Herald staff
LYNNWOOD – With a convincing 51-23 victory over Everett on Wednesday night, the Meadowdale girls basketball team clinched a Northwest District 3A tournament berth.
Just don’t ask them about it.
“I don’t think the girls even realized (a district birth was at stake),” said Meadowdale head coach Karen Blair. “They’re just focusing on one game at a time.”
With the victory, Meadowdale improved to 12-0 in Wesco South action and improved its overall record to 12-2. The loss drops Everett to 3-8 in league and 4-9 overall.
The Mavericks pulled away from the Seagulls with a 14-0 run to open the third quarter to pull away from the Seagulls.
In the first half, Meadowdale’s defense held Everett in check, but the Mavericks offense did little to take advantage. Failing to score in double digits in either of the first two quarters, Meadowdale took an 18-9 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, though, a quick rotating defense held Everett scoreless until 1:28 remained in the third quarter. The stingy defense, led by Ashley Fenimore’s seven steals, allowed Meadowdale to outscore Everett 19-4 in the third quarter and build an insurmountable 37-13 lead going into the final period.
“We didn’t shoot so well in the first half, but our defensive pressure made up for it in the second half,” said Blair.
The leading scorer on the night was Meadowdale’s Anne Martin who poured in 19 points and also hit five 3-pointers. Her teammate, Jennie Swerk, added 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Now, with a district birth wrapped up, the Mavericks can relax, right?
Wrong, said Blair.
“We have a lot more things to work on and more adjustments to make,” she said. “Plus we have to go through the schedule a second time and host Kamiak this Friday.”
Even though Meadowdale plays in the Western Conference South Division, a 4A league, it will participate in the upcoming 3A district tournament. The teams it will go up against will mostly come out of the 3A Northwest League.
The teams most likely to give Meadowdale a run for its money will be the undefeated Burlington-Edison and the once-defeated Bellingham Red Raiders.
“The Northwest League has tough teams, no doubt,” Blair said. “But I’m sure we’ll represent a good challenge.”
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Everett-Bjella 4, Barton 8, Olson 3, Coury 2, Loesche 1, Hill 5. Meadowdale-Marte 4, Fenimore 2, Martin 19, Dawson 2, Baker 6, Brewe 2, Jacob 4, Swerk 10, Hoffman 2. 3-point goals-Hill 1, Martin 5. Records-Meadowdale 12-0 in league, 12-2 overall. Everett 3-8, 4-9.
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