Arlington girls knock off Stanwood
Published 11:36 pm Friday, January 2, 2009
STANWOOD — The Arlington High School girls basketball team took ringing in the new year to a whole new level.
A stout defense and 17 points from Sheryl Scheppele helped the Eagles cruise to a 67-33 Wesco North victory over Stanwood Friday night, improving the Eagles’ record to 2-1 in the Wesco North and 5-2 overall.
Stanwood fell to 1-2 and 2-3.
Scheppele was hot from the start of the game, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to help Arlington jump to a 10-2 advantage. The Eagles snagged eight offensive rebounds and turned them into 12 second-chance points as they led 24-9 at the end of the first quarter.
“We came out hot and Sheryl had a great game, no doubt,” Arlington head coach Nathan Davis said. “It’s the first time in close to two weeks that she has felt on, because of all the snow and other stuff.”
Quinn Kesselring chipped in 14 points for Arlington, and none were more impressive than a drive to the hoop that she finished with a scoop shot while being fouled. She completed the play by hitting a free throw to end the first quarter. Kesselring had a majority of the 16 assists her team racked up with its crisp passing and precise offensive execution.
“We just have a lot more experience, and finally after three years of these players sticking together, it is finally paying off,” Davis said.
Nine of the 10 players on Arlington’s roster are juniors or seniors.
Arlington built a 20-point advantage with 4:04 left in the second quarter. At halftime, the Eagles led 40-16.
While the Arlington offense was clicking, the defense wasn’t too shabby. After holding Stanwood to 16 first-half points, the Eagles went into lockdown mode and allowed just five third-quarter points. The Eagles outscored Stanwood in the period, 15-5.
“This was a league match, we had to be ready to go and didn’t want to hold anything back,” Davis said.
“We got some work to do still,” he added. “The girls want to go to districts.”
Scheppele finished the game with five 3-pointers, shooting a blistering 71 percent from beyond the arc, with most of her shots coming while Stanwood was in a zone defense.
“We got some great looks, and with Sheryl shooting well, you can’t zone us very easily.”
Stanwood was led in scoring by Jordan Nemo, who had 10 points.
At Stanwood H.S.
Arlington24161512—67
Stanwood97512—33
Stanwood—Shaughnessy 3, Nemo 10, Vargas 2, Titus, Bingham 2, Voelckers 2, Murphy 3, Borseth 4, Wietzke 3, Heckman 4. Arlington—Prause 12, Scheppele 17, Evans 4, Duncan, Kesselring 14, Murrin 8, Weber, Daggett 6, Schmuck, Wilson 6. 3-pointers made—Scheppele 5, Prause 2, Kesselring 2, Shaughnessy 1. Records—Arlington 2-1 conference, 5-2 overall. Stanwood 1-2, 2-3.
