BURLINGTON — The Burlington-Edison girls’ basketball team, looking for its fifth straight appearance at state, took its first steps Tuesday toward that goal.
That steps weren’t always smooth — but they resulted in a win anyway.
Sarah Stewart scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Brenna Anderson had 19 points and nine rebounds and the Tigers held off a hard-charging, athletic Stanwood team for a 57-52 non-conference win in their season debut.
Guard Kristine Thoe scored 14 points for the Tigers, who had a significant cushion before holding on for the victory in the occasionally sloppy, turnover-filled game.
“It was ragged for both teams; it was what you might call a typical first game,” Burlington-Edison coach Mike Buckholz said. “We had a ton of turnovers and didn’t shoot very well from the foul line.”
The Tigers were able to utilize their height well with the play of the 6-foot-2 Stewart and the 6-1 Anderson, who combined for five blocks and six offensive rebounds.
“I liked the fact that we we got the ball inside a lot,” Buckholz said. “That’ll be a strength for us.”
While the Tigers’ roster is filled with veterans of last year’s state Class 2A tournament, Stanwood rolled out a young team, with two freshman starting and four total seeing court action.
All in all, Stanwood coach Dennis Kloke was pleased with the group, including both the younger and the more experienced players.
“We made mistakes, but for every mistake we did three things right,” he said. “We got eight, 10 points down, but there was no quit. We found ways to get back into the game.”
Junior guard Jordan Nemo led the team with 20 points; freshman Jade Borseth, also a standout cross country runner for the Spartans, had 18.
That included a torrid stretch in the second quarter when she hit six field goals.
Fellow freshman Renee Lucero had 11 points, including a crucial pair of back-to-back 3-pointers to help the Spartans close the gap in the fourth quarter.
“The freshman found out they can play,” Kloke said. “Like I told them, if you make a mistake, make it aggressively. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t make mistakes.”
Kloke said that everyone contributed, even the players whose numbers weren’t as gaudy on the score sheet.
“People see who scored the points, but a lot of things go unnoticed,” he said. “The kids played their roles.”
• Trevor Pyle can be reached at 360-416-2156 or by e-mail at
