Edmonds-Woodway girls beat Arlington 81-79 in OT thriller

Published 10:30 pm Wednesday, January 7, 2015

ARLINGTON — It was a showdown of two top Western Conference 3A girls basketball teams, so fittingly the game went to overtime and then was decided in the final few seconds.

Two free throws by Missy Peterson with seven seconds remaining gave Edmonds-Woodway a two-point lead, and a potential game-tying shot by Arlington’s Jayla Russ kicked off the rim at the buzzer as the Warriors held on for a thrilling 81-79 non-conference victory on Wednesday night.

In overtime, Edmonds-Woodway guard Mady Burdett scored eight of her game-high 23 points, including two early 3-pointers in the space of 30 seconds. The Warriors kept that lead until Arlington’s Emma Janousek dropped in a 3-pointer from left of the key with 58 seconds remaining, making the score 79-79.

Both teams had misses from the field before Peterson was fouled coming out of backcourt after a rebound. Her two free throws were the game’s final points.

“I’m very proud of (the Warriors),” said Edmonds-Woodway coach Rebekah Wells, whose squad improved to 10-1. “They played very good team basketball. … Last year we struggled in close games, so winning (against Arlington) gives them another confidence builder.”

The Warriors had four players with double-figure points, confirming that “this team has a lot of girls that can score,” Wells said. “It’s hard for another team to guard us and really hone in on one girl.”

Down the stretch, she added, “multiple girls stepped up and made the points that counted.”

Edmonds-Woodway had to battle back from a 10-point halftime deficit, and the Warriors still trailed by five points midway through the fourth quarter. They crept back for a two-point lead late in regulation, but a pair of free throws by Russ with 24 seconds on the clock made the score 69-69.

Both teams failed to get off good shots in the remaining moments as the game went to overtime.

Even in defeat, Eagles coach Joe Marsh called it “just a phenomenal high school basketball game. That’s one of the best games I’ve ever been a part of. And credit to Edmonds-Woodway. They’re a great team, and offensively they were fantastic. They hit shot after shot, and they hit some huge shots late.

“But the thing I’m really proud of with my kids, they didn’t quit,” he said. “They didn’t blink. (The Warriors) would hit a big shot and we’d come down and hit a big shot. We just kept battling and battling. It’s the old cliche, but somebody has to lose that game and unfortunately it was us.”

Still, Arlington had a chance to send the game to a second overtime. After an upcourt pass was deflected out of bounds by Edmonds-Woodway, Marsh called a timeout with 2.4 seconds remaining to set up a final play. The ball was passed to Russ left of the key, and she drove into the lane for a short runner that came off the back rim at the horn.

“We got a great look,” said Marsh, whose team fell to 8-2. “I can’t ask for a better look at the end of the game. I told Jayla, ‘When we ran that play and you’re going to the basket, I’m thinking we were going to another overtime.’

“But I’m really proud of the way we battled. … It was a great game. That’s a playoff game in the middle of the season, and that’s great experience for us. It’s tough to be on the wrong end of it, but those are ones that have a ton of value for your team (later in the season).”

Arlington was led by guard Sevi Bielser with 18 points, all from the 3-point stripe where she was 6-for-8. Together the two teams combined for 21 3-pointers, 14 by the Eagles.

At Arlington H.S.

Edmonds-Wood. 16 16 21 16 12 — 81

Arlington 15 27 15 12 10 — 79

Edmonds-Woodway—Kate Wooley 0, Allie Browning 0, Mady Burdett 23, Natalie Kasper 11, Claire Fyfe 7, Keitra Jones 6, Moni Jackson 14, Lea Bakken 2, Missy Peterson 18. Arlington—Gracie Castaneda 15, Serafina Balderas 4, Sarah Shortt 0, Sevi Bielser 18, Brittany DeNike 2, Olivia Larson 0, Emma Janousek 10, Jessica Ludwig 10, Jayla Russ 17, Peyton Brown 3. 3-point goals—Burdett 5, Jackson 2, Castaneda 3, Bielser 6, Janousek 2, Ludwig 1, Russ 1, Brown 1. Records—Edmonds-Woodway 10-1 overall. Arlington 8-2.