KIRKLAND — For a team that has trouble finishing close games this season, Thursday’s 43-39 victory over Bellevue was a step in the right direction for the Monroe girls basketball team.
“That was a big hurdle for us,”Monroe head coach Brian Paine said. “We have had so many three-point losses. It’s good to find a close one like that, that they just find a way to win. Because winning and losing, they are both the same thing, they are contagious. So once you lose a few by a just a few points, you aren’t feeling very good about yourself. We needed to find a way to feel good about ourselves.”
The Bearcats have been in close games this season with Lynnwood and Stanwood amongst others, but for the first time, they appeared confident and poised down the stretch of the game.
“I think we can play and be there and compete with everybody and now we just got to get over those little humps,” Paine said.
The Bearcats were clinging to a 41-39 and the Wolverines had possession in the game’s final seconds, but junior Breezy Shore intercepted a pass and drove coast-to-coast for the game-clinching layup with 5 seconds remaining.
“Breezy has been sick, but she has been coming on for the last, probably four games,”Paine said. “We needed somebody else to step up. I needed Breezy Shore to step up. I’m still looking for a couple more to do the same thing. We aren’t talking about a huge addition. We are talking about somebody to get a few extra rebounds, somebody to score a few extra layups and somebody to block out just a little bit more. Just the little things, because it’s either going to be a team win or loss no matter what.”
Shore scored 11 points to lead the Bearcats on Thursday, but none bigger than her final layup. Kierra Wilkins added eight points and Deidra Miller chipped in six for Monroe.
Paine said he was happy with the way his team closed out the game.
“Down the stretch, we took care of the ball I thought fairly well and we executed pretty well,” Paine said. “So, you know, we are getting better.”
Closing out the Wolverines gives some hope to the young Bearcats that this could be a turning point in their season.
“Time only tells,” Paine said. “That is a big variable for us. They dictate a lot of things, you know, if they come in and start working a little bit harder and start feeling better about themselves, who knows?”
Paine said he saw some confidence and enthusiasm from his team after their victory on Thursday.
“From some, but not as many as I need,”Paine said. “That’s the thing, when you get a win like that and you don’t have the girls hopping up off the bench, that’s a concern for us. That tells us that we have a lot of girls that just don’t know how to play together. They know how to lose together, but they just don’t really know how to win together. Until you understand, until you start rooting for each other no matter what your role is, you are going to struggle a little bit. So we are still coming out of the struggle.”
Katie Savard scored 16 points for Bellevue to lead all scorers.
At Juanita H.S.
Bellevue1110711—39
Monroe10121011—43
Bellevue—McGowan 0, Anderson 3, Best 3, Warendorf 2, Holmes 7, Savard 16, Fanning 8. Monroe—Ohlsen 0, Turner 5, Brazel 4, Roppo 3, Sharp 2, Wangner 0, Smith 4, Shore 11, Wilkins 8, Miller 6. 3-point goals—Turner 1, Roppo 1, Shore 2, Wilkins 1, Best 1, Holmes 1, Savard 2. Records—Bellevue not reported, Monroe 2-7.
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