MILL CREEK — Marelle Moehrle played against the Jackson girls basketball team for the final time in her high school career on Wednesday night.
What a way to go out.
Moehrle, a senior forward, started strong and finished well, too, scoring 20 points altogether to lead the Meadowdale Mavericks to a 50-45 victory over Jackson. Moehrle poured in nine points in the first two minutes, all on 3-point baskets, and scored six in the pivotal fourth quarter when Meadowdale outscored Jackson 15-6 to rally and win the key Western Conference South Division contest at the Jackson High gym.
“Man, I’m like on an adrenaline rush right now!” said Moehrle, who made four 3-pointers and helped Meadowdale come back from a four-point, fourth-quarter deficit.
Sophomore Hanna Fjortoft scored 16 points for unbeaten Meadowdale (9-0 Wesco South, 12-0 overall), ranked No. 1 in the WashingtonPreps.com Class 3A poll.
Jackson (No. 5 in the 4A poll) got within 46-45 on Kristi Kingma’s foul shot with 1:09 to go, but two freshmen – Julia Fjortoft and Gabi Beyer – made four straight free throws to help Meadowdale hold on.
“My hands were shaking,” Julia Fjortoft said, “but I just tried to pretend it was like practice. It was hard because the crowd was kind of big. I just tried to block that out.”
Meadowdale swept the two-game season series against Jackson (6-2, 10-2). The teams will go separate ways in the postseason. For fans, it’s a shame the talented squads won’t clash again.
Moehrle said playing Jackson during the regular season will help prepare them for future challenges. With Jackson out of the way, the Mavericks have a solid chance to complete an undefeated regular season.
Meadowdale point guard Eryn Jones (six points) fouled with 1:47 to go, but Moehrle and Meadowdale held it together. Mavericks coach Dan Taylor praised the leadership of Moehrle, who told him before tip-off she was ready for a big night.
“She was a good initiator of the tempo of the game for us,” Taylor said.
Moehrle was on fire early. She scored 12 points in the first quarter, all on 3-pointers, and had 14 points by halftime. She drained three 3-pointers in the first 1:56 to help Meadowdale zip to an 11-2 lead.
Jackson recovered and trailed by three at the intermission (29-26) even though Kingma, its season leading scorer, tallied just one point. Chanel Sam came off the bench to score six in the second period, including a 3-pointer from the left corner at the buzzer. Kingma set up the big shot with an assist.
The game featured two top-notch point guards: Meadowdale’s Jones and Jackson’s Kingma. Both players struggled.
“She was pressing a little bit,” Jackson coach Jeannie Thompson said of Kingma, who made two shots from the field. “She really wanted to win this game and she was trying to do what she could … for the team, but she had an off shooting night. She tried to make up for it in other ways.”
Though her shots didn’t fall, Kingma played hard and had seven assists.\
“She put her heart on the floor,” Thompson said.
Michelle Addington (13 points, eight rebounds) and Brittany Eskridge (seven points, nine boards, two blocks) stepped up for Jackson.
Meadowdale was 2-for-15 from the field in the third quarter. It missed three layups in the period and scored six points, but the Mavericks answered in the end.
At Jackson H.S.
Meadowdale1415615-50
Jackson1016136-45
Meadowdale-J. Fjortoft 2, Jones 6, Moehrle 20, H. Fjortoft 16, Kosmides 4, Beyer 2. Jackson-Bruns 6, Kingma 10, Todd 2, Addington 13, Eskridge 7, Sam 6, O’Neal 1. 3-point goals-Moehrle 4, H. Fjortoft 2, Sam 1. JV score-Meadowdale 66, Jackson 32. Records-Meadowdale 9-0 in division, 12-0 overall. Jackson 6-2, 10-2.
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