Eastview appears primed to make another state tournament run.

The Lightning used the early sharpshooting of Andrea Abrams and a distinct height advantage to dismantle Rosemount 59-49 in the Class 4A, Section 3 championship Thursday at Hutton Arena on the campus of Hamline University.

It’s Eastview’s sixth consecutive section title, the last three over the Irish (17-12).

Abrams, a 6-0 junior forward, scored 11 points, including three three-pointers, in the first seven minutes. The last two threes came during 11-0 run that gave Eastview a 22-12 lead. She has only eclipsed that total in two games this year.

“It helps having three 6-footers who can defend and shoot the ball well,” Eastview coach Molly Kasper said. “We wanted to use our height to protect the paint on defense.”

The No. 5-ranked Lightning (23-6) then went to work on the interior, led by 6-1 senior guard Rachel Ranke and 6-2 junior forward Megan Walstad. The duo combined for 14 points in the first half.

Eastview closed the half on a 22-1 run to take a 33-13 lead at the intermission. Walstad finished with a team-high 15 points, and Ranke wound up with 14 to pace a balanced attack that saw four players reach double figures..

Rosemount couldn’t draw closer than 10 points in the second half, that coming in the waniing seconds. Senior guard Maddy Olson led the Irish with 16 points.

The matchup marked the return of Rosemount coach Chris Orr, who suffered a heart attack while running with his physical education class Friday morning, to the Irish bench. He sat on the bench in a less active role as Kirstee Rotty took over the reins.

“I was actually dead for a few minutes,” Orr said. “Thankfully, it happened where it did. I might not be here if it happened somewhere else.”

Eastview coach Molly Kasper lives in the same neighborhood as Orr in Rosemount. She served as an assistant coach under him before taking over the Eastview program two years ago.

“We have a friendly rivalry,” Orr said. “I’m a Gophers and Vikings fan, and she is a fan of the Badgers and Packers.”

As far as rivalry between the two neighboring schools, Orr said: “It’s not a rivalry until you beat them right. Well, we haven’t beaten them since 2006.”