Step one is complete for the Evergreen girls basketball team.
Now, for the second straight year, the Plainsmen can see the Class 3A state tournament in their sights.
They made their move to the 3A bi-district quarterfinals with a wire-to-wire 63-37 win over Lakes in the opening round Friday at home, setting up a road matchup against White River on Saturday at 5 p.m. The winner advances to state, while the losing side has to win two more games to punch their ticket.
“Lakes is a good team, so it feels good to execute on court and get a win,” Evergreen junior Kimora Ross said. “Last year we got our first playoff game as a win as well, so it feels good to do it again. Hopefully, we keep advancing and keep getting better as a team moving forward.”
Courtney Neal scored a team-high 19 points and Adrian Wright also reached double figures with 13 points, but the Plainsmen’s biggest strength Friday was in their numbers. Neal and Ross battled foul trouble for parts of the first half, and fellow starter Maya Calhoun exited the game early with an apparent shoulder injury.
Down three of its five starters, Evergreen didn’t miss a beat.
With contributions from freshmen Camryn Holt, Addison Carter-Young and Jayda Rogers off the bench, plus starters Wright and Aiyanah Sefronio-Byrd, the Plainsmen built on a strong start by outscoring the Lancers 19-7 in the second quarter and held a commanding 31-14 halftime lead. In that span, the Plainsmen held the Lancers to just four field goals.
“I feel like our energy just kept us going. We played hard,” said Neal, also a freshman. “I feel like with everything going on the bench, we weren’t focused on that, we were focused on the game.”
Lakes got as close as 11 points late in the third quarter, but a 3-pointer from Sefronio-Byrd to close the frame. Then, a 6-0 run to start the fourth with baskets from Neal, Holt and Ross gave Evergreen a 20-point lead to put the game out of reach.
Overall, it was Evergreen’s eighth win in its last 11 games after starting the season 3-7. Though the Plainsmen started slow in the process of jelling as a team, they’ve had a knack for closing strong in each of the last three regular seasons, all leading to first-round bi-district playoff games.
“It definitely happened toward the middle of the season,” Ross said of the moment the team found its stride. “We had a pretty hard schedule starting off the season, so it only made us better.”
The Plainsmen hope to take another step on the road with a quick turnaround Saturday at White River (20-2) of Buckley, which rolled to an 80-41 win over Silas in the opening round. Either way, Friday’s win over Lakes means Evergreen is moving in the right direction.
“It feels good to actually come together, and we look really good as a team right now,” Ross said.
EVERGREEN 63, LAKES 37
LAKES (12-12) — E’maya Cleveland 0, Ehmarii McChristian 20, Neveah Tutt 5, Samara Oliver 10, Lehua Stephens 0, Katelynn Wong 0, Taylor Lord 0. Totals 12 (2) 11-18 37.
EVERGREEN (11-10) — Jayda Rogers 0, Addison Carter-Young, Kimora Ross, Courtney Neal, Camryn Holt, Maya Calhoun, Aiyanah Sefronio-Byrd, Adrian Wright. Totals 18 (3) 20-27 63.
Lakes 7 7 12 11—37
Evergreen 12 19 10 22—63
