A matchup between two of the top girls basketball teams in the KingCo 4A Conference was dominated by the Eastlake Wolves.

Eastlake cruised to a 61-22 against the Newport Knights on Feb. 1 at Eastlake High School in Sammamish. The Wolves improved their overall record to 18-1 with the win while Newport dropped to 11-3. Eastlake’s defense surrendered a mere seven field goals in 32 minutes of play against a typically proficient Newport squad. Despite the lopsided victory, Eastlake head coach Sara Goldie said Newport challenged her squad in multiple facets.

“Newport is a great team. They made it hard for us to score. I think it opened up a little bit at end for us. They kept us under our average in the first half. Their defense was making it hard for us. I think the thing that kept us alive was our defense,” Goldie said.

Goldie was particularly pleased with her team’s defense in the second half.

“They (Newport) are a good shooting team. Early on they were getting a lot of open shots and we weren’t rotating well defensively. They didn’t make those shots they normally make. We did clean up the rotations and those shots got harder for them,” she said.

Eastlake sophomore Keeli Burton scored a team-high 17 points in the victory. Burton scored nine of her 17 points in the first quarter.

“We had been preparing for this game for so long. We practiced and we figured out what would work against them. I think that really helped us in our win,” Burton said.

Eastlake junior forward Mae Bryant scored 12 points and freshman Haley Huard added 10 points off the bench. Bryant, who is one of the most athletic players on the Eastlake roster, consistently scored on drives to the hoop while under duress.

“Her athleticism, her knowledge of the game, her selfless play and her willingness to share the ball has really made us a better team,” Goldie said of Bryant.