PE ELL — The Pe Ell Trojans have seen this movie before.
Flash back to Feb. 14, 2025, when the No. 1 seed Trojans hosted No. 4 seed Mary M. Knight in the District 4 1B Tournament quarterfinals. Pe Ell handedly defeated the Owls 55-27 to cruise to the semifinals.
On Tuesday, the No. 1 seed Trojans hosted No. 4 seed Mary M. Knight in the District 4 1B Tournament quarterfinals. Pe Ell handedly defeated the Owls 60-20, and, you guessed it, the Trojans cruised to the semifinals.
The outcome may read the exact same, but the feeling in the gym after Tuesday’s game was different for the Trojans. They’re a year older and believe they’re much better in one particular and defining category — defensive intensity.
Pe Ell nabbed 20 steals against Mary M. Knight Tuesday, and someone could likely count on one hand how many open looks the Owls had all night. The press defense hounded the Owls and created numerous bad passes and poor ball-handling.
“I think our defensive pressure has grown over the last several games. We’ve built on that,” Pe Ell head coach Kelsey Lennox said. “My girls anticipate the ball pretty well.”
The Trojans roared out to a 15-0 lead in less than four minutes of action, forcing seven Owls turnovers in that span, including three straight that turned into easy layups in a spurt of just 25 seconds.
Pe Ell continued to apply pressure in its full-court defense en route to a 22-1 advantage late in the first quarter. Madi Engel knocked down a pair of 3-pointers early in the game, and Ruby Magruder and Maisy King both got to work below the basket. Mary M. Knight scored its first field goal with 1:22 left in the first quarter and trailed 22-5 after one.
“Our defense fuels our offense,” King, a freshman, said. “Once we get one steal, we’ll get 10 or more.”
Pe Ell’s offense slowed down a bit in the second quarter, but a Magruder triple helped the Trojans maintain a 20-point advantage at halftime. To start the second half, Pe Ell scored 10 unanswered led by Peyton Zock and King.
After a bucket by the Owls, the Trojans responded with another 10-0 spurt to cap off a 20-2 third quarter and extend the lead to 38 points. Zock, King and Karli Phelps combined to score 18 of the Trojans’ 20 in the frame.
Lennox inserted some of the Pe Ell bench into the fourth quarter, and Tristyn Zock and Morgan Markee got buckets late in the game to help the Trojans sail to a 60-20 victory.
Phelps and King led Pe Ell with 12 points apiece, while King added seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Phelps nabbed a team-high five steals and nine deflections. Peyton Zock added nine points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Last year as an eighth grader, King played valuable minutes for a Pe Ell team that made it to Spokane. But as a freshman, she’s playing with a newfound confidence and is developing her skillset as both a defender and as a ball-handler.
“Our team pushes us in practice,” King said of her growth. “Playing each other is a lot better than playing our league. If one of us falls off, we pick each other up.”
Lennox said King has grown “tremendously” since last year and gave Phelps credit for helping King gain confidence on the court.
“The amount of confidence Karli has in Maisy has really helped Maisy have that confidence in herself,” Lennox said. “Karli has been a huge part of her growth over this year.”
Pe Ell (14-7, 8-0 Columbia Valley) now gets a district title game rematch with No. 2 seed Taholah in the district semifinals Tuesday, Feb. 17 at South Bend High School. The Trojans knocked off Taholah 50-38 to clinch the district title last year.
Taholah defeated No. 3 seed Oakville 71-25 in the quarterfinals Tuesday night, and the Acorns will now face Mary M. Knight in a loser-out game Thursday at Raymond High School.
If Pe Ell defeats Taholah next Tuesday, it will secure a third straight state berth.
“We’ve got to take care of the ball. I think we’ve got to be smart. We can’t have dumb fouls,” Lennox said of the keys to beating Taholah next week. “We’ve got to be more disciplined in that aspect. We’ve got to be a little bit more patient in our offense. We got a little rushed in the first half when we were getting all of those steals.”
