Meadowdale wins with 4th-quarter surge

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, January 9, 2007

MUKILTEO – Does any team finish stronger than the Meadowdale Mavericks?

Leading by a single point early in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks closed with a flourish behind Eryn Jones to claim a 63-47 victory over the Kamiak Knights in a Western Conference South Division girls basketball game Tuesday night.

Jones scored 17 of her game-high 29 points in the second half to help ensure the Mavericks would record their 10th victory without a loss (7-0 in division).

“We fought hard for three and one-half quarters, but Meadowdale is a very good team,” Kamiak coach Branda Anderson said. “Jones is phenomenal; she took the game away from us.”

That’s a fair assessment of what transpired.

Kamiak (4-2 in division, 5-5 overall) trailed throughout the contest, but the Knights’ Nicole Bozek (14 points, seven rebounds) made an inside bucket and a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 41-40 with 6:34 remaining in the game.

Jones – who earlier scored five quick points in the second quarter after Kamiak had crept within two points of the lead – provided breathing room, scoring seven points during an 8-2 run than boosted the margin to 49-42 with five minutes to play.

“She’s just tough to guard,” Anderson said. “We threw everything we had at her.”

Efforts to double Jones on the dribble drive often resulted in a crisp pass to Marelle Mohrle, who converted time and again and finished with 19 points.

“If they doubled me I passed off,” said Jones who had seven assists. “If they didn’t I just took it.”

A sensational left-handed put-back by Kierra Riley (11 points, four rebounds) brought the Knights within 51-47 with 3:32 to play, but they could get no closer.

Meadowdale’s Gabi Beyer (11 points) jump-started a 12-0 finishing run with a 3-pointer.

Jones dropped in a jump shot, Moehrle (four rebounds) sank five free throws and Beyer, a freshman, finished off the Knights with a lay-in.

“She knows her role,” Meadowdale coach Dan Taylor said of Beyer. “She’s a bench player who comes in and plays great on offense and defense and just gives us that extra lift.”

Kamiak’s Bozek drew her second foul with barely a minute gone in the game, but still managed to lead the Knights in scoring and rebounding.

“Boze’ responded after the two fouls,” Anderson said. “She’s a great player who played hard.”

It was a spirited Kamiak bunch that took the floor in the early going, while Meadowdale seemed a little flat.

“They came out fired up and we didn’t match that intensity early,” Jones said. “We know when we come to Kamiak it’s going to be a great game and we showed up at the right time.”

Meadowdale held a 5-3 lead through the first six minutes before turning up the heat.

In a single minute the Mavericks sandwiched baskets by Julia Fjortoft and Beyer around a 3-pointer by Jones to build a nine-point advantage.

Kamiak battled back to within 18-17 with a 7-0 run during which Bozek had a conventional three-point play and made a baseline assist to Kelsey Patrick (five points, five rebounds).

But, Moehrle knocked down a 3-pointer and Jones capped an 8-2 run with lay-in off a steal and 3-pointer to provide Meadowdale with a 26-19 advantage with 1:20 remaining in the half.

Jones, who had a buzzer beating lay-up in the opening quarter, repeated herself by cutting into the lane for a bucket in the waning seconds of the second period to give Meadowdale a 30-23 halftime lead.

After trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half, the Knights drew within 32-30 early in the third quarter after a 3-pointer by Patrick and a field goal by Ashley Larsen.

Jones responded by drilling a long jumper, drawing a foul and converting the three-point play for a 35-30 lead with 4:18 to play in the period.

Trailing by five with less than one minute to play in the third quarter Bozek’s long jump-shot cut the gap to 39-36 entering the final quarter.

At Kamiak H.S.

Meadowdale1614924-63

Kamiak8151311-47

Meadowdale-J. Fjortoft 2, Jones 29, Moehrle 19, Beyer 11, Kosmides 2. Kamiak-Riley 11, Patrick 5, Larsen 6, Church 11, Bozek 14. 3-point goals-Jones 3, Moehrle 2, Beyer 1, Patrick 1. JV result-Meadowdale 53, Kamiak 40.