Courtesy Article by Gerardo Bolong

It was an opportunity to showcase progress while creating court time opportunities for all.
Seattle Christian (15-2) qualified for the double elimination section of the West Central District III 1A girls basketball tournament with a Tues., Feb. 14, 6 p.m Valentine's Day showdown against Olympic League 1A champion Coupeville (16-4) at Bellarmine Prep High School in Tacoma by routing Chimacum 52-22 at home in a Sat., Feb. 11, first round district game.

Accelerated ball movement and quickness down the court broke its opponent's resistance early.
Olivia Clark's 3-point goal ignited a 7-0 Warrior charge for a 15-6 lead after the first quarter in a prelude to the Lady Cowboys' impending doom.
Chimacum, which edged out Vashon Island 30-27 in a play-in game to the district tournament, was soon completely outflanked on all fronts by the irresistible Seattle Christian offensive force and non-yielding Warrior defensive unit tactics.

In a continuation of the first quarter blitz, freshman Olivia Clark's assist for an Alex Ellis basket triggered 18 consecutive SC points as the half court trapping defense extended to almost three-fourths of the court to force turnovers that led to quick excursions into the Chimacum defensive half of the court, allowing the excellent ball movement behind strong efforts by Julia Seibel, Seri Anderson and Makenzie May.
Leading 36-10 at halftime, the Warriors continued to put on pressure without ceasing. Ellis scored four points while Anderson was found open for a trio of 3-point rainbows as Seattle Christian fired out to a game-high 39-point lead at 49-10 late in the third quarter.

"It was a rocky start, but we've been going over all our plays this week and have the potential to get to Yakima (in the state tournament)," said Anderson.

The 5-foot, 10-inch sophomore Anderson was a ready recipient for the quick passes en route to shooter going 4-for-8 from behind the 3-point arc as part of her game-high 17 points along with collecting nine caroms.

As the Warriors continually revolved players in and out of the game in different player combinations at the start of the fourth quarter, they also tried to work into a more deliberate style of half court offense resulting in stalled momentum, turnovers and 12 consecutive Lady Cowboy points before Clark nailed a 3-pointer for the only SC points of the fourth quarter.

"We used aggression, but had to be wise, also," said Ellis, who scored 13 points and earned four steals. "The defense really got after it. We were unselfish, but we got impatient in the fourth quarter. Until then, we had good ball movement. I feel we're up to the challenge to take it all the way."

Minutes played and scoring chances were deftly spread throughout the team.

Clark utilized a 2-for-3 accuracy from 3-point distance on the way to eight points while dishing out four assists and stealing the ball five times. Seibel netted her game total of six points in a 49-second burst early in the second quarter. Kelli Ronish added four points and four assists as Lexi Bates and May tallied two points apiece.

For the Lady Cowboys, Alice Yaley did not score, but hauled in 11 big rebounds. Maddie Dowling led Chimacum scoring with five points.