GIRLS BBALL | Underdogs? So far, Royals look just fine

Published 7:30 pm Tuesday, December 6, 2011

LYNNWOOD — Lynnwood girls basketball coach Everett Edwards plays the underdog card just right.

He might just convince a few teams that with the loss of superstar center Mokun Fajemisin, the Royals might actually be a subpar team. Probably not many, though.

“Losing Mokun to that kind of injury was huge for us, there’s no doubt about that,” Edwards said. “So our success going forward depends on how the girls adjust. I think they’ll do fine, but we don’t know what to expect, so I think we’re going to be the underdog this season.”

Fajemisin, a senior, tore her anterior cruciate ligament during an AAU game this summer. In 2010-11, she averaged 20 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game.

“We lost our top scorer and leading rebounder,” Edwards said. “But it’s my job to get the girls ready to play. And right now they are doing an amazing job. But I still think we’re going to be underdogs.”

The Royals are coming off the second of back-to-back trips to the state tournament. Auburn Mountainview eliminated them in the first round, winning 45-42. Lynnwood finished the season 12-2 in league and 20-5 overall. In 2009-10, Yelm knocked out the Royals from the tourney, 54-51, ending their first state trip since 1994.

“We aren’t going to be a worse team, we’re just going to be a different team,” returning senior starter Casey Evans said. “We are quick and we can pressure the ball really well. We have good shooters, so our expectations are still pretty high.”

Evans and returning senior starter Meghan Cross will provide the Royals with playoff-caliber experience. That should make Edwards’ job a little easier.

He’s expecting the seasoned duo to set the pace for a team that is filled with juniors and seniors. There are only three underclassmen on the roster. So, even with the loss of Fajemisin and Kelsey Parker, who graduated, Lynnwood should still be viewed as a league favorite.

“They lost their center, but they’re still a talented team, believe me,” Mountlake Terrace coach David Brophy said. “They’ll still be at the top at the end.”

Brophy knows about the new-look Royals firsthand. Lynnwood dismantled Mountlake Terrace, 72-36, Dec. 3 to improve to 2-1. Two days earlier, the Royals defeated Jackson 64-58.

“We just have to be patient and play our game,” said Cross, who nailed a key 3-pointer in the final minute to seal the Royals’ victory over Jackson. “We just need a few games under our belts and we’ll be just fine.”

Cross was the Royals’ second leading scorer last season, averaging nearly 11 points per game. Also returning are juniors Arsenia Ivanov and Linda Wilson. The 5-foot-10 Wilson should pick up the slack left behind by Fajemisin, according to Edwards.

Ivanov proved herself as a long-range threat last season. She averaged nine points a game, just ahead of then freshman Jasmine Edwards, who averaged eight points per game.

“We have excellent shooting, especially with Arsenia,” Edwards said. “And in the middle, we have Linda Wilson. She’ll give us that presence we’ll need in order to compete with bigger teams.”

Lynnwood plays Marysville Getchell at home beginning at 7:15 p.m., Dec. 7.