Good morning, Sunnyside Christian girls, this is Al Smeenk with your wake-up call.

The Knights needed a few minutes — about six of them before their first field goal — to shake the sleep off their limbs against Garfield-Palouse on Wednesday. The 9 a.m. start to the 1B state tournament is never an easy game to deal with, but none of that mattered as SC came alive in the second quarter and held on for a 34-32 victory in the SunDome.

The Vikings had no trouble snapping their smothering man-on-man defense awake early for the first-round game, jumping ahead 9-4 at the end of the first quarter. Then some talking amongst the SC players in the huddle — and more friendly coaxing from Smeenk — got their eyes wide open.

SC responded with some pressure defense of its own, using a few steals to spark a 6-2 run to start the second frame. The Knights finally pulled ahead, and provided an omen of a future big shot to come, when Andrea Schutt’s putback right at the buzzer gave them a 19-18 lead at halftime.

“In the second quarter our quickness came out,” said SC forward Melanie Van Wingerden, whose strong play inside gave her team-highs of 12 points and 12 rebounds. “We came out pumped up and we got a few steals and that was important.”

Garfield-Palouse didn’t allow SC to pull away as Courtney Shoemaker battled inside for a team-high 14 points and seven rebounds. The Vikings trailed by two entering the fourth quarter, forcing 22 turnovers to win that stat battle by seven.

The problem ended up being Garfield-Palouse couldn’t find another consistent weapon besides Shoemaker, who had only four points after halftime. The Vikings finished 13 of 47 from the field compared to SC’s 15 of 47 showing, and Elisha Lopez managed only six points as the team’s second highest scorer.

They also couldn’t take advantage of all the uncharacteristic mistakes from the Knights, who battled some nerves in their first state game in the SunDome.

“Our problem is decision-making,” said Smeenk, whose team improved to 20-3 overall. “We had like three turnovers right in a row at one point. ... It’s all decision-making, that’s tough to coach.”

It’s also not easy to mentor how Schutt closed out the victory with her final two points of an eight-point game. With Garfield-Palouse rallying to tie the game 32-32 with 1:10 remaining, the teams traded missed opportunities before Schutt banked in a tough shot with about 20 seconds left.

The Vikings walked into a Sunnyside Christian trap on the ensuing possession, and Garfield-Palouse coach Steve Swinney called timeout with only two seconds remaining. Tianna Woltering’s 3-pointer attempt for the win at the buzzer missed, and the Knights advanced to the second round.

“Coach really got the adrenaline going and we made the decision we wanted this,” said Schutt of the second-quarter turning point. “It came down to who wanted it more, and we wanted it more.”

The win rewarded SC’s desire with a chance for the girls to sleep in for a 4 p.m. quarterfinal game Thusday against Inchelium. The Hornets, the No. 2 seed from District 7 and 18-5 overall, defeated Taholah 80-40 in their opening-round game Wednesday.

While Smeenk enjoyed watching Schutt and Van Wingerden step up inside with a knee injury sidelining Emma Newhouse and starter Brittany den Hoed battling foul trouble for most of Wednesday’s game, he hoped the ugly contest does not foreshadow more to come. Tori Van Wingerden, who led the Knights averaging 16.2 points per game this season, had only seven points against the tall, aggressive defense of Garfield-Palouse (14-11).

Something he hopes changes — along with the turnovers — to keep him from ringing any alarm clocks after the first quarter of Thursdays’s contest.

“We knew we had to play and that we have to play well,” Smeenk said. “They were wide awake and ready to play; they just couldn’t play at the level we’re capable of.”

Garfield-Palouse -- Saunders 0-0 0-0 0, Boone 1-2 0-0 2, Bower 2-10 0-0 4, Shoemaker 6-11 2-6 14, Lopez 3-10 0-0 6, Redman 0-1 4-4 4, Iverson 0-0 0-0 0, Woltering 1-6 0-0 2, Weagraff 0-7 0-0 0. Totals 13-47 6-10 32.
Sunnyside Christian -- E. den Hoed 0-1 0-0 0, Roberts 2-10 0-1 4, T. Van Wingerden 3-12 1-3 7, B. den Hoed 1-4 0-0 2, Bosma 0-2 1-2 1, J. Van Wingerden 0-2 0-0 0, M. Van Wingerden 5-8 2-3 12, Schutt 4-8 0-2 8. Totals 15-47 4-11 34.
Garfield-Palouse	9	9	8	6	--	32
Sunnyside Christian	4	15	9	6	--	34
3-point goals--G-P 0-7 (Shoemaker 0-1, Lopez 0-2, Woltering 0-2, Weagraff 0-2), SC 0-6 (Roberts 0-3, T. Van Wingerden 0-3). Rebounds--G-P 34 (Shoemaker 7, Woltering 5), SC 38 (M. Van Wingerden 12, Schutt 6, B. den Hoed 6). Assists--G-P 11 (Bower 6), SC 4. Steals--G-P 16 (Bower 6, Lopez 4), SC 10 (M. Van Wingerden 3). Blocked shots--G-P 3 (Shoemaker 2), SC 4 (Schutt 3). Fouled out--None. Total fouls--G-P 14, SC 9. Technical fouls--None. Turnovers--G-P 15, SC 22.