Kylee Stephens certainly felt the pressure entering the season.
Her older sister, Taylor, was one of the more decorated La Center basketball players in recent memory. With Taylor graduated and at Central Washington University, Kylee Stephens knew there were expectations heaped on her.
Amid a 1-5 start from the Wildcats, the sophomore dealt with another transitional stage: moving to point guard.
With Lauren Fox out six weeks with a knee injury, Stephens runs the offense. She’s also counted on to score, which she did plenty of in a 51-35 victory over Evergreen on Thursday.
Stephens scored 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting to lead the Wildcats to the victory in Evergreen’s Hoops for the Holidays Tournament.
“It was like ‘Oh I have to do that too,'” Stephens said of her sister’s success. “So it was just like ‘I’m going to try to be Taylor and be even better.’ ”
Stephens missed a bulk of last season with a broken collarbone. She’s dubbing the 2019-20 campaign her “comeback season.” The sophomore boasts a soft touch around the rim and can penetrate defenses with her ball skills. On Thursday, she was 6 of 8 from inside the arc.
“She’s got that toughness mentality so I think we’ll be alright with her handling the point,” coach Herm VanWeerdhuizen said. “I was pleased with the way she handled it.”
The rest of her Wildcats benefited from the penetration, too. La Center ran out to a 21-6 lead in the first quarter, draining three 3-pointers.
When the shots stopped falling, notable in an eight-point second quarter in which neither team made a field goal the final seven minutes, the youthful Wildcats had to adjust. That part of the game is still a work in progress, VanWeerdhuizen said.
“You have to make adjustments as the game goes on. You’re not going to get the same thing every time,” he said. “That being said, tonight at least we played good defense and stuck it out.”
La Center came back in the third quarter to build a 43-18 lead as Stephens scored 11 points in the frame.
Mia Edwards added 13 points and four steals, Gianna D’Emilio had 12 rebounds as La Center outrebounded Evergreen 44-34, and Alyse Webberley neared a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
“Rebounding, we’ve come a long way with it,” Webberley said. “We’re going to get better at it.”
Evergreen’s Uriah Gipson (11 points on the night) and Coraleigh Speer (10) combined for 13 of the team’s 17 points in the final frame as the Plainsmen closed the gap before falling to 1-7.
La Center earned its second win of the season, and got a strong confidence-boost after facing a stiff non-league slate. The Wildcats begin league play with Seton Catholic on Jan. 7 and Thursday’s effort went a long way toward proving the Wildcats are contenders in the Trico.
“You never feel comfortable as a coach after 37 years,” VanWeerdhuizen said of the approaching league season. “I’ll put my team against any of them and we’ll see what happens.”
LA CENTER 51, EVERGREEN 35
LA CENTER (2-5) — Mya Ecklund 0, Aaliyah Rivers 0, Gianna D’Emilio 1, Emma Seter 0, Natasha Lewis 0, Kylie Ballard 0, Anna Webberley 2, Alyse Weeberley 13, Mia Edwards 13, Kylee Stephens 22, Malyah Cooley 0. Totals 19-60 (5-25) 5-13 51.
EVERGREEN (1-7)– Vita Mikhel 2, Keyonna Canda 0, Coraleigh Speer 10, Uriah Gipson 11, Lilyanna Glenn 6, Brooke Bedlion 1, Taylor Demeter 0, Journey Brooks 3, Jasmine Tiatia 2. Totals 11-45 (2-16) 11-21 35.
La Center 21 8 14 8–51
Evergreen 6 6 6 17–35
