Seven days before their regional, the Adna Pirates walked off the W.F. West court ice cold. They had let a fourth-quarter lead slip away against Rainier in the district title game, and they finished that matchup with just 32 points.
The No. 2 Pirates returned to Chehalis on Saturday eager to put that performance in the rear view mirror.
“We just knew we had to come out, play together more, and just come out with better energy,” Gaby Guard said. “Just stay tough.”
Adna did just that, using a high-tempo offense to sprint past No. 7 Cle Elum-Roslyn 70-54 in the opening round of the 2B State Tournament.
The win puts the Pirates through to the state quarterfinals, one win away from a trip back to the semis and a guaranteed top-five placing in Spokane.
“It’s just a tale of two teams,” Adna coach Chris Bannish said. “I’m very proud of all of them.”
It was clear early that the Pirates were looking to push the pace. After the Warriors missed a shot on the other end, Adna would get the ball to Karsyn Freeman, who would sprint up the floor.
For much of the first half, she’d take it herself to the rim, but she also found Danika Hallom a few times on the outside. The duo scored all 12 points in a 12-2 run that gave the Pirates the lead in the second, and they finished the first half with 29 of the team’s 36 points.
Things were much more balanced in the second half offensively. Gaby Guard hit a pair of threes and scored 10, McKenna Torrey connected from deep and finished the frame with five, and Hallom and Freeman combined for 11 more points.
By the midway point of the third, Adna led by 20 points.
“It just brings the energy up a ton,” Guard said. “It feels good to feel balanced and be able to trust everyone. Everyone’s firing at the same time, and that’s really good to see.”
Freeman finished with a game-high 26, while Hallom ended the afternoon with 19. Guard finished with 10, Kendall Humphrey tallied eight, and Torrey scored six.
“I think today displayed what the other people can do, and you can really see what’s in this bag,” Bannish said. “They can shoot the ball, and they can shoot it well. If we wanna get to where we wanna go, we’re gonna have to play that style. We’re gonna take some bad shots. But if we realize what we have around us, the sky is the limit for these guys.”
Adna maintained its 20-point lead going into the fourth, but the Warriors had one more run up their sleeve. When Cle Elum-Roslyn did have success against Adna, it was on the inside.
Nellie Nichols, Grace Glondo, and Jadison Wallick had combined for 33 of CER’s 42 points going into the fourth, and they opened the fourth with 10 straight points to cut the deficit in half.
They never got closer, though, as the Pirates allowed just two points in the final four minutes of the game. Bannish praised Bailey Chapman for her defensive effort inside, saying that she’s been an underrated piece in the post all season long.
“I think we don’t understand how important Bailey is sometimes,” Bannish said. “I think the staff and the program does, but the outside viewer doesn’t see it … What she does defensively with her length, and her and Kendall switching, (CER’s offense) didn’t bother us for three quarters. It only bothered us when Bailey was on the bench.”
With a bye officially in their pocket, the Pirates (22-2) won’t have to take the court in Spokane until a quarterfinal on Thursday at 9 p.m. They’ll get the winner of the Round of 12 matchup between No. 9 Mabton and No. 1 Rainier, which lost its Regional Round matchup against Northwest Christian on Friday.
“We’ve gotta go over there and reap the reward of getting a bye,” Bannish said. “We just gotta keep working, because last weekend proved we can be beaten by anybody.”
