BURLINGTON — The Cougars showed improvement against the Tigers, but in the playoffs only wins count.

“Even though I thought we had improved over the season since we played them last, they were moving forward too,” said Lakewood coach Chris Walster.

The Lady Cougars took a 75-27 loss to top-ranked Burlington-Edison Feb. 12 in the first round of the District 1 tournament.

Of course, it didn’t help that Burlington-Edison shot better than 60 percent from the field, but it wasn’t because of easy points.

The Cougars, at a height disadvantage, crowded the key and were willing to concede jump shots.

“We wanted to pack it in and say if you’re going to beat us, it’s going to be from the outside, and they did that,” said Walster.

The Tigers responded with 10 3-pointers and a 44-16 lead at halftime.

Conversely, the Cougars, who don’t have a player taller than 5-10, had difficulty getting shots up over Burlington-Edison’s length.

Leading the Cougars in scoring was Jordan Wessell with eight points while Kayley Mizell added seven.

“I have to hand it to Jordan,” said Walster. “Those teams up north play a very physical game and she sort of took the lead and responded by being our attacker with the ball.”

Wessell helped Lakewood get the ball up the court past B-E’s full-court pressure.

“You know, that is something that we’ve done so much better with,” said Walster, whose girls committed just 11 turnovers. “We’ve been practicing beating a press all season and they’ve really figured it out.”

In the last meeting between the two teams at the beginning of the season, Burlington-Edison came away with a 62-15 win.

The loss didn’t end the Cougars’ season. Instead they headed to the loser’s bracket for a game against Mount Baker Feb. 15. A loss would end Lakewood’s season while a win would extend their season. The top three teams of the tournament earn state berths. The Cougars would need three straight wins to finish third.