High School Sports

STANWOOD — Rachel Swartz stood calm amid the chaos.

While the Lake Stevens defense frenetically tried to race back from a 10-point deficit in the final minutes against her Stanwood Spartans, Swartz took up a position 12 feet out on the right baseline.

With her team leading by two points, the junior post took a cross-court pass and smoothly raised up for a shot with 45 seconds to play.

Swish.

Just like that, the fifth-ranked Spartans held on to defeat No. 3 Lake Stevens 60-56 in a WesCo North Division girls basketball game Wednesday night.

The victory created a tie atop the division, with both teams 10-1 in league and 15-1 overall.

If both win out, the Vikings will be the top seed from the division based on a better number drawn by all teams before the season. Lake Stevens drew a three, while Stanwood drew a five.

"I live for games like these," said Swartz, who had 10 points. "I love the pressure situations. I had so much fun."

The win was a big one for the school, too, as Stanwood attempts to shake off many years of less-than-stellar results.

"You've got to realize this is all new for these girls," Stanwood coach Dennis Kloke said. "In the summer, there is no pressure. We build leads and beat teams like Lake Stevens by 15."

Stanwood led 52-42 with 2:56 to go. That's when Lake Stevens turned up its full-court pressure another notch. It paid off in a 10-2 run that culminated with Dakotah Pilon's three-pointer with 1:00 remaining, cutting Stanwood's lead to 54-52.

Stanwood then inbounded, broke the Vikings' press and found Swartz open for her critical 12-footer.

Teammate Renee Lucero then sank all four of her free throws in the final seconds — part of a 13-for-14 second-half performance by the Spartans at the line, after going 3 of 9 in the first half. The Vikings, meanwhile, were 13 of 16 from the line in the first half, but only 9 of 18 after halftime.

Paisley Heckman scored 16 and Tristan Murphy 15 for Stanwood. Brittany Pahukoa had 16 points and seven steals for Lake Stevens.