SNOHOMISH – The Monroe girls basketball team brought a heavy dose of defense to Snohomish on Friday night and left with a major 58-46 victory.
The Bearcats won in the Panthers’ gym for the first time in Alan Dickson’s 10-year Monroe coaching career, frustrating Snohomish’s potent offense while exacting revenge. It was the first Western Conference North Division loss of the season for the Panthers, who handed the Bearcats their only defeat of the season at Monroe on Dec. 12.
“We were looking forward to this game, because we knew we wanted to get them back really bad,” said 6-foot-6 junior center Kirsten Thompson, who contributed game highs of 17 points and 14 rebounds and two blocked shots. “It felt really good.”
Wary of Snohomish’s endless arsenal of 3-point shooters, the Bearcats played man-to-man defense the entire game. Solid looks from long distance were rare, resulting in 2-of-19 shooting from 3-point range by the Panthers.
“We were in their face,” said Dickson, whose team improved to 8-1 in the division and 12-1 overall. ” … The kids were really determined.”
The pair of rival teams, ranked in the top 10 of every conceivable poll in the state, drew a nearly packed gym. Snohomish, playing its ninth game in 15 days, lost for the second time in three games. The Panthers dropped a road game to perennial power Prairie on Monday.
“They were a lot more aggressive than we were,” said Snohomish coach Ken Roberts, whose team fell to 7-1, 11-2. “The same thing happened at Prairie. Those two teams just came out and worked harder than us.”
The Panthers, who typically play the role of defensive pests, often fell victim to Monroe’s Chelsey Zimmerman. The senior point guard intercepted several passes and turned her thievery into free throws. Zimmerman made all eight of her second-half free throws and finished with 13 points.
At the start, it appeared that Snohomish might work around Monroe’s defense.
Snohomish’s Emily Cassidy hit a 3-point basket 10 seconds into the game, causing Dickson to wonder if his defensive plan was going to hold up.
Snohomish made only one field goal during the next nine minutes, 44 seconds.
Thompson, who grabbed six rebounds in the first half, scored all 13 of her first-half points during the Snohomish shooting drought, including a 3-point play that put Monroe up 22-13 with 6:43 to go in the half. The Panthers made six of nine free throws in the half – including Sydney Benson’s 4-for-4 – to keep Monroe’s halftime lead to 30-22.
An eight-point lead didn’t do Monroe much good in the teams’ earlier meeting. The Bearcats led 22-14 at halftime, but allowed 49 second-half points in a 63-58 loss at home.
No such defensive disappearance occurred on Friday.
The Bearcats opened things up with an 8-2 run to begin the second half. Freshman Sarah Morton’s 3-point basket gave the Bearcats a 42-28 lead heading in the fourth quarter.
With the way Snohomish can score, Dickson wasn’t exactly working on his post-game victory speech quite yet.
“I didn’t quit worrying until the game was over,” Dickson said. “Maybe when there were 11 seconds left.”
Roberts was disappointed with the loss, but said there are worse things than losing to Monroe.
“They are ranked third, and I think they really are one of the top three teams in the state,” he said.
Tara Angell led the Panthers with 12 points and Cassidy added 10.
| Monroe |
17 |
13 |
12 |
16 |
– |
46 |
| Snohomish |
13 |
9 |
6 |
18 |
– |
58 |
Monroe-Morton 7, Zimmerman 13, Kolrud 5, Heilman 2, Thompson 17, D. Drivstuen 1, Muhammad 4, Moriarity 9. Snohomish-Manning 4, Best 2, Henderson 9, Moore 4, Angell 12, Benson 4, Wilde 1, Cassidy 10. 3-point goals-Morton 1, Zimmerman 1, Moriarity 1, Angell 1, Cassidy. JV score-Snohomish 51, Monroe 41. Records-Monroe 8-1 in division, 12-1, Snohomish 7-1, 10-2 overall.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
