Meadowdale seniors go out on a high note

Published 9:47 pm Saturday, March 8, 2008

SEATTLE — They could have given Dan Taylor a hard time. They could have made his life miserable.

But three seasons ago when Taylor became head coach of the highly decorated Meadowdale girls basketball team, Eryn Jones, Danica Coronacion and Alli Streit welcomed him wholeheartedly.

Back then, the three girls were up-and-coming players for the Mavericks. On Saturday, during the Class 3A state tournament at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, the seniors played their final basketball game in a Mavericks uniform.

Jones, Coronacion and Streit went out on a high note, playing key roles in Meadowdale’s 39-30 victory over Lakeside in the fifth/eighth-place contest. They capped a 24-5 season by earning the most prestigious trophy Taylor’s teams have ever received.

“It’s unforgettable,” Taylor said, referring to the victory and coaching the seniors.

Saturday morning, before the game, Taylor swelled with emotion thinking about what it would be like to coach them for the last time.

“I’ve grown so close to those girls the past few years,” he said after the game. “It feels like I’m sending my daughters off to college.”

Taylor said he instantly connected with the trio when he took over the program. Instead of making him prove himself, they embraced his arrival, he said: “I was accepted from the first minute.”

For the players, Saturday’s season-ending victory was extra special. It was, in a way, a gift to Taylor and his staff.

Said Jones, “We’re all so close to the coaches. It feels so good to win it for them and win it for our team.”

Rock the line: Although she struggled to make shots from the field again Saturday, Jones continued her impressive free-throw shooting. The guard was 6-for-7 on foul shots against Lakeside. In four tourney games Jones was 28-for-31 at the line (90.3 percent).

Worth the pain: Asked if playing four straight days with an injured left ankle was worth it, Meadowdale guard Hanna Fjortoft confidently said, “Yes.” She couldn’t pass up a final chance to play with three of her favorite teammates, who also happen to be close friends.

“I love our seniors,” said Fjortoft, a junior. “I just wanted to play with them one last time.”

Besides being funny and outgoing, the seniors — Jones, Coronacion and Streit — work well together on the court, Fjortoft said: “They all know their roles and play their parts. They’re great teammates.”