SPOKANE — Pe Ell’s offensive anomaly in the Class 1B State Tournament Regional Round against Waterville-Mansfield Saturday, March 1, turned into a fatal trend in the Round of 12 against Oakesdale Wednesday, March 5.
The Trojans’ scoring conflict sent the young squad home from the state tournament early as the seventh seed fell to 10th seed Oakesdale 52-38 in the Round of 12 Wednesday morning. After a 21-0 start to the season in which it scored at least 48 points in every contest, Pe Ell finishes its state trip without a win and failing to reach 40 points in either game.
“It was just tougher competition and tougher defenses that we haven’t seen all season. There was a little bit of nerves. None of these girls have ever been here before,” Pe Ell coach Kelsey Lennox said of the offensive downfall. “But we’ve got to prepare better in the season. It gives them a little taste of where they want to be.”
Pe Ell’s offense seemed to be revived after just an 18-point outing Saturday, nearly matching its previous total with 16 first-quarter points.
The Trojans had no problems feeding Peyton Zock and Emma Kissner the ball inside as they combined to tally 10 of their 16 points. Karli Phelps and Brookelynn King each tacked on a triple to give Pe Ell an early 16-12 advantage through one period.
But the Trojans’ woes to start the state tournament returned in the second quarter against Oakesdale, as they surrendered six turnovers compared to just six points, with Kissner and Zock providing the lone two field goals. The Nighthawks took advantage of Pe Ell giving them space on the perimeter and poor defensive rebounding, outscoring the Trojans 17-6 in the second to take a 29-22 halftime lead.
Pe Ell could not answer Oakesdale’s offensive attack, putting up another single-digit quarter in the third. The Nighthawks opened up a 14-point lead entering the fourth quarter. The Trojans could not match their first quarter scoring output, 16, in the second and third quarters combined, 14.
Bradyn Henley’s triple to open the scoring for Oakesdale in the fourth seemed to be a dagger as Pe Ell could not buy a bucket despite earning some open looks in the second half. The Trojans did not register their first fourth-quarter field goal until Maisy King poured in a layup with 2:50 left on the clock, but they still trailed by 15. Oakesdale seemed to get stronger on the glass while Pe Ell appeared to give in to fatigue, Lennox said.
“We got tired, and we weren’t getting in good position. I think we were so worried about getting back on defense that we weren’t crashing the boards,” Lennox said of Pe Ell’s defensive rebounding.
In her Spokane Arena debut, Phelps led the Trojans with 12 points but shot just 3-16 from the floor and turned the ball over six times. Pe Ell shot just 31% from the field as a team and 23% from 3-point range. The Trojans shot 32% from the field in the first half but just 23% in the second, recording just 22 points in the final three quarters.
As senior Brookelynn King moves on as the lone 12th grader on the team, Lennox praised her for being the “heart of this program.”
“She’s such a good leader and such a positive role model for these kids, inside and outside of basketball. I’m going to miss her greatly,” she said.
Despite the short stint in Spokane, the Trojans (21-2) boast a troop of young players with state experience under their belts entering the 2025-26 season. But Lennox is not satisfied and knows her squad will be hungry to earn their first win in the state tournament since 2013.
“We don’t just want to make it to state. We want to win, and that’s our goal,” Lennox said. “It’s trying to get them in that mindset of, ‘We’re not just going to settle for just making it here.’”
