PREP NOTEBOOK: Edmonds-Woodway, Jackson girls await Wednesday rematch
Published 1:51 pm Tuesday, January 19, 2010
When his team knocked off the division favorite early in the season, first-year Edmonds-Woodway High School girls basketball coach Duane Hodges noticed a few factors that were in the Warriors’ favor.
In Edmonds-Woodway’s 75-66 triumph over Jackson on Dec. 9 in Edmonds, Western Washington University-bound guard Erin Feeney and her Jackson teammates shot poorly. Combined with E-W’s home-court advantage, the Warriors — picked by coaches to finish second in The Herald’s preseason Western Conference South Division poll — were well on their way to a confidence-boosting triumph over Jackson, picked to win the South.
The rematch is on Wednesday at Jackson High. This time it might be more of a “slug-it-out game,” said Hodges.
Both teams certainly have plenty to fight for.
Going into this week, E-W and Jackson were tied for first place in the South with identical records of 8-1; E-W’s only division loss was on Dec. 16 at Meadowdale. E-W had won six consecutive games heading into its clash against Shorecrest on Monday, and Jackson took an eight-game winning streak into its battle versus Glacier Peak on Monday.
After giving up 75 points in its first matchup against E-W, Jackson will focus on playing better half-court defense in the rematch, Timberwolves coach Jeannie Thompson said.
“(E-W) did a really nice job the first time around with their guards, especially getting to the basket,” said Thompson. “We had a hard time defensively keeping them from penetrating into the middle of the key.”
E-W’s top scorer that night was junior forward Angela Woods (19 points). She led the Warriors with a season per-game average of 16.9 through last week. Another top threat for E-W is junior Ashley Albertson, who was averaging 11.4 points and 13 rebounds.
Jackson’s top scorer is Feeney, the WWU recruit. Through last week, she was averaging 19.8 points this season and had been especially effective lately, averaging 27 in a three-game stretch. Providing balance inside are posts Leigh-Ann Haataja (a 6-foot-2 junior) and Kristin Stoffel (5-11 sophomore). Haataja and Stoffel had combined to average about 27 points.
Final event Thursday at Snohomish’s Old Gym
Say goodbye to The Pit. The Arlington-Snohomish wrestling match at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Snohomish’s Old Gym, aka The Pit, will be the final varsity event held in the well-known venue. Snohomish’s new auxiliary gym will open next school year on the other side of campus; the Old Gym will be used as a library next year and then will be demolished, Snohomish School District athletic director Mark Albertine said.
It’s the end of an era. Snohomish has wrestled in the Old Gym since 1959, Panthers wrestling coach Rob Zabel said. There “is a great deal of tradition there (and) we are very sad to see it go,” he said.
Former Snohomish head wrestling coaches and former wrestlers, including several state champions, will attend Thursday’s historic match.
Basketball scheduling changes made to accommodate officials
Wondering why there are fewer prep basketball games scheduled on Fridays? It’s part of a gradual change made by local basketball officials associations that spreads out boys and girls games to accommodate the dwindling number of officials. “There’s always a shortage of officials, so what we’ve tried to do it put some of the varsity games on off-nights” like Thursday, said Lee Ottini, game assigner for the Snohomish County Boys Basketball Officials Association. The shift began a few seasons ago and will continue, with a possibility of more Saturday games, Ottini said.
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Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
