Published: Monday, January 30, 2012
Prep girls basketball: Snohomish hangs on to beat Arlington
Julia Young scores 23 points as Panthers win 55-50 on senior night.
SNOHOMISH -- Sometimes high school basketball players just need a little extra push to motivate the team, and that little extra can be the difference in the game.
Prior to the Snohomish girls game with Arlington Monday night, the coaches and fans at Keith Gilbertson Sr. Sports and Fitness Center honored the four Panther seniors.
In their own way each of the players repaid the fans during the game as the Panthers survived a late charge from Arlington to win a key Wesco North game 55-50.
"I think senior night really helped all of our team because we really came together," senior Julia Young said. "We wanted this win and with all the banners and senior night it really pepped us up. We had a good fan base too out there."
Young started slow, but closed strong to finish with a game-high 23 points thanks to perfect free-throw shooting on 10 attempts, including two that came after a technical foul on Arlington coach Joe Marsh midway through the fourth quarter.
After trailing by as many as 12 late in the third quarter, Arlington made an 11-3 run that featured a pair of baskets from Lindsay Brown who led the team in scoring. Snohomish called timeout with 4 minutes 29 seconds to go in the game and Arlington's full-court press nudged Panther point guard Morgan Green to step on the sideline and send the ball back to the Eagles.
On the ensuing possession, Green took a charge from Krista Showalter. Marsh immediately said something to the ref that drew a technical call and Young knocked down the free throws to make the score 45-39.
Some clutch shooting and urgency that was missing in the first three quarters for the Eagles narrowed the lead to one point with just over a minute to play. Young scored on a layin with 44.8 seconds to play on a pass from fellow senior Melissa Dreves to push Snohomish's lead to 51-48. Brown scored again followed by another pair of free throws by Young.
Arlington had a chance to sink its sixth 3 of the game to tie the score with 10.7 seconds to play, but the Eagles turned the ball over and Young iced Snohomish's victory with another pair of free throws.
"Obviously we are disappointed," Marsh said. "That's a big game for both teams. I knew it was going to be a battle going in. I told the girls we are going to have to fight for everything we get."
It was no surprise that Young rose to the occasion as the senior has been far and away the scoring leader for the Panthers all season. The big surprise of the night came from fellow senior Kristina Bride, who scored a season high 16 points -- the second time the forward has scored in double digits this season.
"Well, basically our team just ran everything right and my shots were going in," Bride said. "So, it was just a good game.
"I think the last game here made the difference."
Arlington will likely take the Wesco North's third seed into the playoffs, barring a Snohomish upset of co-league leader Stanwood or Monroe upsetting Arlington. But Marsh is concerned with the Eagles' developing pattern of starting games with a lack of intensity.
"It's a pattern that I don't like right now," Marsh said. "We have to find a way to start games with the same kind of intensity that we finish games and I think we are struggling with that right now. This is the wrong part of the season for that to happen."
Snohomish coach Ken Roberts has been encouraged by the improved play of the freshmen and sophomores, who he said weren't ready for the physical play they ran into at Arlington Dec. 16 when the Panthers lost 52-39. Although he thanked the seniors, including Carolyn Gravelle, who came off the bench and gave the Panthers some nice minutes, he was impressed with the young players Monday.
"I thought all our kids played well," Roberts said
"To get a win against a really good team is what matters (going into the playoffs)."
Jon Saperstein covers high school sports for The Herald, follow him on twitter @jonsap and contact him at jsaperstein@heraldnet.com.
At Snohomish H.S.
Arlington 13 8 9 20 -- 50
Snohomish 13 12 15 15 -- 55
Arlington--Evans 8, Graham 6, Van Loo 0, L. Brown 11, Showalter 6, Abdo 10, Grogan 0, W. Brown 2, Ferro 0, Leatherman 7, Winterrowd 0, Swegle 0. Snohomish--Bernston 1, Green 6, Otteson 2, Young 23, Coad 0, Harwood 4, Lachapelle 2, Armbruster 0, Helms 0, Dreves 1, Bride 16, Dreher 0, Gravelle 0. 3-point goals--Evans 2, Graham 2, Abdo 1, Young 1. Records--Arlington 8-5 league, 12-6 overall. Snohomish 7-6, 10-9.
