SNOHOMISH — There were stretches of Friday night’s game against Shorecrest when the Glacier Peak girls basketball team looked pretty good: a 13-0 run early in the first quarter, an 8-0 string midway through the second, and an 11-1 spurt from the late third to early fourth quarters.
But in between it was not always so good. The Grizzlies struggled with their perimeter shooting most of the night, the defense was spotty at times, and they probably had too many turnovers in the eyes of coach Brian Hill.
In the end, though, Glacier Peak won convincingly, and that was enough to make Hill smile.
fter going in front early, the Grizzlies never trailed again on the way to a 68-51 Wesco 3A victory, their eighth without a loss this season.
“I thought we made some really good runs, but I also thought Shorecrest did a really good job of weathering the storm we tried to provide,” Hill said. “They kept battling back … to keep it close. And Shorecrest did a great job defensively against us. They kind of flustered us and took us out of our game a little bit.
“But I’m always pleased when we win. I just thought it wasn’t our best put-together game. But we got the win, and at the end, that’s what it comes down to.”
Glacier Peak spotted the Scots a 2-0 lead, but then ran off 13 unanswered points, including nine from guard Sadie Mensing. The lead reached 18-7 before Shorecrest closed the quarter with six straight points in the final 50 seconds.
In the second quarter Glacier Peak slowed offensively, going without a field goal for the first 4½ minutes and finishing the quarter with just three. Shorecrest crept steadily closer, closing within 20-18 midway through the period, though the Grizzlies regained their earlier momentum and pushed the lead to 35-25 at halftime.
Shorecrest played Glacier Peak evenly through the third quarter, even drawing within six points (49-43) late in the period. But the Grizzlies used another scoring burst to push the margin back to double digits, and it stayed there the rest of the game.
“A game like that’s great for us because there’s stuff we need to work on,” Hill pointed out, and he could probably start with the team’s outside shooting. Glacier Peak made five 3-pointers in the game, but missed at least 20.
“We’re usually a pretty good outside shooting team,” he said, “but it wasn’t pretty tonight.”
All that said, the Grizzlies are 8-0 and certainly among the state’s top 3A teams. Not only that, Hill added, “they’re fun, they work hard and they like each other, which really makes it a fun season. My wife came home the other day and I was smiling and she said, ‘You’re having fun, aren’t you?’ And I am. I love this team.”
Mensing, one of just two Glacier Peak seniors, said there were times against Shorecrest “when we knew we should be playing better. But we tried to keep our composure, pick each other up and just keep playing hard.”
Though there are still a lot of games to be played, “I couldn’t be happier,” said Mensing, who led all scorers with 23 points. “Our goal is to win at state. To play on Saturday and get some hardware. We definitely have a lot to work on and improve, but I think if we work hard and play as a team, we can do it.”
Wurrie Njadoe, Jazzlyn Owens and Uju Chibuogwu had 13 points apiece for Shorecrest, with Chibuogwu converting three 3-pointers.
At Glacier Peak H.S.
Shorecrest 13 12 18 8—51
Glacier Peak 18 17 17 16—68
Shorecrest— Bianca Harris 1, Wurrie Njadoe 13, Ari Rantz 4, Jazzlyn Owens 13, Julia Strand 2, Ronna Iverson 0, Shelby Gresch 0, Sheridan Stephenson 4, Samantha Shoemaker 0, Josie Dorn 1, Uju Chibuogwu 13.
Glacier Peak—Addison Sande 0, Paisley Johnson 14, Sammy Fatkin 12, Sadie Mensing 23, Kayla Watkins 4, Natalie Rasmussen 7, Maya McFadden 1, Charlie Sevenants 5, Sierra Nash 0, Kianna Garner 2. 3-point goals—Uju Chibuogwu 3, Paisley Johnson 2, Sammy Fatkin 2, Natalie Rasmussen 1. Records—Shorecrest 0-2 league, 4-4 overall. Glacier Peak 3-0, 8-0.
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