MUKILTEO — Jody Schauer looked across the court and saw his “family” Tuesday night.
Then he handed them a 27-point beating.
Schauer got a combined 31 points out of forwards Julia Church and Kelsey Patrick as his Kamiak girls basketball team defeated Lynnwood 68-41 at Kamiak High School. For Schauer — who spent three years as the head coach at Lynnwood, before coming to Kamiak this season — the moment was both strange and bittersweet.
“I coached just about everyone of those girls on that team, so it’s kind of like coaching against my own family,” Schauer said. “It’s strange, because I care for the kids in the (Lynnwood) locker room. And you don’t want to take it to them, but sometimes you have to.”
Still, had Schauer not wanted a blowout, it wouldn’t have mattered. Not with the way his offense was playing.
The Knights, who had three players in double figures and four with at least eight points, were led by 16 from Patrick, 15 from Church and 14 from guard Samantha Sovich. They came into the game averaging just 52 points an outing, but could’ve scored 80 with a better night at the line. Kamiak finished just 6-for-18 on its free-throw attempts.
“They played well as a team. They passed the ball around and really took their time getting a good shot,” Schauer said. “You need a good inside and outside game so that the other teams really respect each of those. And, for the most part, we’re looking for each other and getting it to the open player.”
Kamiak’s defense, which forced 25 turnovers on the night, took control of the contest early. Lynnwood mustered just three layups in the first period and fell in a 13-6 hole after one, as Church got six points of her own for Kamiak.
From there, it was an offensive show by the Knights. Patrick scored five points in the final minute of the second quarter to give Kamiak a 30-15 halftime lead and a putback by Church early in the third period sparked a 14-2 run that completely blew the game open. By the end of the third quarter, the Knights were in total command at 50-27,
Kamiak managed to increase its lead to as many as 29 in the final frame.
The victory improved the Knights to 3-2 overall and gave them their first league win. Most importantly, Schauer said it was the first real sign that his new team is starting to figure his system out.
“They’re really starting to understand my style and my philosophy and coming around to the kind of game I want them to play,” he said. “They did pretty well tonight.”
Patrick had another well-rounded game, as she pulled down six rebounds, blocked six shots and distributed three assists to go along with her game-high scoring total. Church also had three blocks and three boards, and Jordan Keller finished with 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Laycee Hill led the way for Lynnwood with 16 points.
At Kamiak H.S.
Lynnwood691214—41
Kamiak13172018—68
Lynnwood — Ruiz 0, Anthony 4, Eddy 6, Hella 6, A. Hill 7, L. Hill 16, Johnsen 2, Kossik 0, Parker 0, Casey. Kamiak — Church 15, Keller 5, T. Kussman 8, K. Kussman 0, McClaskey 2, Patrick 16, Simmons 4, Sovich 14, Taglialavore 4. 3-point goals — Sovich 2, Taglialavore 1, Patrick 3, Hella 1. Records — Lynnwood 0-1 league, 0-4 overall. Kamiak 1-1, 3-2.
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