Their first loss, in last weekend’s district final, was harmless.

Aside from maybe bruising an ego or two, it had no negative effect on East Valley’s girls aside from theoretically matching them opposite a better first-round foe in the Class 2A state tournament.

Not so with Wednesday night’s defeat at the SunDome.

The Red Devils’ 36-30 setback at the hands of Riverside ended their dream of perhaps securing the third state championship in the past four years for their school.

Now EV, 22-2, must regroup for a 2 p.m. loser-out game with Eatonville with its highest possible finish fifth place.

Riverside, meanwhile, will take its 19-5 record into a 9 p.m. quarterfinal matchup with Lynden Christian.

“What we have to do right now,” said Red Devils coach Robi Raab, “is worry about one game. Nothing more.

“But we have quality people and I really expect a terrific effort out of us tomorrow.”

The effort, from purely a physical exertion perspective wasn’t their problem in this one. Making shots was.

East Valley made only 25 percent of its field goal attempts — 12 of 49 — which clearly would have been palatable had not Riverside shot just 20 percent and won.

A 47-38 rebounding advantage, led by 6-foot-2 senior Angela Hartill’s 16 retrieves to go with her game-high 20 points, was crucial.

Still, thanks to the Red Devils’ typically troublesome 2-3 zone defense combined with varying types of full-court pressure, East Valley led 21-20 during the third quarter and was tied 30-30 with 3:10 to play.

But the Rams, who had managed no field goals during the second quarter and just two from the 1:17 mark of the first quarter through the end of the third, seized the moment.

Dianne Kasinger’s free throw at 2:47 broke the tie and at 2:08 Hartill scored inside for a 33-30 Riverside lead.

While EV continued to miss from just about everywhere, Jamie Hinkley added one free throw at 1:02 and another at 0:32 to close it out.

“One thing that really gets lost in all of this,” Raab said, “is we have only one senior and we have only four girls who played much for us in last year’s tournament.

“I wasn’t worried about our defense. What did concern me was our offensive consistency and having people step up and take big shots at big moments.”

The Red Devils were at least developing some semblance of an attack during the third quarter, with 6-0 junior Tana Stickney scoring on back-to-back possessions over Hartill, who seconds earlier had been called for her third foul.

But with the score tied 19-19, and EV having rallied from a 15-5 first-quarter deficit, Stickney went down with what Raab described as a pinched nerve.

She left the game with 5:44 to play in the third quarter and returned with 2:26 left in the period, with the Red Devils ahead 21-20, but Riverside the next four points.

Stickney nonetheless finished with 13 points and five rebounds, but no other East Valley player scored more than four points.

Subtract Stickney’s 5-for-9 field goal shooting and the rest of the Devils were 7 for 40, or 17 percent.

Riverside -- Paul 0-9 0-1 0, Dalnes 1-3 1-2 3, Kettel 2-5 0-0 5, Tam. Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Arras 0-5 0-0 0, Hinkley 0-4 3-8 3, Tar. Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Kasinger 1-8 2-4 5, Hartill 5-10 10-13 20. Totals 9-45 16-28 36.
East Valley (Yakima) -- Alexieff 1-3 0-0 3, Mohsenian 2-5 0-2 4, Lee 1-6 0-1 2, Price 0-6 0-2 0, Bigby 0-1 0-0 0, Jacobs 2-8 0-1 4, Valicoff 0-0 0-0 0, Huntington 1-10 2-2 4, Stickney 5-9 3-4 13, Komstadius 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-49 5-12 30.
Riverside	15	1	9	11	--	36
East Valley (Yakima)	5	10	9	6	--	30
3-point goals--R 2-21 (Kettel 1-3, Kasinger 1-7, Tam. Davis 0-1, Paul 0-1, Hinkley 0-4, Arras 0-5), EV 1-10 (Alexieff 1-2, Mohsenian 0-1, Bigby 0-1, Lee 0-2, Huntington 0-4). Rebounds--R 47 (Hartill 16), EV 38 (Mohsenian 7, Jacobs 6). Assists--R 5 (Hinkley 3), EV 5. Steals--R 5 (Hartill 3), EV 5 (Price 2, Huntington 2). Blocked shots--R 2, EV 3. Fouled out --Lee. Total fouls--R 12, EV 22. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--R 10, EV 9.