Small Meadowdale scores big win over Snohomish
Published 11:29 pm Wednesday, December 5, 2007
SNOHOMISH — Can a team with a starting lineup that features five guards, none who are taller than 5-foot-8, find a way to succeed?
Sure, if the lineup features players like Eryn Jones and the Fjortoft sisters.
Fueled by the 46 combined points of speedsters Jones, Hanna Fjortoft and Julia Fjortoft, the Meadowdale High School girls basketball team outlasted the much taller Snohomish Panthers Wednesday in a high-profile non-division battle at the Snohomish High gym.
Jones tallied a game-high 20 points, made five foul shots in the final 33 seconds and generated a key defensive play to lead unbeaten Meadowdale to a 59-55 overtime triumph.
Hanna Fjortoft (16 points) scored half of her points in OT, including two 3-pointers, to keep Meadowdale (3-0) in it, and Jones was 5-for-6 on free throws down the stretch. Jones, who scored the game’s final five points, forced a jump ball against Snohomish’s Karley Lampman that gave the Mavericks possession with three seconds remaining and helped clinch the victory.
Forward Katie Benson, one of three Snohomish players who stand 6 feet or taller, led the Panthers (0-1) with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The back-and-forth battle featured two of the area’s most consistently successful programs. Meadowdale was ranked No. 2 in the Herald’s Wesco South preseason coaches’ poll and placed sixth last season in the Class 3A state tournament. Snohomish, seventh last season in the 4A state tourney, was rated No. 1 in the Wesco North preseason poll.
As expected, it was a competitive clash with a nerve-frazzling finish, even for people who weren’t on the court.
“I haven’t sweat this much since I played,” Meadowdale coach Dan Taylor said.
Taylor praised his small but quick lineup for playing with heart. He also credited Jones, who excelled at the foul line.
“She’s clutch. … She’s one of the best free-throw shooters on our team, if not the (best),” said Taylor. “She has ice in her veins.”
After making just one field goal in the previous three periods, Hanna Fjortoft exploded with Meadowdale’s first eight points in OT. Her 3-pointer from the right wing tied it at 54-54 with 1:51 remaining.
“When she’s hot, she can’t miss,” Jones said of Fjortoft, a junior. Her younger sister, sophomore Julia Fjortoft, scored six of her 10 points in the second half.
Meadowdale shot just 3-for-14 in the first quarter and fell behind 14-7. But the Mavericks eventually overcame their shooting struggles and Snohomish’s size advantage.
Forwards Allison Burns and Margie Heard tallied 13 points apiece in the season opener for Snohomish, which hurt itself with 28 turnovers. Many of the miscues were unforced errors.
The Panthers also missed several key foul shots.
“We had opportunities at the end of regulation to extend (the lead) but we didn’t make free throws. Those kind of hurt you,” Snohomish coach Ken Roberts said.
There were four lead changes in the final 66 seconds of the first half. Benson’s putback basket with six seconds to go gave Snohomish a 28-27 lead by halftime.
Snohomish committed seven turnovers in the first quarter but shot well (6-for-7 from the field) and built a seven-point lead. Burns and Lampman combined to score every point during a 9-0 run that put the Panthers on top 12-5.
But Meadowdale, led by Jones, recovered in the second quarter. The Portland State University recruit tallied nine points in the period, including four on foul shots and three on a long-range jumper from the right side.
Eventually, Jones and the rest of Meadowdale’s guard-heavy rotation narrowly outdueled the taller Panthers.
“For us to guard them is really difficult,” coach Roberts said, “because they’re so much quicker than we are. I thought both teams did a good job of trying to get it to their tempo.”
At Snohomish H.S.
Meadowdale72020913—59
Snohomish14141179—55
Meadowdale — Coronacion 7, J. Fjortoft 10, Jones 20, H. Fjortoft 16, Streit 6, Molitor, Zickefoose. Snohomish — Guthrie 3, Lampman 4, Burns 13, Benson 17, Heard 13, Desmarais, Scott 3, Miller 2, Fairbanks. 3-point goals-Coronacion 1, Jones 2, H. Fjortoft 3, Streit 2, Guthrie 1, Burns 1. JV score — Snohomish defeated Meadowdale. Records — Meadowdale 3-0 overall. Snohomish 0-1.
Contact Herald Writer Mike Cane at mcane@heraldnet.com. For more high school sports news, check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
