Lake Stevens stops M-P again

Published 12:02 am Saturday, February 16, 2008

MARYSVILLE — The basketball cliche says it’s difficult to beat the same team three times in a season.

Apparently no one told that to Lake Stevens.

Mary Ochiltree scored 24 points and Brittany Tri led a strong Lake Stevens defensive effort with seven blocked shots as the Vikings clinched a spot in next Saturday’s 4A District 1 championship game by beating Marysville-Pilchuck 58-38.

The Tomahawks play Oak Harbor in a loser-out contest Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.

“It’s overwhelming,” Lake Stevens coach Randall Edens said. “It’s been a great year for our kids. They handled the pressure really well and we just talked bout how we had to use (our) experience tonight.”

This game was a far cry from the teams’ first two meetings, both won by Lake Stevens by a combined eight points. But the Vikings’ defensive effort on M-P’s Britt Harris — who averages 17 points per game — made it difficult for the Tomahawks to establish its offensive rhythm.

“They took us out of our game,” M-P coach Julie Martin said. “We tried to run certain things and everybody’s not on the same page.”

After scoring a combined 28 points in the teams’ first two matchups, Harris finished with just five points on Friday — exactly the result Edens was going for.

“You have to (focus on Harris),” he said. “She’s a double-double kid and both times we played them she put up those kinds of numbers, so that had to be priority No. 1.”

That responsibility fell primarily to Tri, whose 6-foot-1 frame and accompanying wingspan gave Harris and the Tomahawks fits all night.

“We really wanted to stop (Harris),” said Tri, who finished with seven rebounds. “My main goal is to block her out really hard and not let her get any second chance shots.”

Tri held the Tomahawk post in check primarily by herself since fellow post Karri Gallagher spent much of the first half on the bench after picking up three early fouls. The Tomahawks also hurt themselves by shooting less than 30 percent from the field and were just 11-for-26 from the free throw line. Those numbers proved costly for M-P. The Tomahawks scored just one field goal in the second quarter, and Lake Stevens took a 25-14 lead into halftime after Meghan Warbis banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Jessica Masters connected for two jumpers and Anna West added two free throws early in the third to pull the Tomahawks to within six at 27-21, but that was the closest they would get as Ochiltree’s 3-pointer with 4:15 remaining in the third put the Vikings back up by 11.

Nicole Peterson hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions midway through the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late for M-P. The Vikings extended their lead to 21 at one point as Ochiltree scored 15 of her game-high 24 in the second half. Gallagher finished with 15.

“We went through a lot of adversity tonight with the foul trouble and free throws,” Edens said. “But defensively we were great and offensively we got some good looks and you have to do that in a game like this.”

Peterson had 12 points and West added 10 for the Tomahawks, whose effort didn’t completely satisfy their coach.

“We got outhustled and it started right from the beginning,” Martin said. “We have to bounce back. (The team) has to know we still can go (to state) but if we don’t put out the effort, we’re not going to go. We need to play more as a team and not as individuals and I think that’s what we did tonight.”

As M-P looks to stave off elimination against Oak Harbor on Tuesday, Lake Stevens is looking ahead to next weekend’s title contest.

“This is what we wanted to do all season,” Tri said. “It’s amazing that we finally made it.”

At Marysville-Pilchuck H.S.

LS14111122—58

M-P861113—38

Lake Stevens — Bostwick, Burke 1, Gallagher 15, Goddard, Greene, Ochiltree 24, Personius 9, Schumacher, Tate, Tri 4, Warbis 5, Ziskovsky. Marysville-Pilchuck — Fordon, Harris 5, Heckendorf, Juco, Lucas 1, Martinis 2, Masters 8, Peterson 12, Pierce, West 10. 3-point goals — Warbis 1, Masters 1, Ochiltree 1, Personius 2, Peterson 2. Records — Lake Stevens 21-1 overall. M-P 17-6.