EVERETT — Meadowdale upset No. 1-seed Everett behind a 20-point performance from Kearstin Franco in the opening round of the 3A District 1 Tournament at Everett H.S. on Wednesday night.
After the two teams battled to a stalemate in the first quarter, the Seagulls held the Mavericks to just 3 points in the second quarter to help them take an 11-point lead into halftime.
Momentum quickly switched to the Mavericks in the second half as they erased the deficit within the first four minutes of the second half. Franco hit four of her five 3-pointers in the quarter, trimming the Seagulls’ lead to just two. Meadowdale went on to outscore Everett 17-9 in the final quarter to lock up the upset.
“Kearstin played like a senior plays,” Meadowdale head coach Marcus Merrifield said of Franco. “She executed and made some really big shots for us tonight.”
Hailey Costello grabbed an offensive rebound off of a missed free throw and was fouled with just under 40 seconds to play. She hit both free throws to give the Mavericks a five-point lead.The Mavericks forced a turnover and grabbed three offensive rebounds in the game’s final minute.
Sidney Rielly scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Seagulls. Tenika Wentworth scored 13 for the Mavericks.
“It was really a team effort,” Merrifield said. “We’re a team who has to win together and they stepped up and won together tonight.”
Meadowdale plays Mountlake Terrace on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Lynnwood H.S. in a winner-to-state game. Everett hosts Stanwood in a loser-out game on Saturday.
At Everett H.S.
Meadowdale 13 3 18 17 — 51
Everett 13 14 9 9 — 45
Meadowdale—Ciarra Hart 0, Keely Hayes, Kassi Dotter 0, Kearstin Franco 20, Alexandria Steen 2, Angela Birchman 2, Hailey Costello 2, Jaclyn Barhoum 5, Mackenzie Bretz 14, Ndey Sonko 6. Everett—Megan Dedrick 0, Caroline Overstreet 0, Sydney Taggart 4, Darian Rielly 2, Sidney Rielly 22, Tenika Wentworth 13, Julie Ramirez 0, Amber Hagar 3, Katy Hedington 1. 3-point goals—Franco 5, Barhoum, Bretz, S.Riley 2. Records—Meadowdale 7-14 overall. Everett 12-9.
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