KingCo 4A Girls Roundup | Ballard keeps ball rolling

No Ballard girls basketball team has ever reached the state playoffs. After watching her team improve to 13-1 with a 61-44 victory at home Friday night over Garfield, coach Karen Blair says she and her players are looking no further ahead than their next game on Wednesday.

"We've still got a lot of work to do to get there," said Blair, who guided Meadowdale to two state titles (2000, 2004) during her 11 years there as head coach.

The fifth-ranked Beavers (8-1 KingCo 4A Mountain Division) played steadily against Garfield (3-11, 1-8), finding seams in the Bulldogs' pressure defense and building a lead that grew as large as 21 points.

With Garfield focusing on stopping Ballard's top scorer, Kayla Williams, Evangeline Spracklin put in three first-half three-pointers and finished with a game-high 16 points.

Jeanette Hansen, the Beavers' 6-foot-5 senior center, added 13 and Yordanos Kasahum came off the bench to score what Blair said was a career-high 12. Williams, who entered the game averaging 15.9 points, had seven.

"We were all just working as a team tonight, moving the ball around until we got shots in the flow," said the 5-9 Spracklin. "We're a pretty versatile team. We can score in a lot of different ways."

Blair conceded the win was not Ballard's most polished outing.

"We tried to keep them off the boards and realize that they were trying to create helter-skelter pressure to try and take us out of our flow. We just had to have the patience to square up and find the open person. We rebounded better in the second half. That was a big key for us."

Garfield cut Ballard's lead to five in the third quarter but could not pull closer. Demarea Caples led the Bulldogs with 11 points. DeAundreney Brown-Dillard added 10.

Four of Ballard's last six games are on the road and the Beavers finish against two of their toughest foes, Roosevelt and Redmond. Blair notes that only two teams from Ballard's district are guaranteed spots in the state tournament.

"It's an opportunity," she said, "But we can't worry about stacking up against anybody. Right now we've just got to get ready for Lake Washington."

Other games

Lake Wash. 55, at Woodinville 46

The Kangs (11-4, 5-4 Lake) led by only a point at halftime before opening it up with a 22-point third quarter. Amanda Juarez led LW with 14 points. Molly Soliday scored a game-high 17 for the Falcons (7-9, 1-9 Mountain).

Franklin 59, at Redmond 51

Carol Howard and Kayla Williams each scored 16 as the Quakers (8-6, 5-4 Lake) snapped a 10-game win streak by Redmond (12-3, 6-3 Mountain). Courtney Martin's 14 points and 12 rebounds led Redmond, which hadn't lost since Dec. 12.

Eastlake 45, at Juanita 22

The Wolves (10-5, 5-4 Lake) led 12-3 after one quarter and cruised past the Rebels (7-6, 2-6 Mountain). Alyssa Charlston scored a game-high 15 for Eastlake.

Inglemoor 61, at Bothell 39

The Vikings (12-2, 8-1 Lake) led by eight at halftime before outscoring the Cougars (2-13, 1-8 Mountain) in the third quarter, 21-4. Whitney Anderson's 13 points for Bothell led all scorers.