EVERETT — Don’t tell the Cascade girls basketball team there’s nothing left to play for this season.
The Bruins will be turning in their uniforms before the district playoffs begin, but they have no interest in mailing in the final two weeks of their season. Cascade snapped the six-game losing streak that dashed their postseason hopes with a resounding 65-45 thumping of playoff-contending Oak Harbor Wednesday night in Cascade’s Reg Scodeller Gym.
"The playoffs — we can’t really control that any more," said Cascade coach Dave Roberts, whose team improved to 4-9 in the Western Conference North Division and 7-10 overall. "Why sit around and mope when you have an opportunity to play games and have fun competing? For the seniors, it’s their last opportunity to continue to do that."
Oak Harbor remains the front-runner for fifth place in the division, though the Wildcats could have erased the possibility of a three-way tie for fifth with a victory. Oak Harbor (8-6, 11-7) could clinch fourth with victories in its final two games and can finish no worse than in a tie for fifth. The fourth-place team earns a district tournament berth while the North No. 5 must play the South Division’s fourth-place team for the final district spot.
Despite fighting a cold and the defense of Oak Harbor 6-foot-3 post Heidi McNeill, Kristi Auckland showed she’d like to finisher her stellar career with some pop.
The 5-foot-11 forward torched the Wildcats with 34 points and 17 rebounds to help Cascade avenge last month’s 50-49 loss to Oak Harbor.
"Last time we lost to them by one and we’ve been on a losing streak," said Auckland with a hoarse whisper. "We really wanted to win."
Oak Harbor took its lumps both on the scoreboard and in the stands. One fan left after a referee asked an Oak Harbor assistant coach to end the fan’s constant harassment of the officials. The same referee later charged Oak Harbor coach Brett McLeod with a technical foul, telling McLeod "it’s your responsibility to control your fans."
"I’ve never seen that before," chuckled McLeod after the game.
Unsure of his new job as gym security officer, McLeod had more on his mind than crowd control.
" (Cascade) came out focused and had a lot of energy," McLeod said. "I thought we kind of lacked that a little bit early on. We put ourselves in a bit of a hole, and once we found the energy the game was already a bit out of hand."
The Wildcats scored the first point of the game, but Cascade countered with the next 10. The Bruins delivered their damage in threes in the first half. Auckland, who scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the first half, made a 3-point shot and a 3-point play in the half. Ryanne Bergstrom hit two 3-point shots, Danielle Elliott hit another and Jenny Muscatell converted a 3-point play. The 18 points in bunches of three propelled Cascade to a 35-19 halftime lead.
Auckland opened the second half with a pair of jump shots to give Cascade a 20-point advantage. The Wildcats never got closer than 12 points in the second half.
McNeill and guard Amanda Watts each contributed 11 points and six rebounds for Oak Harbor, while Felicia Hill added 10 points and six rebounds. Elliott scored 12 for Cascade.
Oak Harbor—McNeill 11, White 2, Smollack 1, Watts 11, Merritt 2, Hill 10, Bratt 8. Cascade—Auckland 34, Bergstrom 6, Elliott 12, Eide 3, Muscatell 6, Hooks 4. 3-point goals—Watts 2, Hill 2, Auckland 2, Bergstrom 2, Elliott 2, Eide 1. JV score—Cascade 53, Lake Stevens 38. Records—Oak Harbor 8-6 in division, 11-7 overall. Cascade 4-9, 7-10. |
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