King's Women's Basketball

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LEAGUE MVPs

SARAH STRAND 2007

King's Women's Basketball

New King’s girls basketball coach Dan Taylor has a better idea of the team he’ll be coaching this winter.

Though he was hired only last month, Taylor and his players found time to attend the Gonzaga and University of Washington team camps, which enabled him to get a first look the team.

“We didn’t have all of our players,” said Taylor, who previously coached for three years at Meadowdale High School. “Of those that went, it was a good opportunity to get some games in. I believe I have a solid core coming back.”

King’s advanced to the Class 1A state tournament and Taylor sees an opportunity to build on that success.

Three players Taylor is looking for leadership from are seniors-to-be Dionna Kirton, Makenzie Taylor (no relation) and Allison McConnaughey. Kirton and McConnaughey also are standout volleyball players.

“They seem like great individuals,” Dan Taylor said. “I know that they will do a great job of bringing great basketball to this upcoming season.”

Makenzie Taylor, who can play either point guard, off guard, or small forward, did an especially good job of taking charge at the two team camps. “Makenzie did a great job of being a leader with the girls at both camps,” Dan Taylor said. “I saw leadership on the court.”

The graduation of Kellie Cutright means the Knights will have a new point guard next season. Dan Taylor said that position is wide open.

“It’s up for grabs,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing who is up for the challenge and who steps up to the plate. ... Things are up in the air. Being a former point guard, there are a lot of things I’d like to see from a floor leader. I’m hoping to find that person who does things I want done on and off the court.”

Though Makenzie Taylor has experience at point guard, she also happens to be one of the Knights’ best outside shooters. Potential point guards include sophomore-to-be Karlie Storkson and a pair of incoming freshmen - Ellie Rasmussen and Samiesha Fairley.

King’s will spend the rest of the month with conditioning sessions along with some open gyms. Dan Taylor then plans to host a team camp next week. The first-year coach’s goals were to get to know his players a little better, which he’s accomplished.

“Being a new coach, it’s hard to go from off-season to coaching (during the regular season) without building a relationship,” Dan Taylor said.

“It’s important to do that. ... I feel we have a great group of girls. I’m very optimistic about the upcoming season. Our leadership is just awesome. I’m just so honored and privileged to be a part of the King’s athletic program.”

Brittany Hope sank a free throw in overtime to lift Toledo ahead to stay, and the Indians held on for a 58-53 victory over King's in the Class 1A girls state tournament consolation bracket Thursday.

Hope snapped a 53-53 tie with her shot with 2:27 to play in the extra period. Kelsey Stone added two more free throws with 1:36 left, and Tiffany Tornow sealed the win with two foul shots with 23 seconds remaining.

King's missed three 3-point tries at the end of the game.

Toledo (18-6) trailed most of the game, and rallied from a six-point deficit with 3:40 to play in regulation. Stone's free throw with seven seconds left knotted the score at 51-51, She missed the second shot, but King's couldn't get off a shot before the end of the quarter.

Tornow led Toledo with 16 points, and Hope had 14.

Karlie Storkson led King's (11-16) with 13 points, Makenzie Taylor had 11 and Dionna Kirton 10.

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE
After a one year absence, the King’s girls basketball team is headed back to the 1A state championships.

The Knights dominated the Chimacum Cowboys 54-18 in a 1A Tri-District loser out, winner to state game Saturday, Feb . 28 at Mountlake Terrace High School.

“This is a really big accomplishment, especially since we had such a tough year last year,” King’s senior guard Kelli Cutright said. “It was a lot easier than we expected, but we always prepare for the best and try our hardest.”

King’s (11-14) will play Zillah (19-4) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 4 in the first round of the 1A state tournament March 4-7 at the Yakima SunDome.

The Cowboys (14-9), playing without key members of the varsity squad, were never in the game.

King’s jumped out to a 9-0 lead four minutes into the contest and never looked back en route to a 15-4 advantage after one quarter.

It took Chimacum more than 21 minutes (of the game’s 32 total) to reach double-
digits, and faced a 33-10 deficit with 2:45 left in the third-quarter.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well, they played really good defense and they knew who our hot shooter was to put pressure on her,” Cowboys coach Jim Eldridge said.

Chimacum’s leading scorer, senior 5-foot-5 forward Jaime Friedrich entered the contest averaging 11.2 points per game, and was held to five against King’s.

With an 11-point lead heading into the second quarter, King’s was outscored 4-1 in the first four minutes of play.

But the Knights headed into the locker room on a 6-0 run behind the five points of Cutright.

King’s picked up where they left off in the first half, extending their offensive success and defensive pressure into a 19-2 run to begin the final frame up 35-10.

“They played with intensity and even with a big lead they were aggressive and stuck to the game plan,” King’s coach Tressa Berg said.

“This is a nice feeling and I am very proud of the girls. Joclyn (Kirton) had 13 points and three rebounds and her older sister Dionna had 11 points and nine rebounds, but overall it was a good team effort. I had the ability to play all of the girls.”

Leading by 25 entering the final frame, King’s outscored the Cowboys 19-8 before chants of “On to state” rang out from behind the Knights’ bench.

“Our goal was to make it to state, so we can cross one more thing off our to-do list,” Berg said of her squad.

State tournament opponents may want to prepare well for King’s as the Knights appear to be peaking at the right time.

Cutright, one of three seniors on the roster, said her and her teammates plan to leave it all on the court in Yakima.

“Our goal is to play the best we can, and if it results in a loss then at least we know we’ve done our best. If we win, then life will be a little bit better. I don’t think we have any major expectations, but we are finally playing as a team,” she said.

King's -- Taylor 3-9 2-3 11, McCormick 0-1 0-0 0, Kneffner 0-0 0-0 0, McConnaughey 1-7 1-2 3, D. Kirton 4-5 2-2 10, Friar 1-3 0-0 3, Berg 0-0 0-0 0, Storkson 6-8 0-2 13, J. Kirton 2-8 0-0 4, Cutright 3-9 1-6 9. Totals 20-50 6-15 53.

Toledo -- Stone 1-3 4-8 6, Tornow 5-10 5-6 16, Hellem 0-1 3-6 3, Scott 1-6 2-6 4, Ewers 0-2 0-0 0, Buswell 0-0 0-0 0, Zion 3-14 0-0 6, Hope 5-7 4-6 14, Lucas 0-2 0-0 0, Votaw 1-2 3-4 5, Coffey 2-4 0-1 4. Totals 18-51 21-37 58.

King's

Toledo

3-point goals--K 7-19 (Taylor 3-8, Cutright 2-6, Friar 1-2, Storkson 1-2, McConnaughey 0-1), T 1-10 (Tornow 1-4, Stone 0-1, Zion 0-4). Rebounds--K 33 (D. Kirton 8), T 39 (Coffey 6). Assists--K 10 (Taylor 2, D. Kirton 2, Storkson 2, Cutright 2), T 6 (Stone 3, Zion 3). Steals--K 5 (Friar 3), T 11 (Tornow 3). Blocked shots--K 1, T 0. Fouled out--D. Kirton, J. Kirton, Cutright, Buswell. Total fouls--K 28, T 20. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--K 27, T 19.