MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — The Arlington Eagles girls basketball shook of any playoff jitters early to seize control of Saturday night’s 4A District 1 semifinal, rolling to a 45-27 victory over Snohomish.
Both teams struggled to score early, but a late first-quarter flurry gave the Eagles a modest 8-4 lead, then they continued to steadily pull away throughout the game.
“You have those playoff jitters early, but once we settled down and played our kind of basketball, we were able to get that separation and keep it going,” said Eagles coach Joe Marsh. “I told them that at halftime, when they settle down — our defense has been great all year — when we get stops and settle down and run our stuff, we’ll get that separation, and that’s what happened tonight.”
Arlington (19-3) will face Lynnwood for a district title on Saturday night at Mountlake Terrace, and like the Royals earlier in the evening, the Eagles have assured themselves a berth in the state regionals. Lynnwood has not been to a state tournament in girls hoops since 2001, but Marsh feels like this can be the group to get there.
“This is fantastic for us,” Marsh said. “This was one of our goals all year. It’s one of our goals to get to a district championship, but also to get out of districts and get to that regional, so this is fantastic. We’re so happy.”
Arlington won easily despite not having a single player score in double figures. Krista Showalter led the way with eight points, while Taylor Graham, Jayla Russ, and Lyndsay Leatherman all contributed seven points.
“This is a great group,” Marsh said. “They’re a very, very special group. I have six seniors who have led this team the whole way, then I’ve got a great group of young kids who have come in. We call it family basketball, and they’ve just done a great job this year of taking care of business.”
Snohomish (14-8) will host Monroe Wednesday in a loser-out game. Kayla Lachapelle led the Panthers with eight points, all of which came in the second half.
At Mountlake Terrace H.S.
Snohomish47610—27
Arlington811917—45
Snohomish—Morgan Green 4, Ellie Otterson 2, Hannah Berntson 2, Shaylee Harwood 3, Kayla Lachapelle 8, Madeline Smith 2, Paige Helms 2, Maria Mock 2, Ellie Flitsch 1, Bailey Armbruster 0, Tara Harms 0. Arlington—Grace Castaneda 0, Taylor Graham 7, Lindsay Brown 6, Krista Showalter 8, Emma Janousek 0, Jessica Ludwig 6, Winter Brown 2, Jayla Russ 7, Lyndsay Leatherman 7, Marissa Swegle 2. 3-point goals—Graham 2. Records—Snohomish 14-8 overall. Arlington 19-3.
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