TULALIP —The Tulalip Heritage girls basketball team put away Grace Academy in its first 1B district games 66-35 Feb. 7.

Most of the damage dealt by the Hawks was by junior Karyn Park’s 3-ball. She led the game with 22 points landing a game-high six 3-pointers.

It was a point of “emphasis” instilled by coach Cyrus Fryberg going into the game that he hopes carries over into the next playoff game. Second in scoring by Tulalip was senior Aliya Jones scoring 19, who also landed three behind the paint.

“We just continue to put more emphasis of shooting the ball a little better,” Fryberg said. “That’s what we emphasize this week — stay confident in our shots and still shoot even when we miss.”

Scoring from afar only adds to the Hawks’ strong inside-post play by junior center Deandra Grant who scored 18 points.

“We’re looking to get the ball inside like we have to,” Fryberg said. “We’re going to go to Grant looking for the inside game first before we start shooting on the outside.”

Tulalip displayed an overall dominance over Grace despite a somewhat contentious start going into the second half. But trusting system ultimately allowed the Hawks to take off with a 27-18 halftime lead, Fryberg said.

“I adjusted nothing, I just told the girls to play hard and keep shooting,” Fryberg said. “We just kept playing the game plan and stuck with it.”

The Hawks advance in districts to play either the No. 2-seeded Mount Vernon Christian or seventh-seeded Lummi Nation Feb. 9. Place and time is still to be determined.

Ashley Vandam led Grace Academy with 15 points.