EDMONDS – What was a dream performance for most of the first half quickly turned into a nightmare for the Edmonds-Woodway girls basketball team on Wednesday night.
OK, so it wasn’t a total nightmare.
The Warriors hung on after seeing almost all of their 13-point halftime lead fade away, outlasting Oak Harbor 72-64 in a 4A district tournament first round game behind 28 points from sophomore Jessica Takara.
But it was the kind of performance that never gave Edmonds-Woodway fans a chance to exhale.
Things started to take a turn for the worse with five seconds left in the first half, when star forward Katie Trew twisted her left ankle on a rebound and had to be helped off the court. Trew lost the ball on the play, and Oak Harbor’s Heidi McNeill picked up the loose ball and scored a layup.
That sent the game into halftime with Edmonds-Woodway holding a seemingly comfortable lead at 44-31. But the loss of Trew, and some solid play from Oak Harbor guard Jenny White, helped turn the game into a nail-biter.
“We were kind of worried about it,” Takara said. “But everybody pulled together.”
Oak Harbor’s White scored 11 of her 19 points in the third quarter as the Wildcats rallied to get within 52-51. While White was on fire, Takara had gone cold following a first half that saw her score 16 points.
But Takara got hot again at the right time, rebounding from five consecutive misses to nail a 3-pointer from the corner as the buzzer sounded at the end of the third quarter. That gave Edmonds-Woodway a 55-51 lead, and the Warriors never looked back.
Takara hit another 3 to open the fourth quarter, and E-W eventually pulled out to a 66-57 lead en route to the victory.
Even then, the struggles continued for Edmonds-Woodway. Takara limped off the floor in the fourth quarter with a leg cramp, only to return in the final minute. Both Takara and Trew should be available this Saturday when the Warriors take on Snohomish in a second-round game.
“I don’t think (the comeback) was because of us losing a player,” Edmonds-Woodway coach Amy Branch said. “They were going to come back regardless; that’s a good team. But my team responded.”
Edmonds-Woodway came out of the gates like gangbusters, running out to 25 points in a fast-paced opening quarter. Oak Harbor kept pace to a degree, but didn’t have enough defense to stop the Warriors. Just about every time the Wildcats scored, Edmonds-Woodway pushed the ball up the floor quickly and answered with a layup of its own.
Takara scored 11 points in the first quarter as Edmonds-Woodway took a 25-18 lead.
The Warriors continued the onslaught in the second quarter behind eight offensive rebounds. They went into halftime leading 44-31 behind Takara’s 16 points. McNeill had 13 points for the Wildcats, who were outrebounded 22-4 over the first 16 minutes.
Trew had 10 points and seven rebounds before having to go to the training room with the ankle injury. Without her, the Warriors (17-4) couldn’t find an answer for Oak Harbor’s offensive explosion. The Wildcats (11-10) went on spurts of 15-6 and 20-8 at the beginning of the second half to get within one point with 1:23 left in the third quarter.
“We run a lot at practice, so we’re a well-conditioned team,” White said. “Usually after halftime, that’s when we play our best. We were never out of it. We knew we were still in the game.”
McNeill finished with 19 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats, while Sarah Bratt and Amanda Watts chipped in with nine points each.
Edmonds-Woodway got contributions from all around, including 11 points and 11 rebounds from Morgan Harter and eight points and 11 rebounds from reserve Lindsey Bordeaux, who eventually fouled out after replacing Trew.
But the biggest factor was Takara, a sophomore who got called up at the end of her freshman season to see some varsity action last February. At the time, teammates joked about Takara being a “mystery player” because she seemingly came out of nowhere.
“This mystery player has come out of the woodwork,” Branch said. “She works hard, and the leadership, for a 16-year-old, is fantastic.”
Still in the early stages of her high school career, Takara has already figured out how to take a 28-point performance in stride.
“It feels good,” she said. “But it feels good because we won as a team.”
Oak Harbor – McNeill 19, White 19, Watts 9, Hill 5, Bratt 9, Smollack 3. Edmonds-Woodway – Park 3, Wells 6, Takara 28, Harter 11, Trew 10, Bordeaux 8, Murphy 2. Records – Oak Harbor 11-10, Edmonds-Woodway 17-4. |
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