Class 2A Girls’ Basketball State Tournament Capsules | Bellingham Herald

White River Hornets

Enrollment: 857

League: SPSL 2A (finished first)

District:2/3 (placed third)

State appearances: 20 (22-35)

State titles: None

Coach: Chris Gibson

Regional result: Beat Blaine 60-51

Scouting report: Kendall Bird and Amanda Lance each scored 19 points, and Kristin Sturdivan chipped in 14, as the third-ranked Hornets held off a Blaine rally to advance through the regional round. Bird also had 13 rebounds to complete the double-double. After falling in the quarterfinal last year, the Hornets, who have four seniors and six juniors on their roster this year, rebounded to place fourth.

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Mark Morris Monarchs

Enrollment: 783

League: Greater St. Helens 2A (finished first)

District: 4 (placed first)

State appearances: 10 (9-14)

State titles: 1 (2013)

Coach: Steve Rooklidge

Regional result: Beat Olympic 77-48

Scouting report: Top-ranked Mark Morris has won 15 straight since back-to-back losses in late December. The Monarchs jumped on top of Olympic 17-0 in the first five minutes of their regional and never looked back, as Karley Eaton scored 31 and Ashley Coons had 22. The Monarchs hope to make the state championship game for a third-straight year last year. They failed to defend their title against W.F. West last year.

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River Ridge Hawks

Enrollment: 818

League: SPSL 2A (finished third)

District:2/3 (placed fifth)

State appearances: 10 (24-9)

State titles: 4 (2005, ’07, ’08, ’10)

Coach: Jackie Robinson

Regional result: Beat Pullman 44-43

Scouting report: After struggling through the first three quarters of the Hawks’ regional against Pullman, Makenna Schultz scored all 14 of her team’s fourth-quarter points, including a game-winning put back with 90 seconds to play. Schultz, a first-team all-SPSL 2A selection, finished with 24 points. Senior Savannah McGill had six points and 12 rebounds, and Kyla Coleman had 14 rebounds in the game.

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Ellensburg Bulldogs

Enrollment: 695

League: CWAC (finished first)

District: 5 (placed first)

State appearances: 14 (26-20)

State titles: None

Coach: Kerri Fahey

Regional result: Beat North Kitsap 54-35

Scouting report: Ellensburg overcame a 10-day layoff before the regional round and some illnesses, using its stingy defense to advance back to Yakima, as North Kitsap shot only 27 percent in the final three quarters of the game. Karly Malcolm led the way with 20 points, while Kassidy Malcolm addes 12. Lexie Bland had nine rebounds in the game. The Bulldogs return to the state quarterfinals after placing fifth last year.

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W.F. West Bearcats

Enrollment: 649

League: Evergreen 2A (finished first)

District: 4 (placed second)

State appearances: 10 (19-14)

State titles: 1 (2014)

Coach: Henri Weeks

Regional result: Beat Burlington-Edison 50-33

Scouting report: The defending 2A state champs have their eyes on advancing to the title game for a third-straight year. The second-ranked Bearcats sport a roster with three players taller than 6-foot, and they were never seriously challenged in the regional round. Tennessee State-bound Tiana Park had 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Portland-bound Julie Spencer led all scorers with 18 points.

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Lynden Lions

Enrollment: 592

League: Northwest Conference (finished fourth)

District: 1 (placed first)

State appearances: 11 (18-18)

State titles: 1 (2009)

Coach: Rob Adams

Regional result: Beat Black Hills 53-43

Scouting report: The Lions return to the quarterfinals after placing third last year, when they lost to W.F. West 52-35 in the state semifinals. Elisa Kooiman scored 12 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter to help the Lions pull away from Black Hills in the regional. Lynden got a big contribution off the bench from Mariah Gonzalez against the much bigger Wolves, helping the Lions win the rebounding battle 38-32.

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Sammamish Totems

Enrollment: 691

League: KingCo 2A/3A (finished fifth)

District:2/3 (placed second)

State appearances: 8 (9-10)

State titles: 2 (1976, ’77)

Coach: Michael Schick

Regional result: Beat Sehome 51-37

Scouting report: Making its first state tournament appearance since 1995, Sammamish, which came alive in the posteason with wins in four of its last five games, jumped out on top early in the regional round then staved off a late Sehome rally to advance. Montana Hagstrom led the Totems with 17 points in the game, while 6-4 sophomore forward Promise Taylor added 10 points and eight rebounds the game.

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Spokane East Valley Knights

Enrollment: 849

League: Great Northern (finished first)

District: 7 (placed second)

State appearances: 4 (5-7)

State titles: None

Coach: Carly Fromdahl

Regional result: Beat Issaquah Liberty 71-50

Scouting report: Free-throw shooting could be an issue for East Valley, which missed 24 from the charity stripe in its regional round win over Liberty. But the Knights more than made up for it with a stingy defense, 25 points from Hannah Burland and 11 more from Sklar Bastin to return to the state quarterfinal after placing sixth last year. East Valley enters having won 14 of its last 15.

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