The Meadowdale girls basketball team put itself in position to clinch a postseason berth in the final week of the season by focusing on defense. The Mavericks allow an average of just 46.1 points per game.
“Our defense has improved a lot,” Meadowdale coach Caitlyn Houvener said. “They’ve taken ownership of it (and figured out) what kind of defensive team they want to be. We’re a young team. I’ve tried to stay positive with them. They’re really coming together as a team in the last few weeks. We’re playing good ball right now.”
The Mavericks (7-12, 4-7 entering Monday’s regular-season finale) haven’t had the services one of their key players, junior guard Adriana Valadez, for most of the season because of injury, but they’ve received a boost from sophomore guard Lily Williams, who’s ascended to the role of go-to player.
“Lily has been consistent all year. We’ve relied on her quite a bit, not only on the offensive end but on the defensive end, grabbing rebounds,” Houvener said. “Injuries have been hard on us, but we’ve had some other girls step up. Alicia Morrison and Camryn Cassidy have filled in for Adriana, and our freshman post, Fatoumata Jaiteh, has improved, and played well down the stretch.”
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