Red-hot and rolling

Lyle (18-2) last lost on Jan. 11, by a score of 51-42, to Yakima Valley Division champion Riverside Christian (which is also 18-2 and ranked 10th in the state's Class B poll).

Since then the Cougars have been on fire.

A 68-9 victory over Glenwood last Friday gave them their school record-tying 18th regular-season win and extended their home-court winning streak to 30 games.

Lyle is led by its two senior starters, 5-foot-11 center Lindsey Blaine and 5-8 forward Sarah Billette.

Blaine had 31 points, six rebounds and six steals in Lyle's homecoming win over Glenwood, and Billette chipped in with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Blaine, Lyle's all-time career points leader (1,635), has scored 555 points (27.8 points per game) and is collecting 10.2 rebounds per game this season.

Billette is averaging 10.5 points, 8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

They will be their career and season totals this weekend as they try to lead Lyle to its second state tournament berth in four years.

As freshmen in 2000, Blaine, as a starting forward, and Billette, as the sixth man, helped the Cougars win a district championship and place third at state.

Cougars Coach Verlyn Smith said having two players with state tournament experience gives Lyle "a huge advantage" over other teams in the tournament field.

He also pointed to the emergence of juniors Dawn Ullom, Taralee Graves and Kristin Brown, and sophomore Tara Rappe as major factors in Lyle's success this season.

"Just the fact that we're starting to get solid contributions from everybody has made us that much tougher to defend," Smith noted.

But what makes the Cougars especially dangerous, according to their coach, is that they haven't played their best basketball yet.

"I think we can play better than we've shown so far," he said. "We've had such a weak schedule the last two to three weeks that we really haven't been challenged."

Smith noted, however, that Lyle also has been battling injuries and sickness during the stretch. Consequently, he's been forced to rest his starters more frequently and give Cougar reserves more playing time.

"Maybe (the soft schedule) has been good for us," he added, because the Cougars are now healthy and looking forward to a chance to play for another district championship.

A victory in the district title game would guarantee the Cougars a state berth and the opportunity to play for the Central Washington regional crown next weekend in Ellensburg.

But first Lyle must get past its first-round opponent.

"We can't overlook that first night," Smith said. "Winning that first game will be key for us."

No matter who they've played this season, the Cougars have played at a high level of intensity, their coach reflected.

"The only team we've played poorly against is Riverside (Christian)," he said. "That was the one game where I felt we didn't put it all together."

The Cougars would like nothing more than a rematch with the Crusaders in the district final this Saturday in Sunnyside. Dating back to last season, Lyle has lost two straight to Riverside.

"We definitely want another shot at Riverside," Smith said.