‘She’s just tough’: Liberty standout Maisie Burnham closing in on 100 career games with Portland
It’s rare to see much of a cheering presence for the opposing team during an Eastern Washington women’s basketball game at Reese Court.
On Sunday in Cheney, one section behind the Portland Pilots’ bench was filled with purple-clad fans who were mostly there to see one player: Maisie Burnham.
“That full section, 90 percent of it was mine,” the Portland senior said following the Pilots’ 74-62 victory in which Burnham scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. “I was really thankful. It makes me happy to hear them.”
This was Burnham’s first trip back to Reese Court since the spring of 2021, at the end of a season in which she led the Eagles in scoring (14.3 points per game) and earned Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors.
Burnham was coming off a decorated career at Liberty High School, where she scored more than 2,000 points and led the Lancers to a 2B State Tournament Championship in 2020. It was Liberty’s first state title in any sport since a football championship in 1992.
But following her freshman year at Eastern, head coach Wendy Schuller was fired, and during that transition Burnham decided to transfer.
She ended up at Portland, where she has thrived.
“From the moment I got to Portland, I felt welcomed, I felt at home, I felt great,” she said. “It wasn’t an easy decision to enter the portal, but once I found a fit like this one, I knew it was right.”
Burnham came off the bench as a sophomore at Portland in 2021-22, but she made the most of her 17.9 minutes per game, averaging 9.7 points and 3.2 rebounds. As a junior and senior, she started 65 of 66 games and added a point and rebound per game to those averages. Last season, she was named to the All-West Coast Conference Second Team.
Granted an extra year because of the pandemic, Burnham is back for one final season and leads the Pilots in scoring (17.7 points per game) and is second on the team in rebounding (6.0 per game).
Tuesday night, Burnham will play in her 100th game with the Pilots against Seattle University. She would need to increase her scoring average, but it’s still possible for her to reach 2,000 career points (including the 314 she scored at Eastern) in college. She has 1,100 with Portland.
Burnham got a taste of the NCAA Tournament last year when the Pilots upset Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament to earn an automatic bid. Portland was given a No. 13 seed but lost 78-65 to pod host Kansas State in the first round. Burnham scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
“The goal is always to get back to the tournament and maybe make a run,” she said of this season. “This team is capable of a lot of things.”
Sunday’s game wasn’t just a homecoming for Burnham; it was also a reunion of sorts. EWU seniors Ellie Boni (University High) and Peyton Howard (Central Valley) grew up playing with and against Burnham on AAU teams in Spokane.
“She’s a dog,” Howard said of Burnham. “She knows how to get (to the hoop). She can shoot. She has midrange. She’s just tough.”
Howard’s high school career paralleled that of Burnham: She too won a state title in 2020 (and also in 2018) at Central Valley. But Howard left the area out of high school and played her first four seasons at Seattle University. She opted to transfer closer to home for her fifth season of eligibility granted because of the pandemic.
So far, Boni and Howard have started all four of the Eagles’ games this season.
“I think every year (Howard and Boni) continue to grow,” Burnham said, “and I continue to enjoy watching their success. They’ll have a great season here.”
Burnham will be back in the area when Portland plays at Gonzaga on Jan. 16, but Sunday was almost certainly the last time she will play a college basketball game at Reese Court.
“I have a lot of great memories here,” she said. “I grew up here, and just to have friends and family be able to come from so close to support me, it was really fun. I was really happy to be back.”