Prior to the Snohomish girls game with Arlington Monday night, the coaches and fans at Keith Gilbertson Sr. Sports and Fitness Center honored the four Panther seniors.
In their own way each of the players repaid the fans during the game as the Panthers survived a late charge from Arlington to win a key Wesco North game 55-50.
"I think senior night really helped all of our team because we really came together," senior Julia Young said. "We wanted this win and with all the banners and senior night it really pepped us up. We had a good fan base too out there."
Young started slow, but closed strong to finish with a game-high 23 points thanks to perfect free-throw shooting on 10 attempts, including two that came after a technical foul on Arlington coach Joe Marsh midway through the fourth quarter.
After trailing by as many as 12 late in the third quarter, Arlington made an 11-3 run that featured a pair of baskets from Lindsay Brown who led the team in scoring. Snohomish called timeout with 4 minutes 29 seconds to go in the game and Arlington's full-court press nudged Panther point guard Morgan Green to step on the sideline and send the ball back to the Eagles.
On the ensuing possession, Green took a charge from Krista Showalter. Marsh immediately said something to the ref that drew a technical call and Young knocked down the free throws to make the score 45-39.
Some clutch shooting and urgency that was missing in the first three quarters for the Eagles narrowed the lead to one point with just over a minute to play. Young scored on a layin with 44.8 seconds to play on a pass from fellow senior Melissa Dreves to push Snohomish's lead to 51-48. Brown scored again followed by another pair of free throws by Young.
Arlington had a chance to sink its sixth 3 of the game to tie the score with 10.7 seconds to play, but the Eagles turned the ball over and Young iced Snohomish's victory with another pair of free throws.
"Obviously we are disappointed," Marsh said. "That's a big game for both teams. I knew it was going to be a battle going in. I told the girls we are going to have to fight for everything we get."
It was no surprise that Young rose to the occasion as the senior has been far and away the scoring leader for the Panthers all season. The big surprise of the night came from fellow senior Kristina Bride, who scored a season high 16 points -- the second time the forward has scored in double digits this season.
"Well, basically our team just ran everything right and my shots were going in," Bride said. "So, it was just a good game.
"I think the last game here made the difference."
Arlington will likely take the Wesco North's third seed into the playoffs, barring a Snohomish upset of co-league leader Stanwood or Monroe upsetting Arlington. But Marsh is concerned with the Eagles' developing pattern of starting games with a lack of intensity.
"It's a pattern that I don't like right now," Marsh said. "We have to find a way to start games with the same kind of intensity that we finish games and I think we are struggling with that right now. This is the wrong part of the season for that to happen."
Snohomish coach Ken Roberts has been encouraged by the improved play of the freshmen and sophomores, who he said weren't ready for the physical play they ran into at Arlington Dec. 16 when the Panthers lost 52-39. Although he thanked the seniors, including Carolyn Gravelle, who came off the bench and gave the Panthers some nice minutes, he was impressed with the young players Monday.
"I thought all our kids played well," Roberts said
"To get a win against a really good team is what matters (going into the playoffs)."
Jon Saperstein covers high school sports for The Herald, follow him on twitter @jonsap and contact him at jsaperstein@heraldnet.com.
At Snohomish H.S.
Arlington 13 8 9 20 -- 50
Snohomish 13 12 15 15 -- 55
Arlington--Evans 8, Graham 6, Van Loo 0, L. Brown 11, Showalter 6, Abdo 10, Grogan 0, W. Brown 2, Ferro 0, Leatherman 7, Winterrowd 0, Swegle 0. Snohomish--Bernston 1, Green 6, Otteson 2, Young 23, Coad 0, Harwood 4, Lachapelle 2, Armbruster 0, Helms 0, Dreves 1, Bride 16, Dreher 0, Gravelle 0. 3-point goals--Evans 2, Graham 2, Abdo 1, Young 1. Records--Arlington 8-5 league, 12-6 overall. Snohomish 7-6, 10-9.
Comments
(
