EVERETT — Archbishop Murphy girls basketball has played like a powerhouse all season.
Despite their lack of a 6-foot-tall player, the Wildcats’ run-and-gun style of play and elite shotmaking made them look like giants in a 67-56 rematch win over league rival Meadowdale to clinch the Wesco 2A/3A South title.
Archbishop Murphy (18-1, 11-0) managed an early 12-4 lead thanks to pure shooting from star junior Brooke Blachly (22 points, six 3-pointers) and senior Ava Marr (18 points, five rebounds, four assists) — part of an opening three-minute barrage in which the Wildcats knocked down four 3s. That’s the amount the Mavericks (12-6, 8-2) would manage on the evening, as the jump-shot-heavy team didn’t hit their first shot from range until halfway through the third thanks to the Wildcats’ constant ball pressure running them off the line.
“We did a good job of pushing the ball in transition and finding each other,” Blachly said of the hot start.
That formula paid dividends, as the Wildcats would finish the night with 15 assists on 22 makes and won the turnover battle 14-9.
Once the Wildcats cooled down beyond the arc, they started to impose themselves on the glass by muscling rebounds away and crashing the glass while shots were still airborne. They built a 38-24 lead by the half, largely predicated on a 22-11 rebounding advantage — 33-20 by the night’s end. Putback opportunities from senior Taylor Cushing (seven rebounds, four points) powered Archbishop Murphy toward the end of the half, while sophomores Celine Wright and Ashley Fletcher (15 points) would each snare seven rebounds, largely in the final two quarters.
“We knew going into this game that we had to work hard on (getting rebounds) because they beat us size-wise and in height,” Marr said. “Since probably last game they did better than us on boards, we really focused on getting the long rebounds.”
But in the face of a 55-36 deficit with just over a minute to play in the third quarter, the Mavericks refused to go down quietly.
Meadowdale senior Kyairra Roussin, who contributed 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, scored half of her points in the period and led an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 55-44 as the final frame began. Junior Mia Brockmeyer also began to find a rhythm, scoring 10 of her 16 points in the second half after a rough shooting stretch to close to the first half.
With the lead cut to nine and three minutes to play, Marr hit a moving jump shot and then a contested turnaround from about 15 feet to keep the Mavs at arm’s length. Free throws from Blachly would ice the game, sealing Archbishop Murphy’s 13th consecutive win.
Like their first matchup with Meadowdale on Jan. 3, which the Wildcats took 68-58 after overcoming an early deficit, head coach Ebany Herd wasn’t satisfied with her group’s consistency. Still, she found her group’s response to the late comeback bid heartening.
“We talk all the time about battling through adversity because it’s gonna come in waves,” Herd said. “The biggest thing is us figuring out how to push through that wall, stay together, trust each other, and finish the game off strong.”
Meadowdale head coach Benson Sims watched his team’s seven-game winning streak come to an end but saw potential in how his team fought with their chances so dim.
“We have an uncanny way to straighten up in the pressure moments. Obviously, as a coach, I’d like for us to get ahead and establish ourselves early. But it’s definitely a morale booster when we know that we can dig our heels in and come together,” Sims said.
Sims had plenty of circumstances to account for, as a key defender in senior Kaiya Dotter missed the contest with injury and senior post-scorer Audrey Lucas, who had 25 points in the first matchup with A-M, got in foul trouble early. Lucas’ absence for much of the first half put Meadowdale behind the eight ball according to Sims.
“It’s very obvious when (Lucas is) not on the floor,” Sims said. “In other times we’ve been in this situation, we’ve rallied around and picked up the pieces… they did a really good job of exposing it when she was off the floor.”
The district playoffs are just around the corner, and both squads know what they need to focus on to make it further than last season. For Archbishop Murphy, that means topping a sixth-place finish in the 2A state tournament last season. And that, according to Blachly, will require four quarters of their best play each time out.
“I don’t think we’ve ever played a full game to our full potential,” Blachly said. “Like this game, we had a good first two quarters and then it just kind of slowed down in the third, picked back up in the fourth… We have every piece we need on this team, we can go far.”
Despite the loss, Sims feels every bit as confident about his team.
“I stack us up with anybody if I’m being honest,” Sims said. “I think there are things amongst our group that we’re still tidying up and I think it’s good that we have moments like this.”
The Mavericks will play their penultimate regular season game Saturday night at home against Edmonds-Woodway, while the Wildcats close the season Monday night at Mountlake Terrace.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
Gallery
