When the Bonney Lake High girls basketball team woke up Sunday morning, they knew they had participated in a hoop war against Capital the night before.
But earning a berth in the upcoming Class 3A state tournament isn’t expected to come easy.
Players from both teams found themselves on the hardwood floor on many occasions, battling for each possession.
But when the final buzzer sounded Saturday, Bonney Lake left with a hard-fought 56-49 win over the Cougars in first-round action of the West Central-Southwest District tournament at Clover Park High in Lakewood. The win assured the Panthers a slot in the 16-team state tourney that begins March 10 at the Tacoma Dome.
Panther coach Tom Ostrander put Carli Elwin in the starting lineup because starting post Rani Wiegand hurt her left knee during practice.
Weigand entered the game late in the first period and, despite her injury, was a force in the lane.
In the first period, the teams traded baskets for a 12-all deadlock.
Marcel Pounds scored eight of her team-high 17 points in the first period, but she also picked up two back-to-back fouls.
Capital broke the tie with a jumper, but an Elwin free throw and Pounds’ long jumper helped the Panthers regain the lead for good.
Pounds, Emily McCoy and Brittany Kennedy each nailed hoops in the Panthers’ 20-5 run. Kennedy’s 3-pointer put Bonney Lake up by 15 at 32-15 with less than a minute left in the second period.
The Panthers’ pressure defense forced Capital to committ numerous turnovers in the second quarter.
Capital came out in the third more aggressive on both ends of the court and trimmed the Panthers’ margin to five, 37-32, with a 13-5 run.
In the third, Kennedy left the game with a bruised hand, but returned in the final two minutes of play.
Elwin drilled the Panthers’ fifth 3-pointer of the game to up the lead by eight. Rochelle Murray’s pair of free throws put Bonney Lake up by 10 entering the final period.
“The girls really played well and fought through it,” Ostrander said. “That’s playoff basketball.”
Cheyann Clark’s 3-pointer – the sixth by the Panthers – gave Bonney Lake a 13-point advantage to start the fourth quarter.
Bonney Lake managed to keep a comfortable margin and the closest the Cougars could come was 54-48 with 13.5 seconds left to play.
With a trip to the state tournament guaranteed, the Panthers will play two more district games to determine seeding. The first comes at 6 tonight, Wednesday, when Bonney Lake challenges Prairie High at Kent’s ShoWare Center.
