BOTHELL — Twelve of the Lynnwood girls basketball team’s 15 first-quarter points came from behind the 3-point arc and that opening barrage proved to be the difference Friday in the Royals’ 49-40 Wesco 3A win over Meadowdale.
Arsenia Ivanov knocked down two of her team’s four first-quarter treys and finished the game with four.
“Arsenia is a great shooter, great leader, captain on our team and she is doing a great job,” Lynnwood coach Everett Edwards said.
Ivanov, who finished with 12 points, had help. The Royals connected on nine 3-pointers in the game, which proved too much for the Mavericks to overcome. Every time Meadowdale closed the gap in the second half, Lynnwood seemed to answer with a 3-pointer.
After the Mavs cut the difference to just four points at halftime, Lynnwood came out of the locker room with two straight threes to increase its lead to 10. By the end of the third quarter, Meadowdale had clawed its way back again, trailing 32-27.
But the Royals used another deep ball to extend the lead once again. This time it was Meghan Cross — who finished with 15 points to lead the Royals — connecting from long distance.
Meadowdale responded yet again, with three straight points, forcing the Royals to call timeout. But on the other side of the timeout, it was Ivanov, who had been quiet since the first half, who delivered what proved to be the dagger.
“Arsenia is one of the top shooters in the league,” Edwards said.
With star post Mokun Fajemisin out for the season with a knee injury, Lynnwood has made outside shooting a larger part of its arsenal this season.
“Having Mokun last year we kind of had an advantage inside against most teams,” Edwards said. “Right now, we are just a pretty good 3-point shooting team and so we definitely try to take advantage of ball movements to where we can get some shots off on the perimeter. That is definitely our focus point for the season.”
Another point of emphasis for the Royals appears to be on defense. As a unit, the Royals did the best they could against one of the Wesco 3A’s most feared scorers, Margreet Barhoum. Barhoum led the Mavs with 18 points, but it seemed to be a quiet 18.
“We played great defense,” Edwards said. “We actually held Margreet to 18 points. What really won this game for us was our defense.”
The Royals certainly did their homework on Barhoum before the game.
“We know she is the heart of that team,” Edwards said. “Our whole pregame is about trying to slow her down and just limit her touches.”
For the Royals, the win was a nice recovery from Wednesday’s buzzer-beating loss to Shorecrest.
“It’s a great way (to bounce back),” Edwards said. “The Wesco 3A is very tough.”
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Read his live blogs at www.heraldnet.com/prepzone, follow him on twitter @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
At Lynnwood H.S.
Meadowdale713713—40
Lynnwood177817—49
Meadowdale—Fjortoft 0, M. Barhoum 18, Rickel 1, Reuble 4, Kossian 8, Bretz 6, Parker 0, Sonko 3; Lynnwood—Edwards 4, Maza 0, Douglas 6, Cross 15, Evans 7, Ivanov 12, Hayes 0, Wilson 5. 3-point goals—Ivanov 4, Douglas 2, Edwards 1, Evans 1, Cross 1, M. Barhoum 2. Records—Meadowdale 1-3 league, 1-4 overall; Lynnwood—5-1, 7-2. > Give us your news tips. > Send us a letter to the editor. > More Herald contact information.Talk to us