YAKIMA – Much of Naches Valley girls basketball roster wasn’t born the last time the Rangers made it to the Yakima Valley SunDome for the Class 1A state tournament.

Heck, most probably hadn’t picked up a basketball when NV coach LeVonte Allen was the 6-foot-3 broad-shouldered forward for the 2012 Class 4A state champion Davis boys.

Yet, here the Rangers are. And they’re making plenty of noise.

Five days after Naches Valley built a big lead against top-seeded Lynden Christian before faltering, the Rangers grinded out a 41-37 victory to oust two-time defending champion Nooksack Valley.

“(Lynden Christian) was a game where we wanted to see where we’re at, we knew that there wasn’t anything to lose,” said Allen, his clothes soaked from a postgame dowsing. “Now we have a lot of faith going into these games. It’s not easy going there to the defending state champs, so they know there’s no room for error.”

The recipe looks an awful lot like the Pirates he played for under Hall of Fame coach Eli Juarez – not too big, solid offense, and plenty of defense.

“Being here as a player, I know points are at a premium,” Allen said. “The best defensive teams usually win.”

Key to that defensive effort was senior forward Maddy Jewett. The 5-foot-10 Jewett scored 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals, and battled Nooksack Valley 6-1 center Grace De Hoog, who eventually fouled out in the fourth quarter with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

“She did awesome,” Allen said. “Maddy has so much responsibility on this team she has to score, she has to play defense, she has to get steals, she’s a battler.”