Despite appearances on Wednesday, Monique Wickenhagen and Megan Mortimer are not twin sisters.

But as far as La Center was concerned, and especially scoring star Brittany Roggenkamp, the Naches Valley juniors were mirror images during their first-round game in the Class 2A state basketball tournament.

The Rangers’ 5-foot-7 backcourt tandem scored 12 points each, collected five rebounds apiece and joined forces to shut down Roggenkamp en route to a 36-28 victory in the program’s first state appearance since 1989.

“Neither one of us was born yet the last time Naches played at state,” Wickenhagen beamed. “We feel like we’re the underdogs with nothing to lose, so we just go all-out.”

While Wickenhagen and Mortimer accounted for 24 of Naches Valley’s 36 points, it was unquestionably their defense on Roggenkamp that won the game.

Headed to Northwest Nazarene, the 5-foot-11 forward has averaged 20 points since her freshman year. But on Wednesday she connected on 4 of 18 shots and finished with nine points in the Wildcats’ season-low scoring effort.

“Our defense made all the big plays today,” said NV coach Cris Willmarth. “With an average in the 20s, Roggenkamp is obviously a great shooter so we wanted a hand in her face and hopefully get her tired. Megan and Monique were always there pressuring her. They did an outstanding job.”

With a quicker team that forced 23 turnovers, the Rangers appeared to have matters well in hand with a 32-21 lead late in the third quarter.

But with a rash of turnovers and some rushed shots, Naches Valley watched its lead dwindle to 32-28 with five minutes left.

That’s when the defense made another of its big plays, forcing a turnover with a shot-clock violation. At the other end, Mortimer slashed into the lane for a running layup that ended NV’s scoring drought.

Mortimer added a pair of free throws with 1:25 left to wrap up the victory.

“It was frustrating for a while because we couldn’t get anything going on offense,” said Mortimer, who also had five assists and four steals. “Defense has always been our thing and it definitely was today.”

Wickenhagen had the hot hand in the third quarter as the CWAC South co-MVP hit two 3-pointers in the first three minutes. They were the only treys in the game as La Center was 0-for-12 from long range.

“This is such a rush playing at state and we’re having fun with it,” Wickenhagen said.

Freshman Jordan Huck gathered seven of NV’s 37 rebounds.

It wasn’t surprising that La Center, after its second-half rally, began to tire at the end. The Wildcats’ five starters accounted for all but 1:14 of playing time.

Roggenkamp, who drew two first-quarter fouls, did have a game-high 10 rebounds. Jessie Mansell led the team with 11 points and three of her four field goals came on assists from Roggenkamp.

“I told the kids before the game I think we’re one of the best teams here, but maybe we’re the only ones who believe that,” Willmarth said. “We’ve got to go out and win a game first and prove it to ourselves. That’s exactly what the girls did.”

Naches Valley (22-3) will meet Pullman (19-4), the state runner-up in 2004, in Thursday’s second quarterfinal at 5:30 p.m. The Greyhounds forced 29 turnovers in their 39-21 first-round win over Vashon Island.

Naches Valley -- Mortimer 5-18 2-8 12, Wickenhagen 2-6 6-8 12, Tabor 2-5 0-0 4, Root 0-2 0-0 0, Gengler 1-9 0-0 2, Powers 0-1 0-0 0, Huck 3-10 0-3 6, Evans 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-51 8-19 36.
La Center -- Rinaker 3-7 0-0 6, Burns 1-6 0-0 2, Roggenkamp 4-18 1-2 9, Dekalb 0-0 0-0 0, Pershall 0-0 0-0 0, Mansell 4-7 3-3 11, Gaston 0-8 0-0 0. Totals 12-46 4-5 28.
Naches Valley	9	11	12	4	--	36
La Center	4	9	10	5	--	28
3-point goals--NV 2-7 (Wickenhagen 2-2, Gengler 0-1, Huck 0-2, Mortimer 0-2), LC 0-12 (Gaston 0-1, Rinaker 0-3, Burns 0-3, Roggenkamp 0-5). Rebounds--NV 37 (Huck 7), LC 43 (Roggenkamp 10). Assists--NV 9 (Mortimer 5), LC 8 (Roggenkamp 5). Steals--NV 9 (Mortimer 4), LC 4. Blocked shots--NV 4 (Mortimer 2), LC 3 (Gaston 3). Fouled out--Gaston. Total fouls--NV 15, LC 18. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--NV 12, LC 23.