2A/1A Girls Basketball: Rochester Heats Up in Second Half Against Eatonville

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ROCHESTER — The Warriors got their offense humming in the second half and posted a 43-38 Evergreen 2A/1A League victory over Eatonville here on Friday. Rochester concluded their season by honoring seniors Joni Lancaster, Madison Justice, Ariel Saxon and Courtney Baird.

“When our defense gets going our offense seems to click more,” Rochester coach AJ Easley said.

Rochester trailed 14-13 at the half, but outscored the Cruisers 18-7 in the third quarter. Lancaster notched 15 of her 28 points in the third quarter, capitalizing on several steals.

“Our kids did a good job running stuff to get good looks and we got decent looks in the first half but they just didn’t fall,” Easley said. “But we got them in foul trouble.”



With Eatonville having to back off on defense, Rochester ramped up the intensity. Along with Lancaster’s 28 points, Alex Seymour added 8 points and Madison Justice added seven rebounds.

“I think Ariel and Madison played phenomenal in this game,” Easley said. “Ariel caused 13 jump balls tonight at least and Madison was getting beat up down low but still hauled in seven rebounds.”

Rochester (6-14, 6-8 league) finished the season out of the playoffs, and will join the Evergreen 2A Conference next year.

“I told the girls the only reason the wins and losses were disappointing this year was because they had set the bar so high over the past 3-4 years,” Easley said. “We’ve been pretty blessed with those kids and our program is indebted to them.”