire. Peyton almost single-handedly pulled the Cruisers within 4 at the half with her 13 points as the Cruisers trailed 30-26.

Senior Jaelin Hotz would heat up in the second half by scoring 18 of her team leading 23 points to keep the Cruisers close. 

The game came down to the final minutes with the Trojans holding a 61-59 lead. After a Trojan miss, Hutchings dribbled the ball just past the half court line and called a timeout. Coach Driggs set a plan in action for the Cruisers. The Cruisers inbounded the ball and after a few passes, they found Hotz on the left side of the perimeter. She heaved up a shot with about five seconds left, but it fell short. The Trojans took the win, 61-59.

The Cruisers led the night thanks to the hot shooting of Hotz and Hutchings. Hotz finished with 23 points in the night. She would hit six 3-pointers in the night. Hutchings followed up with 18 points of her own, going 5-6 from beyond the 3-point line.

Looking to snap a three-game losing streak, the Lady Cruisers wanted to end the regular season on a high note as they prepared to head into league tournament play next week. A short trip to Washington High School on Friday night was what they needed.

Eatonville jumped out to a 25-16 lead at the half, led by Peyton Hutchings’ 9 points. Brooklynn Lucht contributed 5 points.

The Patriots cut the lead down to only 5 points at the end of the third quarter before the Cruisers put them away on the fourth and take the win, 54-46.

Hutchings led the Cruisers with 12 points followed by Lucht and Kya Stewart chipping in 9 points each.

That win gave the Lady Cruisers their ninth victory of the season and they tied for second place in the division. They earned the No. 6 seed spot in the 2019 South Puget Sound League Basketball tournament which took place on Monday, Jan. 28^. The Cruisers faced the No. 11 seed, the Highline High School Pirates.