Lake Stevens holds on to edge M-P

LAKE STEVENS — Karri Gallagher and the Lake Stevens Vikings are gradually growing accustomed to life hard on the edge.

Gallagher’s put-back with 11 seconds to play ensured unbeaten Lake Stevens would teeter past relentless Marysville-Pilchuck 47-46 in a Western Conference North Division girl’s basketball game Wednesday night.

“My heart’s still racing, I was so nervous,” Gallagher recalled of her victory-clinching shot that marked the sixth lead change of the final two minutes.

The offering from the left side of the lane spun ever so slowly around the rim before finally dropping through the net, perhaps at Gallagher’s urging.

“I was saying ‘Please, just go in,” said Gallagher, whose team improved to 11-0 in the division and 15-0 overall.

In the waning seconds M-P (6-5, 11-5) had two more chances to cast the Vikings’ mounting streak into the abyss.

The Tommies in-bounded the ball at mid-court with 6.7 seconds remaining. With her teammates blanketed, M-P’s Shaelei Lucas (eight points) drove right, but her floater in the lane came up short.

The rebound was tipped out of bounds by the Vikings. M-P had a final opportunity with an in-bounds play under the basket with exactly 1 second remaining, but never got a shot off.

“Coach (Randal Edens) was calm. He told us to pack it inside and don’t let a shot go up,” said guard Leah Tate, who sparked the Vikings to an early lead with nine first quarter points.

Maybe it just seemed like old times to Edens.

“I was thinking of last year when we had almost the same scenario and they hit a 3-pointer to send it into overtime and beat us … it was here we go again,” Edens said. “I told the kids to lock up and take a chance defensively, but obviously you can’t foul either.”

M-P’s loss came despite 19 points and 17 rebounds by Brittany Harris. It came despite 13 points — and a trio of 3-pointers — by Jessica Masters and a valiant comeback from a deficit that grew to as many as nine points in the first half.

“(Harris and Masters) post up and they can hit the 3,” said Lake Stevens’ guard Mary Ochiltree (12 points). “You never know what to expect from them.”

Edens said: “With M-P it’s always going to be a war. They’re very physical, it’s hard to get the ball over the top and they bring a lot of intensity.”

Sparked by the 5-foot-2 Tate, Lake Stevens led 18-12 after the first quarter.

“It was so amazing, (Tate) just goes off,” Gallagher said. “Don’t be fooled by her size.”

After falling behind by nine points, M-P used an 8-0 run to cut a nine-point gap to 24-23 at halftime.

Alona Personius scored eight of her 12 points to lift Lake Stevens back to a 37-31 lead by the end of the third quarter.

The Tommies drew to within 41-40 when Masters made her second 3-pointer of the final period with 3:15 to play in the game. M-P took its first lead on Lucas’s jumper from left of the lane with 2:04 to play.

Four foul shots by Ochiltree and a pair by Harris (10-for-11 from the foul line) resulted in a 45-44 Lake Stevens lead with 1:29 remaining.

Masters and Harris ran a pick-and-roll to perfection, with Harris’ banker putting M-P up 46-45 with just over a minute to go. Masters made a steal on the Vikings’ next possession, but the Tommies turned the ball over with 26.9 seconds to go.

On its next possession, Lake Stevens got the ball inside to Ochiltree crossing left to right in the lane, but her shot glanced back over the rim to Gallagher on the left side of the lane and the 6-foot-3 post seized the opportunity.

“Marysville’s never going to go away, they’re too good of a team,” Edens said. “This was a good character win that will definitely benefit us down the road … because we’ve got to play our best basketball in February.”

At Lake Stevens H.S.

Marysville-Pilchuck1211815—46

Lake Stevens1861310—47

M-P — Lucas 8, Fordon 2, West 4, Masters 13, Harris 19, Enberg, Peterson, Heckendorf, Adams, Martinis. Lake Stevens — Ochiltree 12, Tri 6, Tate 9, Schumacher 3, Personius 12, Gallagher 5. 3-point goals — Maters 3, Ochiltree 1, Tate 1, Schumacher 1. J.V. score — Lake Stevens 44, M-P 36. Records — M-P 6-5 in division, 11-5 overall. Lake Stevens — 11-0, 15-0.