Randich’s scoring frenzy leads Olympia past Federal Way, 69-37

Jenna Randich left the court at Federal Way High School on Thursday night and plopped down at the end of the bench.

She sat out the entire fourth quarter — three were enough to get the job done.

Randich exploded for a game-high 25 points as Olympia blew by Federal Way, 69-37, in the opening round of the Class 4A West Central District tournament.

Fourteen of Randich’s points came in the third quarter — eight of them within one minute — as the Bears outscored the Eagles, 23-5, to run away with the win.

“We got out in transition a lot more, and when I’m able to run the floor, I can get easy baskets,” Randich said. “In the third quarter, I know how their defense plays, and I’m kind of always able to figure it out.”

Olympia paced the game from the opening possession, but didn’t settle into a rhythm until the second half. Randich and Averie Stock — who scored 10 points — led Olympia on a 17-2 run in the first five minutes of the third quarter.

Carly Carlson and Lillyanne Landers each contributed eight points.

Irma Arteaga came off the bench to score 14 points for the Eagles, but was their only player in double figures. Federal Way shot 14 of 48 (29.2) percent from the floor, and committed 30 turnovers.

“The biggest thing is defense,” Olympia coach Jackie Robinson said. “It really kind of starts our offense, so I thought we did a really good job in the second half of getting out and being disciplined on the defensive end.

“So that was the key to it — no easy baskets, no overplaying, and getting deflections. That was a big part of our second-half adjustment.”

And, leading by 28 points at the end of the third, Randich — and the rest of Olympia’s starters — found seats on the bench.

“Obviously, blowout games aren’t the most fun games to play in,” Randich said. “But when I get to see the girls who work hard every day in practice go out in a game — especially a playoff game like this — it’s really exciting.

“They support us all throughout the season, and it was our turn to support them.”

Robinson will take any win in the first round — blowout included.

“It’s huge,” he said. “You don’t want to be in the hole. You don’t want to be down 1-0 and fighting for your season on Saturday, so that was a big win.”

Olympia (13-8) advances to play fourth-ranked Todd Beamer (19-2) in the second round at 6 p.m. Saturday at Auburn Mountainview High School. The Titans have bested Olympia in the playoffs in each of the last two seasons — in the district tournament in 2014 and in the regional round of the state tournament last year.

“They come out hard, they trap and press hard,” Randich said. “We’ve played them all three years in the playoffs, so I think the third time is the charm.”

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 10:25 PM with the headline "Randich’s scoring frenzy leads Olympia past Federal Way, 69-37."