YAKIMA — La Center got the spark it needed to cruise to a win, but the Wildcats got banged up in the process.
Molly Edwards scored a game-high 22 points to lead La Center to a 51-32 win over Freeman on Wednesday afternoon at the Yakima Valley SunDome to earn a berth to the 1A state tournament quarterfinals.
“I’m in the gym a lot, I shoot a lot and I knew that I had to shoot it,” Edwards said. “We had nothing to lose. We’ve got 5-6 seasons on the team.”
And the Wildcats rebounded from its worst offensive outing of the season with a third quarter barrage.
La Center scored the first 11 points of the game and led 12-2 after the first quarter. Freeman responded and quickly whittled away at the lead until a 3-pointer by Isabelle Miller tied the game at 13-3. Edwards hit a 3 to give La Center a two-point halftime advantage, but its early momentum had been vanquished.
“[Edwards] was on fire tonight,” La Center coach Herm VanWeerdhuizen said. “She was just on fire. She played like the way Molly Edwards knows how to play. That was huge. I was really proud of the way we handled it.”
The Wildcats were dealing with an injury to its central post presence, too.
Taylor Mills rolled her ankle going up for a rebound in the first quarter, and hopped out of the game to be tended to by medical staff.
The ankle has been a problem for Mills in the past. She sprained it earlier this year, and it’s become weaker after each time she rolls it. Because of that, she’s learned how to deal with it—and play through the pain.
“I’m used to playing on it,” Mills said. “I’m just trying to be tough.”
She returned in the second quarter and played the rest of the game, but was noticeably in pain.
“It hurt a little but I just tried to be there for my team and do what my role, not try and do too much,” Mills added. “We played really well as a team, luckily they backed me up.”
Edwards was the second Wildcat to go down with an injury. She collided with another player, and when she hit the ground, she said, her right shoulder popped.
The senior guard swiftly exited the game and was told by SunDome medical staff that she had suffered an acromioclavicular joint separation (separated shoulder), which she suffered last year on her other shoulder—and played through.
“I kind of know the drill,” Edwards said, indicating she will play on Thursday.
And while her injury sidelined her from the remainder of the game, it came after she helped torch Freeman’s season to an end.
Edwards drilled four of her seven 3-pointers in the third quarter as La Center went on a 22-2 run. From there on out, Freeman did not threaten.
“Huge,” Mills said. “It’s really what boosted us up and put us in drive mode to close out the rest of the game.”
Taylor Stephens added nine points and six boards and Whitley Seter finished with nine rebounds—five of them offensive boards. The Wildcats assisted on 12 of their 16 made field goals.
Now they must face No. 5 Medical Lake Thursday at 3:45 p.m.
LA CENTER 51, FREEMAN 32
FREEMAN—Ellis Crowley 4, Isabelle Miller 8, Anna Chisholm 3, Grace Holt 0, Bradee Parisotto 3, Kyla Hansen 1, Kylie Nelson 3, Carolann Edwards 2, Sorrel Aldendorf 3, Jordyn Goldsmith 2, Sage Aldendorf 3. Totals 12 (3) 5-12 32.
LA CENTER—Alyssa McKnight 2, Whitley Seter 2, Molly Edwards 22, Natasha Lewis 0, Madison Rose 0, Bethany Whitten 9, Taylor Mills 5, Taylor Stephens 11. Totals 16 (8) 11-22 51.
Freeman 2 15 4 11—32
La Center 12 7 24 8—51
