The whole idea for prep basketball teams at this time of year is to win and advance. And fifth-ranked Sunnyside Christian accomplished that goal in fine fashion Wednesday in the opening round of the Class 1B state tournament.

But there's a key subplot for the Knights, one which prompted a smile from coach Al Smeenk following his team's 62-25 defeat of Northwest Yeshiva in the SunDome.

"Absolutely, that's the best she's looked since she got hurt," Smeenk said of senior Hilari Bosma, whose importance to SC's title hopes far transcended her four points in 9:13 of playing time. "She was moving well. I was very encouraged."

Sunnyside Christian (19-4) will likely need its 5-foot-9 standout and all other components operating at peak efficiency Thursday, given that its 7:30 quarterfinal opponent will be third-ranked Almira/Coulee-Hartline.

The Warriors (20-4) won 64-48 over No. 2 St. John-Endicott in their opener.

"Very fine team," said Smeenk. "They're along the lines of White Swan or La Salle. They're the best team we'll play."

Meaning the Knights will require as much of their best scorer -- Bosma (10.3 ppg) -- as they can get.

Bosma tore her left ACL three weeks ago, and said Wednesday she'll have it surgically repaired after the season.

"I just did a jump stop," she said, "and there it went."

The state opener was her second game since, and she's allowed to play only 2 to 2 1/2 minutes at a time.

"Doctor's orders," she said. "But it's my senior year. To go ahead and play as much as I can now and have surgery later is the choice I made."

Against Northwest Yeshiva, the Knights didn't need Bosma in order to win. The 613s, from Mercer Island, had only seven available players and two of them were often seen tending to injuries when not playing.

Sunnyside Christian scored the first 20 points, led 37-11 at halftime and Smeenk was able to get each of his 12 players at least eight minutes of floor time.

"We weren't able to find out much about them since they're on the other side of the mountains," Smeenk said. "But you never want to look past that first game. We've all been there -- we've all been knocked off on that first day."

Kelly Newhouse, a 5-11 senior, posted game highs of 14 points and seven rebounds, Analisa Van Oostrum had nine points and Joleen Van Wingerden totaled four points, five boards and three steals.

Also, senior point guard Julie Long helped get the Knights rolling with two 3-pointers in the first 2:14.

"For the seven seniors on our team, it would be really great to go out with a state championship," said Bosma, who also cautioned against looking ahead. "We have a long way to go before we do that, but also it would be neat to win for our coach."

A state title would be a first for Smeenk, who started SC's girls program in 1982 and logged his 500th career win earlier this season. The Knights are making their 16th state appearance.