TACOMA — Despite their youth, the Lake Washington girls basketball team possesses enough ties to its past to negate many of the pitfalls that befall first-time state participants.

That became evident on Thursday at the Tacoma Dome. Where many of the girls teams that enjoyed first-round byes and thus played their first games during Thursday’s quarterfinals got off to sluggish starts, the Kangaroos experienced no such difficulties.

Lake Washington (20-4) sprinted to an 18-point lead after one quarter, extended that lead to 21 points by the half and ran over upsetminded Hermiston (Oregon) 73-40 in the first Class 3A state quarterfinal.

“Going into state, we didn’t want them to feel a lot of pressure,” Lake Washington coach Jeff Wilson said. “We wanted to make sure, even this late in the season, that we’re still having fun. So they were excited last night, excited this morning on the drive down, more than nervous.”

The lack of nerves showed. Junior Ava Uusitalo made two early three-pointers to get the outside offense started for Lake Washington. Inside, senior Elise Hani scored 10 of her 13 total points during the first 16 minutes as the Kangaroos built a 35-14 lead by the half.

Hani, Rosa Smith and Emma Boctor are the only three seniors on the team. All three played for the Lake Washington squad that experienced the magical postseason run in 2020 that landed the Kangaroos in the Class 3A title game against Garfield.

“I watched that team from the stands,” Uusitalo said. “I couldn’t wait to be down here on the court.”

Though Lake Washington lost that night, their experience has proven invaluable for the current Kangs who watched that group and have dreamed of this week.

“I think Rosa and Elise and all the players who have played here before, they do a great job of communicating what’s it’s like to get here,” Wilson said. “But also when we get here, what it’s like.”

Even top-seeded Mead, the Kangaroos semifinal opponent at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, had its struggles on Thursday.

The Panthers trailed by nine, 22-13, early in the second quarter before closing out the first half with a 13-2 run en route to its quarterfinal victory over Stanwood.

The Kangaroos didn’t need any comebacks themselves.

No. 14 Hermiston (17-11) made a mini run during the first minute of the third quarter, getting three-pointers from Izzy Simmons and Katelyn Heideman that pulled the Bulldogs within 37-20 with 7:03 to go in the quarter.

They were the first two of five second-half threes for Hermiston after the Bulldogs missed all 10 of its attempts from beyond the arc in the first half. But 17 was as close as Hermiston would ever get.

“Now all of our kids have shot here. They’ve done free throws here. They’ve run,” Wilson said. “So tomorrow, when we’re in that really competitive game, that’s huge for us.”