Meadowdale girls may be limited in first-round game

Published 11:30 pm Sunday, March 2, 2008

Given that the Meadowdale Mavericks had been to state every year since 1996 and that they won the District 1 championship last year, maybe the WIAA’s Web site can be forgiven for preemptively moving Ferndale, the Mavs’ first-round foe in the District 1 tournament, into the consolation bracket.

But you don’t make 13 straight appearances in state by assuming you’re entitled to anything.

So when Meadowdale lost the District 1 Championship to Ferndale last week, and lost guard Hanna Fjortoft to a sprained ankle in the process, the Mavericks buckled down. They dismantled Shorecrest 62-39 in a winner-to-state/loser-out game most assumed the third-ranked team in the state would never have to play.

Meadowdale (21-4) certainly won’t be taking anything for granted when they step out onto Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday as District 1’s No. 2 seed to play Lakes (21-1) in the opening round of the 3A state tournament.

“Lakes is a very athletic, up-tempo, fast-paced team,” Meadowdale coach Dan Taylor said. “They play the same way we do.”

Leading the charge for the Lancers will be Sara Halasz, two-time winner of the Western Cascade Conferences Player of the Year award. Halasz, a 6-foot senior, will play for New Mexico next year.

The Mavericks may also be without Fjortoft, who speeds the game up and creates easy transition buckets. “It’s day-to-day right now,” Taylor said of Fjortoft’s ankle, “But it’s pretty unlikely.”

What the Mavericks will have is Eryn Jones, who averages 22.4 points per game, best in the state. With Meadowdale missing Fjortoft’s 11.4 points per game (second best on the team), Meadowdale’s all-time leading scorer will have to pick up the slack on the offensive end.

But with Jones, and with the fact that Lakes is not an especially big team — something that gave the Mavericks trouble in losses to Kamiak and Ferndale earlier — Taylor is not looking to press the panic button yet.

“They’re the same size as us … We (won’t change our game),” Taylor said. “We should be all right if we rebound and take care of the basketball.”

Shorecrest coach Jon Rasmussen, whose Scots went 0-3 against Meadowdale this year, agreed with Taylor:

“Meadowdale is a very good outside shooting team,” Rasmussen said. “They’re quick, and they have a (genuine) star player in Eryn Jones.”

Because the state tournament is double-elimination, Meadowdale can absorb one loss and still meet its season goal of placing in the top five.

3A boys

The No. 1 priority for Meadowdale (22-4) when it tips off against Lakes (22-1) in the opening round of the 3A state tournament Wednesday at 2 p.m. at KeyArena, will be to contain the athleticism of Jermaine Kearse and Kavario Middleton, both of whom have committed to the University of Washington’s football program next year.

“They’ve got some good athletes that are also skilled basketball players,” Mavericks coach Chad McGuire said.

Meadowdale, District 1’s No. 2 seed, will counter with experience — nine of the 13 players on its roster are seniors — and try to build off Saturday’s triple overtime district victory over Mount Vernon.

“I’d say we have some momentum coming in … the kids are excited,” McGuire said.

Senior posts Matt Gorman and Evan Matteson should carry much of the scoring load for the Mavericks, when they are not dealing with Kearse and Middleton.

2A boys

When Archbishop Murphy tips off against Mark Morris Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome it won’t be much of a match on paper. Morris is ranked No. 2 in the state, has lost just three games all season and is on a 17 game wining streak. At 12-13, the Wildcats are still one game under .500.

But Murphy, District 1’s No. 3 seed, is nothing if not a text book example of a team getting hot at the right time. In the past 12 days the team has used its size and rebounding ability to rip off three loser-out wins over Bellingham, South Whidbey, and Cedarcrest — all teams they lost to during the regular season.

“It’s been (fun),” Murphy coach Jerry Zander said. “We’ve hit our stride these last two weeks and are definitely playing our best basketball all year.”

The Wildcats will try to stick to the formula that got them a state berth for the first time since 2004 by using junior forward JD Melton to score points, senior big men Brendan Sherrer and Ryan Bourke to grab rebounds and a bench that goes ten players deep to wear Mark Morris down.

The Monarchs have size of their own in 6-9 center Eric Hutchison, who scored 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting in the Monarch’s Southwest District championship game. Post Matt Trautman is 6-7. But Hutchison and Trautman will have to prove they can perform against another strong rebounding team.