ARLINGTON Kyra Prause started off hot and stayed that way for the Arlington Eagles girls basketball team as they clubbed the Lynnwood Royals 59-33 on Feb. 14.
The athletic Prause took over the game right from the start, scoring seven of Arlingtons first eight points on the night including a 3-pointer from the left wing, a baseline jumper and an offensive rebound and putback to give the Eagles an early 8-2 advantage.
The team never looked back and turned the game into a rout early. Quinn Kesselring went the length of the floor on the dribble after a defensive rebound for two points. Alisha Murrin swatted a Lynnwood forwards shot from behind on the next play to trigger an Arlington fast break. Prause set up from the wing again and nailed another 3-point shot as Arlington led 13-2.
The Eagles went into a 2-3 zone on defense that stymied the Royals attack in the first quarter. Lynnwood failed to knock down their outside shots and Arlington got solid rebounding efforts from Murrin and Kjirsten Jensen to limit the Royals to one shot.
As the Eagles continued to push their lead, the game looked very easy for them. Kesselring hit a gorgeous one-handed floater in traffic and then Prause made a slick spin move on a fast break as the Eagles raced out to a 17-2 lead. Tiffany Daggett then found Sheryl Scheppele on a backdoor cut for two more easy points. By the end of the first quarter Arlington had totally demoralized
Lynnwood and led 20-2.
The Eagles held onto their huge lead and led 30-10 at halftime, before opening the game back up again in the third period. Kesselring slipped a screen and got a nice pass from Christina White to start the third quarter. Prause then scored the next six points for the Eagles on a 15-foot pull-up jumper, a backdoor cut and a baseline jump shot. She then assisted to Kesselring on a fastbreak to put Arlington ahead 40-13.
Coach Nathan Davis went through a number of different defenses in the second half, rotating to keep
Lynnwood off-balance. The plan worked and the Royals never threatened to make it a close game. Arlington led 45-22 after three quarters.
The fourth was academic as the Eagles held on for a 26 point win. The win puts Arlington into a game versus Shorecrest to determine the No. 3 and No. 4 slots for the 3A district tournament.