TUMWATER — Lexi Beckman is beginning to draw special attention from opposing coaches looking to game plan against the Rainier Mountaineers.
She’s only a freshman.
But the 6-foot-1 post is the lone returning starter for a new-look Mountaineers team, and her skill set is proving to be a problem early in her second varsity campaign. Just ask Black Hills coach Herb Guscott, who deployed a zone defense for the first time all season just to limit Beckman Monday night.
Beckman was still a difference maker for Rainier, as the Mountaineers overcame a slow start to defeat the Wolves 55-45 in Tumwater. She not only scored a game-high 17 points, but her presence under the rim altering shots and pulling down rebounds helped the Mountaineers pull away from Black Hills in the third quarter.
Perhaps the biggest difference Beckman made, however, was in the high-low action on offense, which helped Rainier get out of an early offensive slump. Rainier’s guards fed her the ball in the paint, Black Hills swarmed her, and she kicked it out to open shooters, who converted in the clutch in the second half. The Mountaineers knocked down six 3-pointers, including four in the second half.
“We got the ball inside out more. We haven’t been getting the ball inside as consistently as we need to be,” Rainier head coach Jordan Hunt said of the difference between the first half and second half.
It took the Mountaineers seven minutes and 55 seconds to secure their first field goal of the night, coming on a Kaysen Bravo triple with five seconds left in the first quarter to break a 10-1 Black Hills run. Natalie Buchanan provided eight of the Wolves’ 10 first-quarter points.
A short Beckman jumper tied the game at 12 midway through the second quarter, and Rainier took its first lead on an Alexis Myers layup in traffic in the final 20 seconds of the first half.
With the Mountaineers ahead 20-18 at halftime, Rainier’s defensive pressure forced Black Hills into sloppy passes and tough shot attempts in the third quarter. Off triples by Zaylee Bravo and Kaysen Bravo and some tough buckets in the paint, Rainier opened up a 15-point lead thanks to a streak of 12 unanswered points late in the period.
Hunt wanted to see how his young team would finish the game against a solid squad on the road, as the Mountaineers have struggled at times to finish games when they’re in front. Black Hills made it challenging for them, with the Wolves drawing as close as six late in the final stanza.
But it seemed like every time the Wolves made a small run, the Mountaineers hit a big shot to keep Black Hills chasing a near double-digit margin. Courtney Eckroth and Alexis Myers each nailed a shot from behind the arc after Beckman passed out of a crowd in the paint, and Zaylee Bravo seemingly delivered the dagger with an and-one layup with 2:37 remaining.
“We just had a little bit of an edge. We had some confidence,” Hunt said of how Rainier finished the game. “When a timeout was called, the girls were coming over with some energy and a go-getter mentality. In previous games, they looked like they hadn’t been there before. They just came out with a lot more confidence and swagger.”
Beckman led Rainier with 17 points, while Eckroth and Kaysen Bravo each provided 10. Myers added nine, and Zaylee Bravo tallied seven points.
As for Black Hills, Guscott is looking for his team to play better against physical teams like Rainier, as well as for another guard to step up in helping Tyler Venable bring the ball up the floor and score.
“They’re just a physical team, and we did not respond well to that, and we normally don’t,” Guscott said. “I told the girls at halftime not to let them dictate what you’re going to do. The third quarter was a funky quarter for us, but I thought in the fourth quarter we decided to be a little more aggressive both offensively and defensively.”
The Wolves did get a boost in the frontcourt with the return of senior Ellie Johnson, who made her debut on Saturday against Onalaska and started Monday against Rainier. Buchanan paced Black Hills with 16 points, and Venable added 10. Johnson scored seven points, and Haley McMahon and Taylor Morrison each posted five.
The contest marks the end of non-league play for both teams, with Rainier entering Central 2B League action at 5-4 and Black Hills heading into EvCo play at 7-4.against Onalaska. The Mountaineers welcome Adna (10-1) Thursday night, and Black Hills hosts Shelton in the EvCo league opener Tuesday night before heading south to W.F. West on Thursday night.
