Both were ranked among the state’s top 4A girls basketball teams, but only one kept its state tournament aspirations alive Tuesday afternoon.
Issaquah, ranked No. 3 in the final Reporter Newspaper poll, held off No. 2 Woodinville for a 45-38 victory in a loser-out KingCo 4A playoff game at Juanita High School.
“Woodinville’s a really tough team, we lost to them last time so we had just a lot of excitement to come in and have another chance,” junior Blaire Brady said.
Brady provided her team with much-needed energy down the stretch, going 4-for-5 from the free throw line in the final 2 minutes, en route to her game-high 16 points. Perhaps more importantly, the 5-foot-8 guard held 6-foot-1 post, Ali Forde, to 12 points — her lowest point output in the last seven games. Brady also pulled down several key rebounds down the stretch.
“I know that my team just needs me to be in there,” said Brady, of her scrappy mentality. “I enjoy getting rebounds.”
Issaquah, which led by as many as 12 points, 30-18, halfway through the third quarter, allowed Woodinville to inch its way back in the contest late. The Falcons cut the Eagles’ lead to one point three times in the final 5:30, but never grabbed the advantage.
Issaquah trailed just once, 5-4, in the opening minutes of the first quarter.
Junior Mackenzie Schiltz added 10 points for the Eagles, while junior Maddey Pflaumer scored six.
The victory pushed Issaquah to 19-4 on the season, but more importantly kept the Eagles’ playoff hopes alive. Issaquah faces Eastlake at 6:30 p.m., Thursday in another loser-out matchup. The seventh-seeded Wolves beat the second-seeded Eagles 60-57 in the opening round.
The winner of Thursday’s game advances to play the No. 2 team from the Greater St. Helens League Saturday on the road. The winner of that game earns a berth to state.
“It’s a long road, but it’s a fun one,” Brady said.
Eastlake hammers Lake Washington
Eastlake kept its state playoff aspirations alive Tuesday afternoon, crushing Lake Washington 56-37 in a KingCo 4A loser-out playoff at Juanita High School.
The Wolves trailed just once Tuesday, falling behind 2-0 in the opening seconds.
Behind a balanced offensive onslaught and heavy defensive pressure, it didn’t take long for Eastlake to build up a big lead.
Senior Alyssa Charlston’s pair of free throws with 2.4 seconds left in the first half provided the Wolves a 30-16 halftime advantage.
The Kangaroos pushed the score to 45-35 with 4:31 left in the game, but never cut the deficit to within single digits the entire second half.
Charlston led the Wolves with 16 points, while sophomore Kendra Morrison contributed 13. Seven other players had two or more points for Eastlake, which improved to 14-9 on the season.
