TACOMA — How good is Meadowdale’s defense?
Good enough for the Lady Mavericks to miss 39 of their first 49 shots and still win a Class 3A state girls basketball tournament playoff quarterfinal game.
Mix that defense with a suddenly potent offense, and you’ve got a blowout. Meadowdale scored 30 points in the fourth quarter — four more than in the first three periods combined — to beat Squalicum 56-32 Thursday at the Tacoma Dome.
Squalicum coach Marcy Hershey looked at the stat sheet in awe. As she walked toward down the hall toward a dome exit, she muttered, "Seventeen percent. We’ve never shot 17 percent."
The Storm made only eight field goals in the game, but trailed by only a point, 26-25, entering the fourth quarter. Though she couldn’t believe how much her team was struggling to score, she was pleased to see the Storm hanging with the No. 1-ranked team in the state.
Meanwhile, the Meadowdale girls were suffering from Black Hills flashbacks. The Mavericks suffered a double-overtime loss to Black Hills in last year’s quarterfinal, and Thursday’s game felt eerily similar.
"We just said, ‘Hey, look what happened to us last year,’" said senior forward Quinn Brewe, who contributed game highs of 14 points and 11 rebounds. " ‘That’s not going to happen to us again.’"
It didn’t. The Mavericks will play Chief Sealth at 7 tonight for a spot in Saturday’s state championship game.
When it rained, it poured against the Storm. The manhole cover seemingly removed from the Meadowdale basket, the Mavericks made 11 of their final 14 shots to put on a delayed but decisive offensive display. The defense that terrorized the Storm all game long remained. The Mavericks forced seven Squalicum turnovers in the fourth quarter and finally began capitalizing with points. A 26-4 run carried the Mavericks to their 24th victory in 25 games this season.
"We knew what they were going to do, and we still threw the ball away," said Hershey, whose team suffered a 61-53 loss to Meadowdale in the Northwest District tournament. "That’s the most frustrating part. You can talk about it until you’re blue in the face, but you can’t do it for them."
That’s exactly what the Mavericks like to hear.
"Tonight was a big testament to our kids," said Blair, whose team will make its first semifinal appearance since the 2000 Mavericks won the state title. "Our offense wasn’t working, but their offense wasn’t working either because of our defense."
Part of the Meadowdale’s offensive blackout came from foul trouble. Anne Martin, who made five 3-point baskets in a first-round victory over Blanchet, missed most of the second quarter after picking up her third foul. Brewe sat the final 4:12 of the third quarter after picking up her fourth foul.
Martin said the five seniors on the team gave the Mavericks the experience to fight through the struggles unlike in last year’s loss to Black Hills.
" (That loss) has been in the back of our minds for a year now," said Martin, who finished with 10 points, five rebounds and two steals. "For our seniors, this is the last chance."
Meadowdale’s defense swarmed the Storm (20-6) in the first quarter. Squalicum missed all 10 of its first-quarter shots and turned the ball over 11 times as Meadowdale took a 9-2 lead. The W.I.A.A. official statistics listed 10 turnovers in the first half, though The Herald counted 15. Unofficially, the Storm finished with 25 turnovers.
The Mavericks struggled to make their defense turn into offense. Squalicum made only three of 21 shots (13.6 percent) in the first half while Meadowdale shot seven for 31 (22.6 percent) while taking a 19-14 halftime lead.
Point guard Ashley Fenimore scored 13 points to go along with six rebounds and a game-high three assists. Justine Lewis contributed nine points and six rebounds.
Squalicum’s Tashina Taylor, a Weber State signee, tallied 10 points and nine rebounds while Patti Wilson added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Squalicum—Taylor 10, Walton 10, Irwin 9, Knight 1, Kosa 2, Jensen, Holubik, Leonard, Gibbs 1, Favel, Smith. Meadowdale—Marte 4, Fenimore 13, Martin 10, Moehrle 1, Graham 3, Beucherie, Brewe 14, Craig, Draper 2, Lewis 9, Kosmides, Smith. 3-point goals—Fenimore 1, Martin 1. Records—Squalicum 21-6. Meadowdale 24-1. |
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