Looks can be deceiving. And so, at times, can records and rankings.

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Ellensburg's Dearia Gordon, for example, professed to being nervous during the fourth quarter of the Bulldogs' Class 2A state tournament opener Wednesday night with Archbishop Murphy in the SunDome.

But you'd never have known it by her play, or by Ellensburg's 58-40 upset of the fourth-ranked Wildcats.

Gordon, a multitalented 6-foot senior, scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the 10th-ranked Bulldogs (19-6) into a 9 p.m. quarterfinal Thursday against unbeaten, second-ranked West Valley. The Eagles of Spokane (23-0) were 48-34 winners over Black Hills.

ATM (21-3), among the tourney favorites as one would expect of a team with a 22-game winning streak, will meet Black Hills in a 2 p.m. loser-out game. The Wildcats were tourney runners-up last year.

"This definitely was one of our best games," said Gordon, who had just received a sportsmanship award after hitting 8 of 16 field goal attempts, dealing two assists and blocking four shots. "We played well as a team, moved the ball and went to the person with the hot hand."

Which was usually, but not always, Gordon.

While Gordon tied Clarkston's Kellie McCann-Smith for first-day scoring honors, Andrea Bland had 13 points, and three assists. Kim Kelly added seven points and Shannon Bland six.

And while reserve guard Ellie Layman scored just two points, the 5-4 senior hustled 10 rebounds as Ellensburg compiled a 42-37 advantage in that category against the taller Wildcats.

"We knew we'd have to block out," Gordon said. "We knew we couldn't give them more than one shot, and that we'd have to work at it because they were bigger than we are."

Murphy started quickly with a 6-0 lead, but the Bulldogs responded with a 10-0 run capped by back-to-back Gordon 3-pointers.

Continuing to attack the Wildcats' man-to-man defense, Ellensburg cashed in at the foul line to the tune of 20 of 29 compared with ATM's 3 of 7.

Gordon was 8 of 9 from the stripe and also connected on 3 of 7 3-pointers as E-Burg finished 6 for 17 in the latter department.

Up 24-15 at halftime, the Bulldogs continued their assault and capped the third quarter with an 8-2 run that ballooned the lead to 40-23.

By the 6:15 mark of the fourth period it was 46-25, and with 1:29 to play and Ellensburg in command 56-37, coach Craig Faire emptied his bench.

"Wow," Gordon said when told of her team's 21-point cushion. "I didn't realize that. I was a little nervous until about halfway through the fourth quarter, and then I started thinking we could do this."

And Ellensburg did, not unlike its performance a year ago on opening day when the Bulldogs upended another pre-tourney favorite, Black Hills.

"I'm sure West Valley's good," Gordon said of her team's next foe, "but I think probably every team here is good."

Including, obviously, Ellensburg.

Savannah Fletcher, a 6-2 senior, and Sam Pettinger led Murphy with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Wildcats managed only 28 percent shooting (16 for 57) from the field.