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‘Job’s not finished.’ Auburn boys, girls conquer regionals, reach Tacoma Dome
Fast-break slams, crafty moves inside and a lockdown defense to match made Auburn’s runaway win look all too easy. It became crystal-clear in the opening minutes of Saturday’s 4A basketball regional at Auburn High — this simply wasn’t a fair fight.
The Trojans were bigger, faster, and longer than No. 16 Sunnyside. They were a nightmare in transition, piling buckets faster than the visiting Grizzlies could patch the bleeding. It never stopped.
With a trip to the Tacoma Dome on the line, junior wing Isaiah Englund dropped a team-high 20 points and No. 9 Auburn rolled Sunnyside in the state’s regional round, 81-50, to reach Wednesday’s 4A Round of 12. Don’t look now, but the Trojans are four wins away from a state title.
“The job’s not finished,” Auburn guard Daniel Johnson said.
Head coach Ryan Hansen insisted that last week’s district loss to Puyallup wasn’t “Auburn basketball.” The Trojans (22-3) trailed by more than 20 points and fell in stunning fashion, 76-58, a loss that almost certainly dropped them out of the state bracket’s top eight seeds. Those programs were guaranteed trips to Tacoma, regardless of outcome in this weekend’s regional round.
But one of Class 4A’s best wouldn’t let their season end short of what’s becoming an annual trek to the Dome. Not like this.
“This time of year, you’re playing good basketball teams and really have to pride yourself on defense and rebounding if you really want to make a run,” Hansen said. “I thought our defense was really good tonight.”
Johnson, meanwhile, had 18 points, the director and floor general of a fast-paced offense that always looked comfortable. Englund piled his team-high 20 points inside and sophomore guard Matthew Fredrickson added 19.
“Once he saw one go through, he played phenomenal,” Hansen said of Johnson. “He’s such a good player. It’s really hard to speed him up. Makes good decisions, and he can really score it.”
Sunnyside junior Aiden Sanchez dropped a game-high 26 points.
Auburn’s win capped an all-Trojans home doubleheader Saturday afternoon, both winner-to-state, loser-out games in front of a healthy home crowd. The boys meet No. 8 West Valley in the 4A Round of 12 at the Tacoma Dome at 9 p.m. Wednesday night.
Hansen and the Trojans weren’t concerned with being the odd-man out of the top eight. Johnson embraced it.
“It feels good to be the underdog,” he said. “We’re just ready to go. It’s just more fuel to the fire.”
BOX SCORE
S: 11-14-14-11—50
A: 20-27-24-10—81
Scoring: (A) Englund 20, Fredrickson 19, Johnson 18, Kinnay 10, Wilkes 6, Denoso 2, Hansen 2, Henry 2, Hernandez 2; (S) Sanchez 26, Weets 10, Villanueva 8, Di. Salinas 4, Do. Salinas 2
AUBURN GIRLS BEAT EISENHOWER, REACH TACOMA DOME
Auburn’s girls are packing their bags for the Tacoma Dome, too.
Junior guard Avery Hansen dropped a game-high 24 points and the No. 9 Trojans cruised over No. 16 Eisenhower, 61-33, to reach Wednesday’s 4A Round of 12 in Tacoma.
Hansen was Saturday’s best player, the clear spark for Auburn’s offense despite constant double-teams. Perhaps more impressive than her game-high 24 points were the handfuls of pretty passes through traffic, the all-around facilitator with her season at stake.
“I’ve been playing with my teammates for so long, I know where they’re going to be,” Avery Hansen said. “And I know that they’re expecting the ball from me, so I feel like it’s just natural.”
Make it 3-for-3 for the junior guard Hansen and head coach Jessica Hansen, both reaching the Tacoma Dome for the third time in as many years with the Auburn program. It’s a family affair: Jessica’s husband, Ryan, coaches the boys team that includes Kobe Hansen, a freshman guard.
“(Avery’s) ability to go get a bucket if we need one… she’s just a dawg,” Jessica Hansen said. “Usually, that’s how we have success with some of the teams that people think maybe we can’t beat. We’re able to shut down their best player because we put Avery on them.”
Eisenhower forward Mercedez Garza paced the Cadets with 17 points.
Auburn meets No. 8 Sumner in the 4A Round of 12 on Wednesday afternoon, a 2 p.m. tip at the Tacoma Dome.
BOX SCORE
E: 6-6-9-12—33
A: 14-16-17-14—61
Scoring (A): Hansen 24, Deloney 9, Schoenbachler 9, Scheutzle 6, Randolph 5, Patton 4, Richardson 4; (E) Garza 17, Salamanca 6, O’Connor 4, Page 4, Mullen 2
