Strong second half pushes Edmonds-Woodway past Stanwood 50-44

Published 10:34 pm Tuesday, December 22, 2015

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Rebekah Wells requested a little more energy from her Edmonds-Woodway team in the second half of its non-league game against Stanwood.

And the Warriors responded almost immediately.

Edmonds-Woodway began the third quarter with a 9-0 run, breaking a 24-24 halftime tie, and held on to defeat Stanwood 50-44 Tuesday night at the Mountlake Terrace Holiday Tournament at Mountlake Terrace High School.

“We just needed more energy,” Edmonds-Woodway head coach Wells said. “The first half we were just really slow and really lackadaisical with some passes. I just told the girls, ‘Get some more energy. Be a threat.’ And they came out and we got the fast breaks we needed and got it going.”

Senior guard Mady Burdett was a big part of the second-half run for the Warriors, who outscored Stanwood 16-7 in the third quarter. Burdett netted 11 of her game-high 15 points in the second half to help Edmonds-Woodway build its lead.

Missy Peterson also had a strong game for the Warriors, with the junior post scoring 14 and grabbing 15 rebounds in the contest.

“Against teams that are very good (Peterson will) step it up,” Wells said. “Sometimes, in the zone, she can get lost, but today she was like, ‘I’ve got to do it.’”

Maddie Tudor added eight points and 10 rebounds for Edmonds-Woodway (7-1 overall).

“I think they just did a great job as a team today,” Wells said. “A lot of times, Mady Burdett’s the one that comes out and scores. But then other girls step up. Courtney Simpson came off the bench and scored two threes in a row and then we have Missy Peterson step it up.”

“They really shoot,” said Stanwood head coach Dennis Kloke. “They made big threes in the fourth quarter, when the game was getting tight. It’s hard to defend.”

With Edmonds-Woodway in a zone defense, Stanwood remained scoreless in the third quarter until midway through the period, when senior Haley Strowbridge got the Spartans on the scoreboard with a midrange shot.

A 3-pointer by Strowbridge got Stanwood to within four, 45-41, with 4:50 to go in the game but the Spartans couldn’t get any closer.

“We just got stagnant (in the third quarter),” Kloke said. “We have not faced a lot of zone. So we’re running a zone offense that’s brand new without a post. We’re pretty good when they play us man-to-man. We know what to do. But we are just a step behind in our timing of the zone offense. I don’t look at it as a negative right now. It’s a non-league game. So, now we can take some positives and correct the negatives and we’ll be better.

“I just liked how the girls continued to play,” Kloke continued. “Things are going south for us in that third quarter. We could have been 15, 18 points down really quick. I didn’t call a timeout right away because I wanted to see the character of the five kids that were on the court. Were they going to meet the challenge? And they did.”

Strowbridge led Stanwood (5-3) with 14 points. One of two seniors on a Spartans squad that features a freshman, two juniors and six sophomores, Strowbridge has emerged as a leader for Stanwood.

“It’s her team. She’s earned it, to call it her team,” Kloke said. “She’s our leader. She pointed out to her teammates that they have to be more vocal on the court, more intense. She’s going to provide it and they need to follow.”

Jillian Heichel scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds and Kaitlin Larson added six points and 12 rebounds for the Spartans.

Larson, at 5-foot-11, has had to fill in at post for Stanwood this season after the graduation of former Spartans star Tristan Murphy.

“Kaitlin Larson is doing a heck of a job on the boards,” Kloke said. “She’s playing the middle of our zone and we’re asking a 5-10, 5-11 girl to all of a sudden go into the middle where Tristan Murphy was last year. It really is a tough adjustment. She’s the one that’s got to see everybody. I’m really pleased with how she’s been playing.”

Both coaches were excited to square off in Tuesday’s holiday tournament at Mountlake Terrace. The last time the two teams met, Edmonds-Woodway topped Stanwood 71-65 in a thrilling opener in the 3A District 1 tournament last season.

Wells and Kloke know they could meet again later in the year with their seasons on the line.

Said Kloke: “Sure we got beat, but we’re going to be a lot better by the time districts roll around. Last year that was our first (district) game, against Edmonds-Woodway, and it was a barn burner.”

“You know you might see them in playoffs and they’re a very good team,” Wells said. “… It’s good competition because it can be a (potential) playoff game. We played them last year in the playoffs and we have the potential to play them again.”

At Mountlake Terrace H.S.

Stanwood 12 12 7 13 —44

Ed.-Woodway 10 14 16 10 —50

Stanwood—Kayla Frazier 1, Kylie Wright 0, Anna DePew 0, Jillian Heichel 9, Haley Strowbridge 14, Kaitlin Larson 6, Ashley Bierer 6, Ashley Alter 8. Edmonds-Woodway—Isabel Callen 0, Ally Burdett 2, Mady Burdett 15, Marivel Ortega 5, Ingrid Fosberg 0, Maddie Tudor 8, Adrienne Poling 0, Courtney Simpson 6, Missy Peterson 14. Records—Stanwood 5-3 overall. Edmonds-Woodway 7-1.