In girls basketball the Ballard Beavers lost their first playoff game to the Woodinville Falcons 76-47 on the road.

Ballard was in a double elimination KingCo tournament in which they needed to lose two games to drop out or win two games to advance to the next round.

Seniors Gillian Huggins and Charlotte Shannon, both forwards with strong inside games were eager to start the post season after some less than successful years under former coach Erin Bailey.

Shannon scored 12 points and Huggins 11 points in the Falcon game. Junior Leslie Ellingsen added eight points, along with her trademark scrappy defense which rubs off on her teammates.

Evangeline Spracklin had six points, Brianna Green, Molly Magee and Kalie Sandstrom each had two points.

The Falcons were lead by Amanda Fleischman with 18 points , Amanda Best 13, LeeAnn Palo 12 and Ashley Tuiasosopo with 9.

Woodinville stormed out to a 22-8 first quarter lead and never looked back, keeping Ballard off balance the rest of the game. The win gave Woodinville a 20 and 1 overall record.

On Saturday, the Beavers played Redmond at the West Central/Southwest 4A Bi-District Tournament. The results were not available as the News-Tribune went to press.

This was a year of growth for the team, under the leadership of new Head Coach Karen Blair, who won two state championships at Meadowdale in 2000 and 2004 before coming to Ballard. Blair also won 11 league titles, in addition to numerous coach of the year awards.

Ballard was 11-10 overall and 6-8 in league play after the Falcon playoff game.

Blair and her assistants Bryan Howisey and Jessica Howisey has been emphasizing the need for less mistakes, while working on team execution and the Beaver's defensive principals as they prepared for the playoff run.

Most of Ballard's wins this season have come against non-league teams and some of the weaker KingCo opponents.

Ballard opened their year with three straight wins over non-league schools Ingraham, Eastside Catholic and Sammamish.

During the holiday season, they were treated to a trip to the Cactus Jam Tournament in Phoeniz, AZ where they had impressive wins over California schools Cerritos and Warren.

KingCo opponents Eastlake, Skyline, Bothell, Lake Washington, Juanita and Franklin all found the much-improved Beavers too much to handle.

Besides Huggins and Shannon, the other graduating seniors include Sandstrom and Molly Horak.

Several promising players will be back. Sophomore Kayla Williams at point guard and freshman guard Brianna Green provide the Beavers with a solid backcourt.

The other returners are junior Chelseigh Barks, freshman Amanda Bryan, sophomore s Magee, Yordanos Kasahun and Evangeline Spracklin.

Visit www.ballardathletics.com for more team information.