The 2022-23 Lady Cruiser basketball team poses for a team photo. Top row, from left: Ryan Stammen, Bailey Andersen and Sara Smith. Bottom row, from left: Alayna Meyer, Ella Gendreau, Hanna Kralik, Brooke Blocker, Hailey Hall and Lilian Bickford.
The Eatonville Lady Cruiser basketball team kept up its winning ways taking down the Timberwolves for the second time this season, this time by a score of 57-47.
The Timberwolves kept the game close in the first quarter with Eatonville leading 16-15 after the first period.
The Cruisers began to pull away in the second quarter, taking a 4-point lead into the half.
In the third, both teams matched each other bucket for bucket, and Eatonville held a 1-point lead entering the final quarter, where Bailey Andersen scored 11 points to help give the Cruisers a 57-47 victory.
Andersen led all scorers with 23 points. Brooke Blocker added a season-high 13 points as well.
The Cruisers finished up the week before Christmas by taking on their longtime rivals, the Orting Cardinals, at Rainer Connect Arena for a non-league matchup.
Eatonville grounded the Cardinals, 60-49, to keep the Cruisers’ three-game winning streak in their rivalry series perfect behind Andersen’s game-high 23 points.
It was a tight ball game through the first three quarters as each team traded the lead many times. Eatonville trailed by one at the half and then took a 1-point lead into the final period of play.
Not happy with how her team played in the first half, head coach Deanna Andersen made a few changes at halftime.
"We played OK in the first half and then made adjustments during halftime to slow down their perimeter game," she said. “We had a few girls struggling with stopping Orting's outside shooters getting their shots off, so we adjusted. Brooke Blocker and Sara Smith then started to dominate down in the paint, and we were able to get the turnaround we needed."
The Lady Cruiser defense held the Cardinals to only seven points in the fourth quarter while the offense scored 17 to gain distance from the Cardinals to seal the victory at 60-49.
Eatonville's record now sits at 6-0, one of the best starts the team has had in recent years. The Cruisers will next head to Centralia to compete in the Centralia Tigers Classic tournament Thursday at Centralia High School. They will only play two games in the tournament. In their first game, the Cruisers face the Centralia Tigers at 6:30 p.m. That game will be live-streamed on the NFHS Network. Whether they win or not will determine who and when they play their second game.
After the tournament, the Lady Cruisers will head to Rochester to take on the Warriors in a non-league matchup Jan. 2 before diving into 1A Evergreen Conference play when they head to Montesano, Jan. 5.
Box Score
EATONVILLE 60, ORTING 49
Eatonville: 13 11 19 17 - 60
Orting: 11 14 17 7 - 49
Eatonville: Bailey Andersen 23, Brooke Blocker 9, Alayna Meyer 8, Lilian Bickford 8, Ryan Stammen 5, Sara Smith 4, Hannah Kralik 3
Orting: Lily Catlett 19, Emma Copeland 9, Abby Depping 8, Mahela Visperas 5, Ka'iulani Visperas 4, Rian Aten 4
Box Score
EATONVILLE 57, MORTON-WHITE PASS 47
Eatonville: 16 11 10 20 - 57
MWP: 15 8 10 14 - 47
Eatonville: Bailey Andersen 23, Brooke Blocker 13, Sara Smith 7, Alayna Meyer 4, Hailey Hall 4. Lilian Bickford 4, Hannah Kralik 2
MWP: McKenzee Mays 17, Natalia Armstrong 11, Amy Martinez 5, Ana Gonzalez 5, Karah Fairhart 5, Malia Armstrong 2, Katelyn Gilstrap 2
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment