Napavine races off with big 2B Central girls basketball win over Rainier, 58-37
NAPAVINE, Wash. - Expected to be a 2B Central girls basketball showdown between two top-five squads ended up being a one-sided outcome Tuesday night.
From the start of the second half, second-ranked Napavine's pressure took control as the Tigers blistered No. 4 Rainier, 58-37, on their homecourt.
Hayden Kaut scored a game-high 26 points - 16 coming in the second half. Keira O'Neill added 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Tigers, who surprisingly dominated the rebounding (32-24) against a bigger lineup.
Their defensive pressure was outstanding, too, holding Rainier scoreless for nearly five minutes in building a 40-29 lead after three quarters.
Brooklynn Swenson led Rainier with 19 points.
Here are three takeaways from the Napavine-Rainier game:
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CIRCLED ON THE CALENDAR
After seeing his team beat Rainier twice last season, Tigers girls coach Shane Schutz noticed that the Mountaineers returned this winter with more experience and depth, and were playing with a newfound edge in their game.
What did Napavine do to stay ahead in this budding rivalry?
"We knew they were pushing us, so we had to push ourselves," Schutz said. "In the last couple of weeks, you could see we were changing the way we were practicing and playing.
"Our kids, man, they like to compete."
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TIGERS HAVE BIG THREE TO LEAN ON
What makes Napavine's lineup to difficult to stifle is its key players flourish doing different things.
Kaut, a sophomore, is a mismatch as a 6-footer who can shoot from as deep as she wants. She made a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter to get her night going quickly.
Point guard Taylen Evander, also a sophomore, will be one of the classification's best two-way guards by season's end. She is smooth and heady on offense, and can knock down 3-pointers, and she has enough length to disrupt on defense.
Then there's O'Neill, a senior who at one point during her sophomore season was benched for attitude and effort.
She now plays with a non-stop motor, and really gave Rainier's interior players fits with her hustle and anticipation.
"Filling those shoes (as a hustle player), it leads into being a role model," O'Neill said.
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RAINIER HAD BAD SECOND HALF
Every time Napavine went on a mini-run in the first half, the Mountaineers clawed right back into the game, trailing 24-20 at halftime.
They were down 29-26 with 5:20 to go - and then the wheels fell off.
Napavine's fullcourt pressure suddenly started getting to the visitors, leading to quick and easy transition points. And Rainier could not find any offense, giving up a 9-0 run over the next 41/2 minutes.
And Napavine scored 10 unanswered points in a 1:58 span early in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Three of those baskets came on midcourt steals, leading to easy layins.
Rainier was forced into 19 turnovers.
"We didn’t come out with the right intensity - and they came out with the intensity and edge and really brought it," Rainier girls coach Brandon Eygabroad said.
"It is frustrating when things are hard, and we have to teach these girls how to respond to that."
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