Archbishop Murphy girls top Arlington in key Wesco 3A battle

EVERETT — When reminded of her team’s win-loss total postgame, Archbishop Murphy coach Cassie Snyder said she only keeps track of the losses.

Fortunate for Synder, there hasn’t been much to record this winter.

The wins, though, have come plenty, and Synder and the Wildcats added a signature victory Friday night with a 58-49 win over Arlington — Wesco 3A’s lone remaining unbeaten heading into the night.

“To beat a great team like that is huge for our girls and their confidence,” Snyder said. “I think tonight we did a great job of executing and following our game plan. They did a great job all around.”

Archbishop Murphy countered Arlington’s signature pressure defense and scrappy style with its lengthy trio of Emily Rodabaugh, Kiana Yesiki and Julia Lucas, who all scored in double figures.

Rodabaugh (6-foot), Lucas (5-11) and Yesiki (5-10) dominated the boards and routinely created good shots inside.

Rodabaugh finished with a game-high 16 points, Yesiki added 15 and Lucas contributed 14 for the Wildcats (11-2, 6-1 Wesco 3A), who are playing in Wesco for first time this season.

“It feels really great (to win), because we just came back from a loss,” said Yesiki, a freshman who has started every game this year. “It is a big booster for all of us. … It feels good to help the team, but it’s not just me, it’s also the team. It’s everyone, and that’s what I love so much about this team.”

Archbishop Murphy led the entire game after taking a 5-3 lead early in the first quarter. The Wildcats’ defense limited Arlington’s shooters and held the Eagles scoreless for long periods of time.

Arlington (9-4, 7-1) didn’t score for a span of 5 minutes, 50 seconds during the first and second quarter, and also went scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half, which allowed Archbishop Murphy to build back a double-digit lead.

The Wildcats led by as many as 10 in the first half, but Arlington rallied to cut the deficit to 28-24 heading into halftime before the third-quarter dry spell allowed Murphy to push its lead to 36-24 with 4:20 to play in the third.

A 3-pointer from Arlington’s Hailey Hiatt with 5:50 to go in the fourth cut the Wildcats’ lead to 41-37, but Murphy answered with six unanswered points and was never threatened the rest of the way.

Arlington’s Allison DeBerry came off the bench and gave the Eagles a big boost, matching a team-high with 12 points. Sierra Scheppele also finished with 12, and nine of her points came on three fourth-quarter 3s.

IMPACT

Archbishop Murphy joins Arlington, Snohomish and Shorecrest at the top of the Wesco 3A standings as the league’s only one-loss teams. The win was the Wildcats’ second straight after snapping a nine-game win streak with a loss to Snohomish on Jan. 8.

Arlington suffered its first league loss but is in the thick of the Wesco 3A title race.

TOP PERFORMERS

Emily Rodabaugh, Archbishop Murphy — Rodabaugh was the best player on the court Friday, finishing with a game-high 16 points and 12 rebounds. She provided the Wildcats a consistent scorer and was a difference maker on the defensive end.

Kiana Yesiki, Archbishop Murphy — Yesiki’s play resembled nothing of a typical freshman logging varsity minutes. She played poised, hit her free throws down the stretch and finished with 15 points to go with seven rebounds.

Allison DeBerry, Arlington — Arlington had a deep rotation, playing 11 different players, and when DeBerry was in she looked like the Eagles’ top scoring option. She finished with nine of her 12 points during the second quarter and gave Arlington a great spark off the bench.

UP NEXT

Archbishop Murphy has another tough matchup against Edmonds-Woodway (7-6, 4-3) on Tuesday on the road. Arlington hits the road to play Everett (7-7, 2-6) on Tuesday.