Cle Elum-Roslyn uses balanced scoring attack to fend off tough Reardan defense in title tilt | State 2B girls

Gracie Glondo was well aware of the history of success girls basketball teams have had at Cle Elum-Roslyn.

Glondo and the rest of the Warriors even wore warmup shirts throughout the State 2B girls tournament that read “We play the same for those that came before us.”

In wearing that saying, the Warriors hoped to honor the teams from the 1980s and 90s that claimed five state championships.

On Saturday night at the Spokane Arena, Cle Elum-Roslyn not only honored, but also added to that legacy in winning title number six.

Glondo scored a game-high 22 points and added eight rebounds as the fifth-seeded Warriors held off fourth-seeded Reardan to claim the program’s first title since 1993 and first trophy since 2003.

“This moment just means everything to me, and you can look up in the crowd and see how much it means to our fans,” Glondo said. “We’ve come so far even from just last year as a team and I’m so proud of what we have done.”

Glondo and standout junior Nellie Nicholls provided much of the offensive spark for the Warriors (24-5) over their three-day stretch at the Arena. Nicholls added 21 points against the Screaming Eagles — finishing with 81 points over the final three games.

With nine of her 21 coming from the free-throw line, Nicholls credited Reardan’s defense against her, along with praising her teammates ability to come through in clutch moments.

“I knew the way they were guarding me that I would have chances to find my teammates and they delivered,” Nicholls said. “I trust my teammates so much, I trust the process and tonight they showed up the same way they have all season.”

Cle Elum-Roslyn coach Vince Glondo — Gracie’s father — said he was impressed with Reardan’s ability to slow down their tempo on offense. A key change from the last time the two teams saw each other — just one week ago in the tournament’s opening round.

In that tussle, Cle Elum-Roslyn also came out on top with a 67-56 victory last Saturday at Cheney High School. Vince Glondo told his team to wipe that game from their memories ahead of the title tilt.

“It’s hard as a coach to tell my girls to get rid of it in their mind that we just beat them by double digits and that this game was going to be different than that one,” Vince Glondo said. “But it also helps in a way because we knew how they moved, how hard they played. We knew that they were going to try and slow down the game as we tried to speed it up.”

A key piece in that defensive effort for the Screaming Eagles (23-6) was the play of Chasyn Waters. The sophmore guard was diving for a loose ball or taking a hit under the basket nearly every other possession, finishing with a team-best 16 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and a bloody elbow.

“Her leadership is by example, which is pretty incredible as just a sophomore,” Reardan coach Bob Swannack said. “It’s good for everyone in that locker room to see that effort and know that it’s going to take that kind of effort from every person if we want to change this result in the future.”

Junior Tenice Waters added 10 rebounds and eight points for Reardan, which has now earned a trophy in two straight 2B girls tournaments after taking fifth last year.

“Our goal was to keep them in the 40s and maybe we can get into the 50s, but our shooting wasn’t there tonight,” Swannack said. “But I am not at all disappointed with these girls effort and ability to be composed in one of the biggest moments of their life.”

For Cle Elum-Roslyn it is a moment they will happily remember for the rest of their lives though.

“I grew up with four sisters and watching them play. We knew what the tradition was at Cle Elum,” Vince Glondo said. “It kind of took a little fall, but we’re back and it feels amazing for us and our community.”

In the 2B girls trophy games earlier Saturday, top-seeded Napavine outlasted No. 9-seed Davenport 62-61 in overtime of the 3rd/5th-place game, while defending champion and second-seeded Northwest Christian topped sixth-seeded Toutle Lake 76-51 in the 4th/6th-place showdown.