Karsyn Freeman, Adna in driver's seat in hot 2B girls basketball chase, 3 takeaways
ADNA, Wash. - Comparatively-speaking, the girls basketball programs at Adna and Rainier High Schools share more key state championship-level ingredients than how they differ.
Both programs have interior-changing post plays. Both have knock-down perimeter shooters. And both have coaches who know how to adjust game plans during the heat of battle.
But only one has alpha scorer Karsyn Freeman - the Adna Pirates.
Freeman put on a show Friday night, scoring a game-high 29 points as the top-ranked Pirates pulled away from No. 2 Rainier for a 50-37 home victory in 2B Central League action.
"We took this very serous," Freeman said. "These types of games, we know what we have to do."
Here are three takeaways from the Adna-Rainier girls basketball game:
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KARSYN FREEMAN WINS - EVERYWHERE
A former teammate of current WSU member Kyra Gardner at Raymond High School, Freeman has certainly blossomed as a scorer.
Noting she had to pick up her points-tallying pace as a sophomore after Gardner graduated ... Freeman hasn't stopped since.
"When you have a player like that, sometimes you just have to let her go … and be special," Adna girls coach Chris Bannish said.
In Bannish's system, designed to put Freeman in a playmking position in a variety of ways, the guard has flourished immensely.
On Friday, Freeman was scoring on all spots on the floor - off cuts down the baseline, intermediate floaters, 3-pointers and in transition, which is what hurt Rainier the most.
"We were just letting her go coast to coast," Rainier girls coach Brandon Eygabroad said. "Those ones really killed us."
All to set up the pivotal moment at the end of third quarter.
Rainier has trimmed a double-digit deficit to 34-32 on two Angelica Askey free throws with 28 seconds to go in the quarter.
Adna worked the ball on the final possession, getting it into Freeman's hands in the final seconds. She leaned then stepped back well behind the left-center 3-point and let if fly with three seconds remaining.
Swish.
"I am thinking, 'There is no chance' ... and it goes in," Bannish said. "She just has an innate ability to score."
Added Freeman, who made 12 of her 25 field goals, including three 3-pointers: "I am surprised it went in, honestly."
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RAINIER NEEDS MORE FROM ANGELICA ASKEY
The Mountaineers have their own senior all-state guard in Angelica Askey, who led her squad with 12 points.
Askey is a much smoother playmaker than Freeman - very skilled with ability to score at all three levels.
But on a night when the Rainier needed an offensive punch ... she took just seven shots, making four of them. And in the first and final quarters, she didn't even attempt a field goal.
For Rainier to be a serious player in February and March, Askey needs to put more of her vast talent on display.
"I want her to be more aggressive -absolutely," Eygabroad said. "She is a dynamic scorer. Even when she is going into scoring mode, she is going to also create opportunities to dish off to teammates - and make plays."
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MOUNTAINEERS HAVE NEXT ALL-STATE MVP
The cat is out of the bag on eighth grader Lexi Beckman.
She is a starting 6-foot-1 post player for the Mountaineers who led her team with eight first-half points going toe-to-toe with Adna junior Bailey Chapman - impressing both coaches.
"She stood right in there with our big," Bannish said. "It was a stalemate,"
And while Beckman's movement around the court isn't always refined, her skill is. She knows many of the tricks of the trade already.
"I think she is going to be really special," Eygabroad said. "I don’t want to put too much pressure on her and ruin her too early, but she knows the game. She knows how to work a seal and get position.
"The scary part is, she has so much room to grow."
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