Lady Cruisers Stay Perfect At 6-0

Riding a four-game win streak, the Eatonville Lady Cruiser basketball team rode into Morton this past Monday night looking to extend that streak, and extend it they did. They took down the Timberwolves for the second time this season, this time by a score of 57-47.

The Timberwolves were able to keep the game close in the first quarter with Eatonville leading 16-15 after the first period.

The Cruisers then began to pull away in the second quarter, taking a 4-point lead into the half.

In the third, both teams matched each other bucket for bucket and Eatonville held that 1-point lead entering the final quarter where Bailey Andersen would score 11 points to help give the Cruisers a 57-437 victory.

Andersen led all scorers with 23 points. Brooke Blocker added a season-high 13 points as well.

Box Score

EATONVILLE 57, MORTON-WHITE PASS 47

Eatonville: 16 11 10 20 - 57

MWP: 15 8 10 14 - 47

Eatonville: Bailey Andersen 23, Brooke Blocker 13, Sara Smith 7, Alayna Meyer 4, Hailey Hall 4. Lilian Bickford 4, Hannah Kralik 2

MWP: McKenzee Mays 17, Natalia Armstrong 11, Amy Martinez 5, Ana Gonzalez 5, Karah Fairhart 5, Malia Armstrong 2, Katelyn Gilstrap 2

The 2022-2023 Lady Cruiser basketball team poses for a team photo. Top row, left to right: Ryan Stammen, Bailey Andersen, and Sara Smith. Bottom row, left to right: Alayna Meyer, Ella Gendreau, Hanna Kralik, Brooke Blocker, Hailey Hall, And Lilian Bickford. Photo: Amy Wilson

Finishing up the week before Christmas, the Lady Cruisers welcomed their longtime rivals, the Orting Cardinals to Rainer Connect Arena for a non-league matchup.

The Cardinals were looking to break the Cruiser's 3-game winning streak in their rivalry series, but Eatonville wasn't about to let that happen as they clipped the Cardinals 60-49 behind the game-high 23 points of Bailey Andersen.

It was a tight ball game through the first three quarters as each team traded the lead many times in that span.

Eatonville would trail by 1 at the half and then take a 1-point lead into the final period of play.

Not happy with how her team played in the first half, Head Coach Deanna Andersen made a few changes at halftime.

"We played ok in the first half and then made adjustments during halftime to slow down their perimeter game," said Andersen.

"We had a few girls struggling with stopping Orting's outside shooters getting their shots off, so we adjusted. Brooke Blocker and Sara Smith then started to dominate down in the paint, and we were able to get the turnaround we needed."

The Lady Cruiser defense would hold the Cardinals to only 7 points in the fourth quarter while the offense would score 17 to distance themselves from the Cardinals to seal the victory at 60-49.

Box Score

EATONVILLE 60, ORTING 49

Eatonville 13 11 19 17 - 60

Orting 11 14 17 7 - 49

Eatonville: Bailey Andersen 23, Brooke Blocker 9, Alayna Meyer 8, Lilian Bickford 8, Ryan Stammen 5, Sara Smith 4, Hannah Kralik 3

Orting: Lily Catlett 19, Emma Copeland 9, Abby Depping 8, Mahela Visperas 5, Ka'iulani Visperas 4, Rian Aten 4

Eatonville's record now sits at 6-0, one of the best starts the team has had in recent memory. They will now take about a week off before heading to Centralia to compete in the Centralia Tigers Classic tournament starting on Thursday, December 29th at Centralia HS. They will only play two games in the tournament. In their first game, they will take on the Centralia Tigers at 6:30 pm and that game will be live-streamed on the NFHS Network. Depending on how they do in that game, will determine who and when they play their second game.

After the tournament, the Lady Cruisers will head to Rochester to take on the Warriors in a non-league matchup on Monday, January 2nd before diving into 1A EvCo conference play when they head to Montesano on Thursday, January 5th.