Good teams find ways to win in the postseason, using every last ounce of energy and grit to scrape by.
Great teams play their best basketball on the brightest stages. Brandon Eygabroad’s Rainier Mountaineers are entering the second tier, continuing their offensive tear with a 68-22 rocking of Morton-White Pass in the 2B District 4 quarterfinals Tuesday, Feb. 11 at Castle Rock High School.
The Mountaineers were on the opposite end of the story last season, losing three straight postseason games after starting the year 22-2. Senior leaders are motivated to make sure 2025 is different, and their unbeaten seven-game streak of scoring 50 or more points is evidence that the tides seem to be changing.
“Every day at practice, we come ready and wanting to become better. Physically, we’re putting in the work, but mentally, we want to get to a point where we’re the best in the league,” senior guard Brooklynn Swenson said.
Rainier made a statement early against the T-Wolves by putting up the first 14 points on the scoreboard before Morton-White Pass registered its first field goal with one minute left in the first quarter. When the Mountaineers’ offense wasn’t struggling to pass the ball to the interior, their shots were falling all over the floor.
The T-Wolves’ ballhandlers were in a world of misery trying to penetrate Rainier’s defense, anchored by 6-foot eighth grader Lexi Beckman. Morton-White Pass turned the ball over 10 times in the first quarter alone, including six via Rainier steals.
Swenson ruthlessly attacked the T-Wolves with cuts to the basket, scoring eight of her 13 first-half points in or near the paint. She outscored Morton-White Pass on her own in the first half as Rainier led 29-10 at the break.
“We just came with that playoff intensity. That defense is going to be required for us to keep winning as the competition gets tougher and tougher,” Eygabroad said. “We’re gonna win and lose on the defensive side, and that’s the most important part. Stop after stop is crucial, especially down the stretch.”
Rainier’s offense took better care of the ball in the second half and put together a spectacular third quarter. Beckman and Janess Blackburn set up shop down low and used their size to their advantage, while Swenson and Angelica Askey continued to find routes to the basket with their quickness.
The Mountaineers closed the game on a 25-2 run over the final 10 minutes of the contest, with freshman Kaysen Bravo starring with nine second-half points, including a circus and-one layup that slipped out of her hand and off the glass. Overall, nine Mountaineers scored in the 68-22 win, led by Swenson’s game-high 15 points.
Eygabroad said the Mountaineers’ pick-your-poison approach with a variety of capable scorers has allowed their offense to continue to improve as the season has progressed. In fact, Rainier has outscored its opponents by an average margin of 32.6 points during its seven-game win streak.
“They can only take so much away. Whether they want to double Lexi or Janess in the post, we’re going to kick it out to our guards. If they don’t double them, we’re going to feed the post and make them pay down low,” Eygabroad said. “It’s just balanced basketball and truly making the right play.”
Morton-White Pass head coach Alex Baker described his team’s offensive output as “horrible” and said the team’s biggest issue offensively was themselves.
“They’re just a very aggressive team. We just beat ourselves. Trying to pass the ball and put it together was tough. It’s a very hard defense to penetrate,” he said.
Rainier advances to the district semifinals against Raymond-South Bend from the Pacific 2B League on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Kelso High School. The winner of that game will face the winner of Wednesday’s Napavine-Adna semifinal in the district title game on Saturday, Feb. 22. A potential Rainier-Napavine district title game rematch looms, as the Tigers topped the Mountaineers 46-39 on Feb. 17, 2024.
Morton-White Pass heads to a loser-out game against Toledo on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. at Castle Rock High School. The two Central 2B League foes split their two meetings this season, with the T-Wolves defeating the Riverhawks 54-49 in their most recent matchup on Jan. 30.
