Despite Andersen milestone, Cruisers come up short

Despite a valiant effort that saw the Eatonville Cruisers rally from a double-digit deficit to tie the game, foul trouble and a late surge from the Seton Catholic Cougars sealed Eatonville's fate in a 70-57 loss this past Saturday night.

The Cruisers, trailing early in the first quarter, suffered a setback when Bailey Andersen, their leading scorer, exited the game due to injury to her nose. This opened the door for the Cougars to orchestrate a 13-0 run. Despite Andersen's return late in the quarter, Seton Catholic maintained a lead of 21-14 after the first quarter.

Eatonville found their footing in the second quarter, staging an impressive 11-0 run to knot the score at 34-34 going into halftime.

However, foul trouble plagued the Cruisers in the third quarter, with Lillian Bickford fouling out midway through the quarter. Her presence down low forced the Cougars to rely on their outside shooters. With Bickford out of the game, this allowed the Cougars to rely more on their post player, Riley Seymer, who scored most of her 24 points in the paint. Despite their efforts, Eatonville trailed 53-49 heading into the final frame.

The final quarter proved to be the Cruisers' downfall, as poor shooting and a decisive 7-0 run from the Cougars dashed their hopes of a comeback.

Despite the loss, Andersen achieved a personal milestone, recording her 1,000th career point on a free throw in the fourth quarter. Andersen led the Cruisers with an impressive 24-point performance. 

Andersen is only the eighth member of the 1,000-point club at Eatonville High School. Those members include Jordan Osborn (1,463 points), Erik Swartout (1,350), Liz Clark (1,262), Becca Schrimpsher (1,249), Mike Schaub (1,153), Sammie Swartout (1,114), and Hailey Rath (1,074). With Andersen only being a junior, she has a great chance at breaking the school record for girls that Liz Clark set in 2001.

Rounding out the scoring highlights for Eatonville was Bickford who contributed 11 points before her early departure and Hailey Hall who fell just short of another double-double performance, scoring 10 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.

The loss drops the Cruisers into the consolation bracket of the double-elimination tournament, where they will face the #2 seeded Kings Way Christian Knight's in a loser-out game on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. at Montesano High School’s Bo Griffith Memorial Gymnasium.

DISTRICT OPENER

Earlier in the week, the Cruisers opened up district play on Thursday by welcoming in the Castle Rock Rockets. Eatonville asserted their dominance with a commanding 62-34 victory.

The game began with a tightly contested first quarter, with Eatonville holding a narrow 13-10 lead. However, the Cruisers seized control in the second quarter, employing an unyielding press defense that flustered the Rockets and resulted in 9 turnovers in the quarter. This defensive prowess fueled a 13-0 run for the Cruisers, culminating in a halftime lead of 32-15.

Maintaining their momentum, Eatonville extended their advantage in the third quarter thanks to an 8-0 run midway through to give them a 25 point advantage heading into the final period up 46-21.

Although the Rockets played a much better game in the final quarter, only allowing Eatonville to outscore them 16-13, the game was already decided and Eatonville would come away with a 62-34 win.

Leading the charge for the Cruisers was Andersen, who scored a game-high 18 points. Sara Smith and Hailey Hall both notched double-doubles, with Smith scoring 13 points (10 in the second half) and pulled down 10 rebounds, while Hall added 12 points and grabbing 10 boards. Bickford narrowly missed a double-digit scoring performance, finishing with 9 points.