Panthers streak past Wildcats
Published 10:54 pm Monday, January 12, 2009
SNOHOMISH — Senior floor general Ally Schmitt wasn’t going to let the Snohomish Panthers fall victim to Oak Harbor’s fast-paced offense.
Schmitt and 6-foot-1 post Katie Benson led the charge and helped guide the Panthers to a 56-29 Western Conference North win Monday night at Snohomish High School.
Accustomed to a straight-up, man-to-man defense, the Panthers adjusted to a switching man-to-man style to disrupt Oak Harbor star guard Jessica Denmon’s hot hand from the field.
“(Denmon) is one of the top scorers in the league,” Schmitt said. “It was my goal to keep her under 10 points.”
Denmon, a 5-foot-5 junior, finished the game with seven points.
Snohomish (8-2, 6-0 league) relied on its stingy interior defense to alter the slashing runs made by Oak Harbor’s Denmon, Nicole Mowbray and Kathryn Fisken. The presence of Benson made it difficult for the Wildcats to go over the top of the Panthers’ post players. Benson finished the game with six steals, in addition to 20 points and 13 rebounds.
With Benson in the post, Schmitt hounded Denmon and Snohomish’s size took away second chances for Oak Harbor (5-3, 2-2).
The Wildcats shot 31 percent from the field and Snohomish dominated the boards, outrebounding Oak Harbor 42-26.
“We really did a good job of keeping the ball alive and not giving (Oak Harbor) second chances at the basket,” Snohomish head coach Ken Roberts said.
The Panthers were aided by two huge runs that gave a buffer zone to deflect any Oak Harbor comeback attempts. A 17-2 run at the beginning of the game and 21-2 run that started with 1:47 left in the third quarter kept the Wildcats at a distance.
Snohomish didn’t shoot the ball particularly well either — the Panthers hit just 40.7 percent of their shots — but the Panthers feasted on second chance points off of offensive rebounds.
“Our kids did a good job of following their shots and getting in the lanes for rebounds,” Roberts said.
Along with Benson’s 20 points, Karley Lampman scored 17 points and Schmitt dished out eight assists.
Two of Schmitt’s assists were thrown from half court with laser precision to a streaking Lampman.
“Karley was just sprinting up the court,” Schmitt said of her long distance assists.
Despite the lopsided outcome, Snohomish’s Roberts stressed the preparation his team did in practice to focus on Oak Harbor’s flex offense.
“With all they do offensively, they’re tough to defend,” Roberts said. “Coach (Brett McLeod) does a great job running the team.”
It was just a night were everything was going right for Snohomish.
“We worked so hard,” Benson said. “We have a lot of role players that do their job … that’s what you want from your bench.”
“We clicked,” Schmitt said.
Trailing 33-15 with 4:57 remaining in the third quarter, Oak Harbor pieced together a respectable 9-0 run that closed the gap to nine points, 33-24, with 2:29 left, but that’s when Snohomish started its game-ending run.
Oak Harbor’s Fisken and 6-foot-2 senior Jennifer Jansen joined Denmon with seven points. Jansen had two inside baskets as part of the Wildcats run in the third quarter.
But Snohomish’s depth, size and Schmitt’s game management was too much for the Wildcats.
“Tonight was just special,” Schmitt said.
At Snohomish High School
Oak Harbor211142—29
Snohomish15121316—56
Oak Harbor—Tubo 0, Mowbray 6, Henricksen, Denmon 7, Abadesco 2, Fisken 7, Jansen 7, Bortolameotti 0, Earnhart 0, Brothers 0. Snohomish—Wilson, Guthrie 4, Schmitt 4, Lampman 17, Keithley 1, Wayman, Timmerman, Berg 4, Benson 20, Bride 2, Balin 4. 3-pointers—Denmon 2, Fisken, Guthrie. Records—Oak Harbor 2-2 league, 5-3 overall. Snohomish 6-0, 8-2.
