Meadowdale girls clinch state spot, eliminate Snohomish in OT

MARYSVILLE — The No. 2-seeded Meadowdale girls basketball team had been in this position before — a district consolation bracket game to decide a state spot, with the loser going home. The Mavericks lost to Everett in that position last season.

That memory made Saturday morning’s 61-59 District 1 3A playoff win over Snohomish even more gratifying. Despite having the chance to secure a state berth, Meadowdale junior Mia Brockmeyer (15 points, eight rebounds) had a simple source of motivation going into the elimination game.

“It was definitely more about revenge than going to state because they beat us last year on our senior night and then they knocked us out (of the district winner’s bracket) last year,” Brockmeyer said. “We just had to get that win.”

The Mavericks had their hunger on full display with a 27-20 halftime lead driven by denying Snohomish star senior Tyler Gildersleeve-Stiles in the post.

But Meadowdale quickly found out why the Wesco 3A North champs were the tournament’s No. 1 seed in the second half.

Gildersleeve-Stiles began to work the glass en route to an 18-point, 19-rebound performance while Snohomish found their stroke from deep late. The Panthers hit five of their seven 3s in the second half and turned a 42-36 Meadowdale advantage on its head with back-to-back triples to start the fourth quarter — putting an exclamation point on a 10-2 run.

With the pressure mounting to stave off a signature Snohomish run, Brockmeyer traveled to turn it over with around four minutes to play.

That moment sparked more Panthers production, as Snohomish found themselves with a 50-46 advantage with just over two minutes remaining. Brockmeyer and the Mavs, who finished with just three 3-pointers as a perimeter-oriented team, were undeterred.

“We’re really good at adjusting… if our 3s aren’t hitting, we have to do something else to win,” Brockmeyer said.

The Mavericks found that “something else” in dynamic defense, forcing a backcourt violation and a travel on Snohomish with under a minute remaining. That moment was part of a night in which the Mavs won the turnover battle 14-7 as Brockmeyer parlayed the momentum swing into a game-tying layup at the 30-second mark to force overtime.

After an easy Kyairra Roussin (seven points, eight rebounds) layup to start the period, the Mavs shifted their focus to Gildersleeve-Stiles — the star post had been in foul trouble since the third quarter. Senior Sam Medina got in position to catch an elbow from the Snohomish star, resulting in a charging foul — her fifth overall.

With Gildersleeve-Stiles out of the picture, Mavericks senior post Audrey Lucas knew it was her moment to produce down low.

“We had to get big number 34 out of there, and once we got her out, it was trying to feed it inside to get easy points,” Lucas said.

Lucas went on to score six of her team-high 16 points in the overtime frame as the Panthers struggled to find a rhythm without their offensive focal point. Those factors spelled out the end for Snohomish.

For first-year Meadowdale head coach Benson Sims, it was a top-to-bottom showing for his squad in their biggest game of the season. The Mavericks played a different style of defense than their typical look, bringing out a zone defense that caught the Panthers off guard.

“(The players) executed, but I’ll say our coaching squad did some of our best work in this moment,” Sims said. “We know we have a group of girls that are willing to play the game, and so we can throw things at them in moments they’re not used to.”

Despite a district tournament that had its share of scares for Meadowdale, Sims is confident his team can keep showing up in Tacoma.

“We’re here to get after it, this game is over,” Sims said. “We’re ready to go, get after it and attack whoever is in front of us.”