Tomahawks nip Bruins at the end
Published 11:34 pm Wednesday, December 10, 2008
EVERETT — Morgan Martinis is a sophomore but late in the game Wednesday she looked like a fearless veteran.
Martinis scored seven points in the fourth quarter and her driving basket with 11 seconds to go was the difference in the Marysville-Pilchuck High School girls basketball team’s 41-40 victory over the Cascade Bruins.
Senior center Britt Harris scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds for Marysville-Pilchuck in the Western Conference North Division game at Reg Scodeller gym. It was the league opener for both teams.
Harris, who was 4-for-4 at the foul line in the final 92 seconds, helped lead an unbeaten M-P squad (3-0) that has three sophomore starters.
“We’re a young team,” M-P head coach Julie Martin said, “and we came out of our shell a little bit.”
Danielle Love (14 points, five rebounds, three blocks) was the top scorer for Cascade (2-1), which had the ball with 4.3 seconds to go but was unable to get a shot off. Katy Gross (nine points, four rebounds) passed the ball to Love near midcourt. Two M-P defenders forced Love toward the right corner, where she passed to teammate Taylor Gordon.
The buzzer blared before Gordon released a shot on the baseline.
“The decision was made to go to Danielle Love, which we did,” Cascade head coach Carlos Humphrey said of the final possession. “I would have rather gotten something to go towards the basket but the double team surprised us.”
The back-and-forth fourth quarter featured nine lead changes. Cascade went ahead 40-39 when Love dribbled the length of the court and scored a layin with 25 seconds remaining. But M-P’s Martinis, who scored 10 points and made two 3-point baskets in the game, answered. She attacked the middle of the lane and put up a shot that bounced high off the rim before dropping in the hoop.
The 6-foot-2 Harris scored six points in the final quarter for M-P. Her four free throws were her first attempts of the game and she drilled them.
“Clutch,” said Martin, M-P’s coach. “I told her at the end of the game in the locker room, ‘That is captain material right there.’ She stepped up.”
Asked about the free throws, Harris said she had butterflies before she released each one. But her nerves didn’t show.
“It was kind of scary going into the end but we were all really confident,” said Harris.
The matchup lived up to its billing: M-P and Cascade were ranked second and third, respectively, in The Herald’s Wesco North preseason coaches’ poll. M-P plays host to top-rated Snohomish Friday.
The first half was a physical, foul-filled affair. Marysville-Pilchuck led by six points (24-18) at the break as Harris (six points) spearheaded a balanced scoring attack. Cascade’s leading scorer was Love (eight points).
Love is 6-2 but has an uncommonly versatile game. She drained two 3-pointers in the first quarter.
Cascade hurt itself with nine turnovers in the first half and poor free-throw shooting (2 of 6). The Bruins also suffered because of foul trouble. Gross, the team’s starting point guard, was whistled for three fouls in the first quarter and sat out nearly five minutes.
Gross and Spencer Nelson combined to score nine points in the third quarter, helping Cascade outscore M-P 12-3 and build a 30-27 lead through three quarters. But Martinis, Harris and their teammates fought back and earned a one-point victory that wasn’t a sure thing until the very end.
At Reg Scodeller gym
Marysville-Pilchuck159314—41
Cascade1171210—40
Marysville-Pilchuck: Martinis 10, Adams 4, K. Enberg, Harris 14, Heckendorf 4, Pierce 4, Oden 5, Cull, E. Enberg. Cascade: De. Love 4, Da. Love 14, Gross 9, Gordon 4, Nelson 8, Bergman 1. 3-point goals-Martinis 2, Da. Love 2. Records-Marysville-Pilchuck 1-0 in division, 3-0 overall. Cascade 0-1, 2-1.
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
