SPOKANE – Defense was the theme in No. 4 seed Warden’s 58-43 win over No. 6 La Conner in the 2B girls state quarterfinals, forcing the Braves into 17 turnovers in the win.

Warden used its stifling defense to create fastbreaks and scores in transition from start to finish on Thursday.

“It’s just how we like to play,” Warden Head Coach Josh Madsen said. “The girls, they like to play fast, get after it on (defense) and see if they can cause problems. Get some steals and then create easy buckets.”

Junior Lauryn Madsen scored 17 of her 23 points in the first half, helping the Cougars build a 31-20 lead after the first 16 minutes. Seniors Quinn Erdmann and JLynn Rios scored 16 and 12, respectively.

“(Lauryn Madsen and Erdmann) are two of our leaders, and JLynn (Rios) is right there with them,” Madsen said. “JLynn hit some big shots. You expect your leaders to step up in big moments and hit big shots, and they all took turns doing that.”

Erdmann and Lauryn Madsen were both starters for last year’s state championship-winning team, and are bringing that experience to the floor this year.

“It feels really good to be back,” Josh Madsen said. “This was a goal we had, to be playing Friday night. Now, we’ve checked one more box off our list. But we’re not done. Those girls are hungry and they’re ready.”

For Rios, returning to the Spokane Arena is even more special after missing last season with an injury. The senior was still a part of the team last season, but was unable to play.

“This year, it feels great getting to be on the court and play with the girls that I grew up with,” Rios said. “It just feels amazing.”

The Cougars had 12 steals on Thursday night, with Madsen leading the way with seven. Rios and eighth-grader Makenna Klitzke both had two.

“We’ve been basing our entire season on defense, and just been working really hard,” Erdmann said. “Everything that we get on defense just carries over to the offense. Getting a steal or having them throw the ball out of bounds, it gives us a chance to do a fast break – which is what we’re really good at.”

Even with a 15-point win, Madsen said the squad still has room to improve – which is a good thing, he said.

“I think we feel like we left a lot of meat on the bone,” Madsen said. “We feel like we played well in spurts, but we also had a lot of letdowns. There’s some stuff we can clean up, and there’s still a lot of room for improvement. We feel really good about that. The road gets tougher, for sure.”

With three starters from last year’s Warden team having graduated, there are many new Cougar faces to the Spokane Arena floor.

“It feels like a different group that we get to do it with too,” Erdmann said. “So, it feels good doing it with different people and experiencing the same thing.”

Younger players stepping up was a big piece in Thursday’s Cougar win, Erdmann said.

“Seeing how they handled it today, they kept going,” Erdmann said. “We have a lot of girls that had not been on the court yet here. Them stepping up really was a big part of our win today.”

Ian Bivona can be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box Score

Warden 20-11-13-14 58

La Conner 10-10-5-18 43