BOTHELL — The last time the two teams met, Monroe handed Inglemoor its only loss of the season. It happened at the Mountlake Terrace Holiday Tournament game on Dec. 27, and it also happened that Inglemoor star senior Deja Strother missed that game because she was on an east Coast Christmas trip with her family.
The 6-foot-4 Strother, a 2014-15 McDonald’s All-American and a University of Washington commit, was back on Saturday and she certainly made a difference.
Strother scored 15 points, collected 14 rebounds and had four blocked shots to lead Inglemoor to a 42-30 victory over the Bearcats in a Class 4A regional girls basketball game at Bothell High School. The win avenged the earlier 52-43 loss to Monroe at the Mountlake Terrace tournament.
Though disappointed with the defeat, Bearcats coach Matt Chalfant was pleased with his team’s defensive showing. Monroe held Inglemoor to a season-low of 42 points — the previous low was 43 in the earlier game against the Bearcats — “and that’s where we wanted (to hold) them,” he said.
“But offensively we just didn’t execute the way that we had game-planned to. I think a lot of that was just the presence inside of their size. That hurt us offensively.”
The Vikings played a 2-3 zone the entire game, with their perimeter players rotating well and the imposing Strother defending the basket. Monroe had trouble getting good shots, and the result was a five-point first quarter, a six-point second quarter, and a 10-point halftime deficit.
Inglemoor’s lead reached 13 points early in the fourth quarter, and stayed in double digits the rest of the way.
The win sends 23-1 Inglemoor to the Class 4A state tournament, while Monroe’s season ends with an 18-8 record.
“These kids were awesome,” said Chalfant, who finished his third season coaching the Bearcats. “I couldn’t be more proud of these seniors and what they did.”
At Bothell H.S.
Monroe 5 6 12 7—30
Inglemoor 14 7 10 11—42
Monroe—Kylee Ferreira 13, Jadynn Alexander 3, Emily Donnelly 1, Katie Piland 0, Hannah Drivstuen 3, Alex Alexander 10, Chelsea Santjer 0, Amber Van Brunt 0, Loryn Moore 0. Inglemoor—Mackenzie Gardner 9, Hannah Shimek 0, Talea Culp 0, Alex Hagen 3, Sydney Clanton 0, Sammi Williams 0, Jordana Price 5, Hannah McCausland 0, Melanie Schakohl 0, Kennedy Nicholas 10, Amanda Luckett 0, Deja Strother 14, Nicole Rauch 0. 3-point goals—Kylee Ferreira 4, Hannah Drivstuen 1, Alex Alexander 1, Mackenzie Gardner 1, Jordana Price 1. Records—Monore 18-8, Inglemoor 23-1.
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