Lady Cruisers hoops team ready for district playoffs

The Lady Cruiser basketball team finish off its regular season with a couple of home games and an away game to wrap up league play.

On Jan. 31 the Cruisers hosted the second place Tenino Beavers. Eatonville was looking to bounce back from its 21-point loss to the Beavers earlier in the season. Unfortunately, Tenino didn't let that happen.

The Beavers went on an 18-2 run to start the game and never looked back. They extended that lead to 32-11 at halftime and eventually handed the Cruisers a 52-35 loss.

Hailey Rath led Eatonville with 20 points.

The Cruisers turned around and hosted the Hoquiam Grizzlies Feb. 1 on Senior Night.

Before the game, the five Cruiser seniors were recognized: Sophia Henly, Hailey Rath, Berkeley Porter, Taylor Limbird and and Emily Bennet.

In game action, Eatonville exploded in the second half to drop the Grizzlies, 48-33, for the second time this season.

To end the first half, with the game tied at 17, Rath drove the lane with 5 seconds on the clock and floated up a left-hander off the backboard that dropped into the basket to score the 1,000th point of her career at EHS.

Rath followed with a dominant third quarter where she scored 12 of her game-high 23 points to extend the Cruiser lead to nine points at 35-27.

A 13-6 run in the fourth sunk the Grizzlies and handed the Cruisers their victory.

In addition to Rath's 23 points, Bailey Andersen contributed 12 points, and Berkeley Porter checked in with five.

The Cruisers finished off their regular season with a trip to Elma.

Eatonville opened the game with an 8-0 run and were no match for Elma. The Cruisers led the entire game and grounded the Eagles, 35-28.

Rath led the Cruisers in scoring with 25 points.

The Cruisers finished in third place in the Evergreen 1A league and have the No. 3 seed heading into the District 4 playoffs. Eatonville will travel to either La Center or King's Way Christian on Friday. The time and exact opponent to be determined after the tie breaker is determined between La Center and King's Way Christian.