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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, March 7, 2008 Meadowdale girls succeed as early risers Mavericks don't let 9 a.m. start affect their play in a Class 3A state tournament win over Bainbridge SEATTLE -- The game had "trap" written all over it. It was the second day of the girls 3A basketball tournament and Meadowdale was coming off a severe bummer of a three-point defeat to Lakes. The penalty was a loser-out game at 9 a.m. Thursday; next time you try to get your teenager out of bed at 6 a.m., think about the task of forcing her out of the sack and getting her awake enough to play basketball mere hours later. The Mavericks were facing Bainbridge, which they'd polished off by 18 in the regular season. The Spartans remembered that, as well as their tournament-record 57-point defeat the previous day against defending champ Auburn Riverside. Meadowdale was going to get Bainbridge's best shot. Then, too, is the lack of atmosphere at a 9 a.m. loser-out game on a Thursday. Half the crowd numbers seemed to come from the Meadowdale band. Put the dozens of people in a cavernous Hed Edmundson Pavilion and you get the idea what Zen refers to as the sound of one hand clapping. So, the Mavericks had more on their hands than an angry swarm of Spartans. The biggest fear Meadowdale had might well have come from the Mavericks themselves. What hangover would Meadowdale bring Thursday morning? "That's what happened last year," Mavs coach Dan Taylor said. "But you know what? Our girls fought through and bounced back. They wanted Auburn Riverside, but you know what? That's just how they draw." Throughout the game, you never got the feeling that Meadowdale wasn't in full control. Yes, Spartan forwards Brittany Gray and Jesse Vincent combined for 24 first half points, but Taylor made some subtle adjustments and the duo combined for just nine in the second half. Meadowdale gradually pulled away in the third quarter, taking a 53-40 advantage on a three-point play by Eryn Jones, the Mavs' elegant, Portland State-bound guard, who finished with a game-high 25 points. The problem was that Meadowdale couldn't close the show. Shooting just 26 percent from the floor in the second half, the Mavericks allowed the Spartans back in the game. The margin was just five in the closing minutes. "We knew they were going to come out hard," Jones said. "And it's state, so everybody's playing their best. Everyone's bringing it." Two numbers that saved Meadowdale: the Mavericks forced 24 turnovers and Jones made all 13 of her free throws, six in the fourth quarter. Early in the game, Bainbridge played the part of the team playing with cobwebs in its head. So often, Meadowdale stepped into the passing lanes for steals. Jones had five steals, Danica Coronacion. Meadowdale looked the more alert team. "It's tough, but you have to come out focused even more, I think," Jones said. "You've got to get yourself prepared and up for the game. You do that by your teammates. You control your energy. We just got each other pumped up. We were just laughing and having fun." Jones admits to the normal practice of rolling out of bed about 10 minutes before she's supposed to be at school. So, the 6 a.m. wakeup call at home to catch the bus at 6:45 a.m. came earlier than she usually prefers. "It was tough, but I love to play basketball," she said. "It's better than going to school." Besides, as Coronacion said, "It was probably worse for the other team because they had to take a ferry." And so Meadowdale will pull the repeat today against Fort Vancouver at the same dratted hour. The winner advances to the fifth-place game Saturday, which should serve as some motivation for a team whose goal it was to win the last game of its season. So scratch the disadvantages: the time, the familiar foe, Wednesday's crushing defeat. This is a team genuinely excited to play on. As long as the alarm clock goes off, the Mavericks appear safe. Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com. For Sleeper[`]s blog, "Dangling Participles," go to www.heraldnet.com/danglingparticiples.

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