Joe Blodgett didn’t take any credit for flipping the switch. He just believes, sooner or later, his White Swan girls will take care of it themselves.

Between the third and fourth quarters of Wednesday’s Class 1A state basketball opener, Blodgett started believing a little harder.

“We’re a team built on forcing the issue and making runs,” Blodgett said. “The fourth quarter — that was our style.”

Their style, and that of a runaway train.

Watching their 16-point lead in the third period shrink to four at the quarter break, the Cougars suddenly decided to was time to protect their unbeaten record as they stormed away with a stunning 20-1 closing quarter for a 61-38 victory over Seattle Academy.

Vulnerable one minute, gone the next.

“We just didn’t want to lose. It was that simple,” said senior Alexandria Allen, who scored 18 points. “I don’t really know what happened in the third quarter, but we came out with a different attitude the last quarter.”

Ratcheting up their pressure and intercepting one pass after another, the Cougars forced 13 turnovers in the final period alone and finished with 36 against Seattle Academy, a young team making the school’s first state appearance.

White Swan’s first five baskets of the fourth quarter came off turnovers as the Cardinals’ brief upset bid was quickly turned back.

“We need to get in our scrambling style of defense and take away the passing lanes. We did that at times in the first half and then finally in the fourth quarter,” Blodgett said. “If we don’t play like that, any team in the tournament can play with us because we’re so small. Some of the problems we had tonight, I just hope they were first-game jitters.”

Blodgett’s primary concern was free throws. The Cougars missed 17 of them.

“That’s terrible and the girls know it,” he said. “I can’t remember when we shot so bad at the foul line. I think that’s a first-game thing. At least I hope so.”

White Swan came at Seattle Academy from all directions, but Allen’s floor game was especially stellar. In addition to her 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting, she collected eight steals, five assists, four rebounds and three blocked shots.

Take special notice of the three blocks — for a 5-foot-7 girl.

“I love that, blocking shots,” she smiled. “I try to anticipate shots and time my jump. It surprises people.”

Starting three sophomores and a freshman, Seattle Academy fell behind 39-23 three minutes into the second half. But Makenzie Brandon, the Cardinals’ standout ninth-grader, scored 12 of her 18 points over the next four minutes to slice the margin to 41-37.

Coming out of the break heading into the final period, however, the Cougars were all business.

Shelbi Strom, Andrea Blodgett and Allen converted transition baskets in the first 49 seconds of the quarter and White Swan was quickly back in command.

The Blodgett sisters, Andrea and Danielle, combined for 25 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. Strom gathered eight rebounds.

Lifting their record to 24-0, White Swan will now brace for a rematch with two-time defending state champ Colfax (21-4) at 9 p.m. in Thursday’s last quarterfinal.

Last year, Colfax clipped White Swan by three points on opening day and the Cougars rebounded with three straight wins to earn a fifth-place trophy.

Seattle Academy -- Yackulic 0-0 0-0 0, Primomo 0-0 0-0 0, Langston 3-7 2-4 8, Higgins 0-4 0-0 0, Hayes 0-0 0-0 0, Lester 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon 8-13 2-3 18, Ramseyer 0-3 3-4 3, Jourdan 3-7 1-6 7, Kaplan 1-1 0-0 2, Wright 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-35 8-17 38.
White Swan -- Romero 0-1 0-2 0, Allen 7-9 4-6 18, Lawrence 0-1 1-2 1, Reed 1-1 0-0 2, Strom 3-8 2-7 9, D. Blodgett 6-10 0-4 13, A. Blodgett 6-16 0-1 12, Suppah 1-1 0-0 2, Aranda 2-11 0-2 4, Graybael 0-1 0-0 0, Wheeler 0-3 0-0 0, Bailey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-62 7-24 61.
Seattle Academy	10	11	16	1	--	38
White Swan	16	16	9	20	--	61
3-point goals--SA 0-8 (Higgins 0-1, Brandon 0-1, Ramseyer 0-2, Jourdan 0-4), WS 2-12 (D. Blodgett 1-3, Strom 1-5, Romero 0-1, A. Blodgett 0-1, Aranda 0-2). Rebounds--SA 27 (Brandon 10), WS 38 (Strom 8). Assists--SA 7 (Langston 3), WS 15 (Allen 5). Steals--SA 5 (Brandon 3), WS 24 (Allen 8). Blocked shots--SA 0, WS 4 (Allen 3). Fouled out--Ramseyer. Total fouls--SA 17, WS 13. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--SA 36, WS 18.