By Chris Trujillo
Herald Writer
TACOMA – The Meadowdale girls basketball team’s illustrious collection of state trophies is nearly complete.
Next to the Mavericks’ cherished 2000 championship trophy sits medals for second place, fourth place, sixth place and a pair for eighth place.
They can now add fifth place to a celebrated compilation of accomplishments thanks to a 55-51 victory over Burlington-Edison on Saturday at the Tacoma Dome. It is the sixth consecutive time the Mavericks have left the Class 3A state tournament with hardware in hand.
“That first day after we lost to Lakeside,” Meadowdale coach Karen Blair said, “we told the girls that we could either be the third team to get eighth because we’ve done that twice. Or the first team to get fifth place and that is when they really keyed in.”
The Mavericks, who lose three starters to graduation, finished the season with a 23-3 overall record. The Burlington-Edison Tigers, in just their first state appearance since 1979, captured eighth place.
Anne Martin, who played with a face mask for three games to protect a broken nose that she suffered during practice last Monday, hit a key 3-point basket for Meadowdale with 5:03 remaining in the fourth quarter to end a 7-0 Burlington-Edison run. Martin’s long-range basket, which gave Meadowdale a 45-44 lead, was the ninth and final second-half lead change.
The Mavericks grabbed a 51-48 lead, but Burlington-Edison’s Katie Warner hit a 3-point basket to tie the score with 2:23 remaining in the game. However, a pair of free throws by Tara Jacob, a baseline drive and score by Martin and a smothering defense – which caused three consecutive Burlington-Edison turnovers – was all the Mavericks needed to clinch the victory. Quinn Brewe and Jacob each finished with 10 points.
“This win was just huge; we really wanted it,” said Martin, who went 5-for-17 from the field to lead Meadowdale with 13 points. “We have worked so hard to get here there was no way we were going to leave with eighth place.”
Despite sticking close to their tournament shooting average, which never rose higher than 36 percent after three games, the Mavericks were able to hang close in the first half. Meadowdale battled back from a five-point deficit to trail the Tigers 29-27 at halftime. Jacci Baker’s back-to-back 3-point baskets with less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter snapped a 2 1/2-minute Meadowdale scoring drought. The points also gave life to the Mavericks’ offense, which was outscored 11-4 spanning nearly five minutes. Baker, a junior point guard, finished the game with seven points.
Burlington-Edison, which jumped out to a 16-12 lead after the first eight minutes of the game, kept the Mavericks off balance and out of position for most of the first half. In fact, the red-hot shooting Tigers, who converted 55 percent from the floor, held the lead for 14 minutes and 26 seconds.
Burlington-Edison- Kilburn 16, Warner 15, Petrzelka 5, Warren 5, Dann 4, Schenk 2, Carabba 4. Meadowdale- Marte 2, Martin 13, Dawson 2, Baker 7, Brewe 10, Jacob 10, Swerk 9, Hoffman 2. 3-point goals- Warner 2, Martin 2, Baker 2. Records- Burlington-Edison 25-7. Meadowdale 23-3.
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