Eastlake, Issaquah girls advance to next round

What's the best cure for 27 turnovers? Hitting 21 of 25 free throws certainly did the trick for the Eastlake girls Tuesday night.

By Kevin Endejan • February 16, 2011 1:49 pm
Issaquah's Maddey Pflaumer scores two of her team-high 17 points Tuesday night over Garfield's Alicia Williams.
Issaquah's Maddey Pflaumer scores two of her team-high 17 points Tuesday night over Garfield's Alicia Williams.

What’s the best cure for 27 turnovers?

Hitting 21 of 25 free throws certainly did the trick for the Eastlake girls Tuesday night.

The Wolves, who struggled to handle Inglemoor’s aggressive full-court press, defeated the Vikings 66-53 keeping their season alive.

“That’s really what has kind of saved us in a lot of games this season,” said head coach Sara Goldie, of the free-throw shooting.

Eastlake, which led 31-24 at halftime, pounced on Inglemoor in the third quarter, going on an 11-3 run in first two minutes. Sophomore Ellie Mortenson’s buzzer-beating three-pointer gave the Wolves their largest lead, 51-31, at the end of the quarter.

The Vikings battled back to within nine points in the fourth quarter, but the Wolves locked up the game, going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes.

Junior Kendra Morrison led all scorers with 21 points. Abby Carlson scored 15 and Caleigh McCabe added 10.

Eastlake (20-3) will face Issaquah (17-6) at 6:30 p.m., Thursday at Juanita High School. The winner of Thursday’s game will host the WesCo No. 3, either Edmonds-Woodway (19-4) or Jackson (13-9), on Tuesday, Feb. 21 for the final state playoff berth.

“It’s not going to get any easier,” Goldie said.

Issaquah fends off Garfield rally

Issaquah built an early cushion and fended off a ferocious rally Tuesday night, keeping its season alive with a 59-54 victory over Garfield.

The Eagles exploded out of the gates, taking their largest lead of 16 points, 28-12, on a Maddey Pflaumer layup with 2:40 left in the first half.

The Bulldogs didn’t go down without a fight, however.

Garfield went on a 9-0 run between the second and third quarters, cutting its deficit to just five points, 40-35, by the end of the third.

The Bulldogs trimmed the Eagles’ lead to just one point, 40-39, under a minute into the fourth quarter, but Issaquah never surrendered its advantage.

Pflaumer, who scored a team-high 17 points, penetrated to the hoop with two strong drives in the final two minutes. Mackenzie Schiltz also had a clutch three-pointer late in the game.

Issaquah (17-6) faces Eastlake (20-3) at 6:30 p.m., Thursday in another loser-out game at Juanita High School. The winner moves on to host the WesCo No. 3 team on Tuesday, Feb. 21.