LAKEWOOD - With the No. 1 seed and a first round bye at West Central/Southwest bi-district on the line, No. 4 state- ranked Seamount League girls basketball champion John F. Kennedy Catholic held off No. 6 state-rated SPSL 3A titleist Auburn Mountainview, 70-58, at the Class 3A/Seamount/Olympic sub-district tournament. The Lancers now stand one win away from the state tournament regionals of the 2011 state Hardwood Classic.

"This was a typical playoff game of runs," said first-year Lancer head coach John Barbee. "Auburn Mountainview is a good team and well coached. I'm proud of how our team played down the stretch, working, making free throws and doing the little things that don't show up in the statistics. It was just on the edge of being a blowout, but they (the Lions) kept coming back. That's the way they've played all year and why they're ranked No. 6 in the state. This was also beneficial for us to get a first round bye at district."

Rarely challenged strongly in the Seamount League, the Lancers roared to an unbeaten 14-0 record while establishing a full three games distance from the second place team.

Last Friday on the Lakes High School court, JFK threatened to destroy South Puget Sound League 3A champion Mountainview (16-5) early.

With engines running strongly and smoothly, the No. 4 Lancers (20-1) amassed a 21-4 first quarter dominance on the strength of fine play from Aminah Williams and Alli Madison plus a powerfully pressing defense and strong rebounding that led to an up tempo offense.

As the battle progressed, the Lions continually fought back, but never got closer than nine points. Although the Lancers later built leads that grew up to 16 points, Auburn Mountainview countered each Kennedy Catholic flurry with one of its own to stay just within hailing range.

When Aminah Williams pumped home a basket followed by a free throw from younger sister Mayah Williams, the fighting Lancers led 59-46 as 5:50 remained in the fourth quarter.

After the persistent Lions cut the gap to 59-53 with 3:48 remaining in regulation, Aminah Williams canned a free throw followed by Alli Madison's two charity tosses, expanding the Lancer lead to 62-53 as well as triggering a 5-0 scoring surge that put JFK safely ahead at 64-53. Williams kept drawing fouls inside and converted key free throws down the stretch. Vivienne McClean also converted a pair of charity tosses ahead of a Williams game ending bucket.

"We showed our character and stressed our defense," said Aminah Williams, who scored 26 points and collared 16 rebounds with eight steals. "That really showed in the second half."

Madison closed with 15 points, nine rebounds and seven steals while teammate McClean earned nine points. Point guard Jasmine Lemon dished out seven points to go along with six assists. Mayah Williams also scored seven points and Danielle Bojorquez closed out the Lancer scoring with six.

For Auburn Mountainview, Caitlin Carr was outstanding with 31 points to lead all scorers.