By Aaron Coe
Herald Writer
LYNNWOOD – Who are these Mavericks?
The Meadowdale girls basketball team may not have a star this year, but this group of interchangeable parts is once again making what has become an annual trip to the Class 3A state tournament.
Long gone is Kellie O’Neill, a two-time All-Area Player of the Year who led the Mavs to state appearances for four years, including a runnerup finish in 1999 as a senior. Gone is her sister, Kristen, another All-Area winner who helped Meadowdale to a state title in 2000 and a fourth-place finish last year. Gone is the sweet jump shot of Jane Ireland, the leading scorer and rebounder from the title team.
Anyone who has watched a Mavericks game or browsed the prep sports section of the newspaper knows about those players.
Even coach Karen Blair isn’t sure what to expect from this year’s team, which is stocked with youngsters.
She’ll find out tonight at 7, when the 20-2 Mavericks open state tournament play against Lakeside in the Tacoma Dome.
“There were a lot of question marks coming into the season with the seniors we graduated,” said Blair, whose Mavericks are in the tournament for the seventh straight year. “For most of the season we’ve been starting three underclassmen. Having that inexperience on the floor, you never know how they’re going to respond in pressure situations.
“You never know, they could be calm, cool and collected. Or they could walk into the dome and spaz out.”
These unknown Mavericks formed a group that destroyed conference foes. Though 3A Meadowdale competed in the Class 4A Western Conference South Division, the Mavericks crushed league foes by an average score of 66-37 on their way to an 18-0 conference mark. They beat one opponent 82-11.
Sadly, the Mavericks may have lost their best known player. Sophomore shooting guard Anne Martin broke her nose when she collided with teammate Ashleigh Graham less than 10 minutes before practice was to end Monday night.
Martin, who led the team in scoring with a 13.1 average, may not be able to play at all in the tournament. Her left eye was swollen shut Tuesday morning. She was to see a specialist Tuesday night to determine if any further injury would result from playing – likely while wearing a mask – this week.
“I know if there is any way she can be cleared to play, she’ll want to be out there,” Blair said. “But, we have to be smart about this.”
Graham, who played in 10 games this season, suffered a concussion and might not be cleared to play.
Losing a leading scorer may not hurt Meadowdale as much as it would many other teams in the tournament.
The Mavericks, who use a nine-player rotation, are deeper than most. Anne Dawson, who returned at midseason after recovering from a severe knee injury suffered during a summer league game, is one candidate to fill the potential vacancy in the staring lineup. Kristine Marte, one of Meadowdale’s many promising sophomores, is another.
Dawson, a senior who has been on the varsity squad all four years, said this year has been perhaps the most rewarding.
“It’s been really fun,” said Dawson, a 5-foot-10 forward. “We’ve gotten so far from working so hard. It’s a privilege to play with these people.”
Jennie Swerk is another veteran. The 6-foot forward is one of the team’s three seniors. Like Dawson, she has played varsity ball all four years. She was the one doing all the defensive dirty work near the basket for the championship team as a sophomore. Swerk, who averages 12.7 points and 7.5 rebounds, is counted on to lead this young team. She’s used to playing in big games, especially ones that come on Saturday in the state tournament. She’s never helped bring home anything less than a fourth-place trophy.
“I want us to come out and make this one memorable,” Swerk said. “We’re looking to come out strong and come home with some hardware.”
Swerk is joined near the basket by Quinn Brewe, a 6-foot-1 sophomore forward who leads the team with a 9.3 rebounding average. Brewe, who averaged six points during the regular season, emerged as a scoring threat in the district tournament. She scored a combined 41 points in victories over Bellingham and Lynden.
Much of the team’s development this year could be credited to Ashley Fenimore, a 5-foot-7 point guard who Blair says is already fulfilling much of her enormous potential.
Though Fenimore averages just 6.2 points and 4.8 assists, she is the key to both the offensive and defensive attacks.
How Fenimore and the rest of her young teammates handle the pressure of the tournament will likely determine what happens tonight against Lakeside. Though Lakeside’s 16-10 record is the worst in the bracket, Blair says it will be a tough test for the Mavs.
Lakeside beat Rainier Beach, a team that spent most of the season ranked No. 1, Friday. They also helped knock No. 7 Blanchet out of the tournament for the first time since 1993 with a 54-51 victory Feb. 12.
“They have a history of coming on late in the season,” said Blair, who was a Meadowdale assistant in 1994 when the Mavericks lost to Lakeside in the state title game.
Despite Lakeside’s misleading record, the third-ranked Mavericks have one of the potentially easier paths to the title game. Rainier Beach and top-ranked Seattle Prep lie in the other half of the bracket along with No. 4 Kennedy. Fifth-ranked Bellevue and No. 6 West Valley are perhaps the largest challenges.
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