Freshman’s long-range prowess helps Kentlake prevail, get date with top-ranked Central Valley

GC Hillburn brags his personal library contains old basketball wizardry books full of secrets and strategies.

Somewhere in them, he swears, he can find the magic formula on how his Kentlake High School girls team can topple top-ranked Central Valley and its coach, Freddie Rehkow, in the Class 4A state tournament.

“Books with some dirty tricks — ones I don’t think Freddie knows yet,” Hillburn kidded.

The eighth-ranked Falcons earned the chance to face the No. 1 team in the quarterfinals with a stunning 57-42 victory over No. 6 Lake Stevens on Wednesday morning in a loser-out game in the Tacoma Dome.

And they did it by outshooting the Vikings, hitting seven 3-pointers, including four by ninth grader Jena Stanard.

For some teams, that might not seem like a massive total. But for Kentlake, which has only scored 60 or more points six times this season, it usually is a decisive sign.

“They were better today,” Lake Stevens coach Randy Edens said. “We didn’t shoot it very well.”

The two teams met earlier in the non-conference game at Lake Stevens. The Vikings (19-5) won 57-46, making six 3-pointers in their own gymnasium.

This time around, they canned only two shots from long range, with only one 3-pointer coming from standout sophomore Raigan Reed, who finished 2 of 17 from the floor.

“They have such dynamic playmakers,” Hillburn said. “So it was up to us making sure we took care of everything we could take care of, and not give up anything easy.”

And in the second quarter, the Falcons (20-7) began to pull away behind Stanard’s hot perimeter shooting.

Her first 3-pointer from the right side gave Kentlake a 20-11 lead with 4:55 remaining in the fisrt half.

And the reserve guard just kept shooting, and making them. Three of them came from her “favorite spot” near the right corner.

“It is funny, when I am really nervous, that is when I shoot my best,” Stanard said.

Huh?

“On my shot, I tend to use a lot of my legs,” she added. “And when I am nervous, my legs get shaky. It goes right in.”

By the time Stanard sank her career-high fourth 3-pointer at the 1:29 mark, the Falcons led, 32-15.

“I hope every kid in my program knows that when it is their turn to be open, and they have an advantage, they need to look to make plays,” Hillburn said.

“That effort was special. That moment wasn’t too big for her.”

It was Kentlake’s first state-tournament victory in the Tacoma Dome since 2005. The Falcons play Central Valley on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in the 4A quarterfinals.

This story was originally published February 28, 2018 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Freshman’s long-range prowess helps Kentlake prevail, get date with top-ranked Central Valley."