EVERETT — She ran up and down the baseline, seemingly undetected the entire night. Oak Harbor’s Molly DeLeon was virtually ignored by the Cascade defense. The senior guard, who measures all of 4-foot-10 and was playing in just her third varsity game made the Bruins pay for the cold shoulder.
In its first Wesco game of the young season, Oak Harbor’s girls basketball team traveled to Cascade’s Reg Scodeller gymnasium and stifled the Bruins on the way to a 44-33 victory Friday night.
DeLeon, who stood at least a head shorter than anyone on the floor, had a game-high 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
“I’m shocked myself,” DeLeon said of the offensive outburst, having scored a high of six in the Wildcats (1-0 league, 3-0 overall) first two games.
Her breakout performance came against a Bruin team picked to finish second in the conference largely because of 6-foot-2 senior Danielle Love, a University of Oregon recruit who stood at the other end of the height spectrum.
“It was amazing,” DeLeon said. “We all wanted this so bad.”
The Wildcats wanted it more and it showed. Any play that required hustle or extra effort usually ended up in favor of the purple and gold and left the Bruins shaking their heads.
“We are still trying to find our identity,” Cascade coach Carlos Humphrey said.
Going into the season, the only known for the Bruins was Love, who was clearly the best player on the floor Friday but scored just 13 points. Inexperience at the other positions and a stingy 2-3 zone by the Wildcats kept Cascade from ever being effective on offense. Also despite a significant height advantage for Cascade across the entire lineup, Oak Harbor owned the boards.
“We came in talking about that,” Wildcats coach Brett McLeod said. “We wanted to keep them to one shot.”
Entering the game, seniors Nicole Mowbray and Jessica Denmon were the strength of the Oak Harbor attack that beat both of its previous two opponents by 26 points. Humphrey didn’t want to let those two decide the outcome and threw a triangle-and-two zone defense at the Wildcats for much of the night. It took a quarter to adjust but DeLeon made them pay.
She sneaked in her first shot of the night from the corner with 25 seconds to go in the opening frame.
“She can shoot it,” McLeod said. “That’s her specialty.”
Denmon had 13 points and Mowbray added nine but a wide-open DeLeon was the burr in the saddle of Cascade whenever it drew close.
“We gambled,” Humphrey said. “That’s part of basketball.”
DeLeon was quick to deflect her success back onto her teammates but when the subject of being overlooked came up, a big smile came on her face.
“It motivates me to push my opponents harder,” DeLeon said. “I don’t mind if they take me for granted. That’s ok. I’ll just leave it on the court.”
In the first quarter, the Bruins jumped out to a 10-5 lead on the back of Love. She was in on all four baskets, assisting on two and hitting two shots. The Wildcats looked to have no answer for the senior leader of the Bruins.
“We’ve played against her for four years,” McLeod said. “We tried to be cognizant of where she was at.”
Starting in the second quarter, Oak Harbor’s zone confounded the Bruins, holding them to just one bucket in the first five minutes. Cascade (0-2, 1-3) couldn’t get the ball in the hands of Love, whose size was wasted while she hung around the perimeter, giving the Wildcats position on every important rebound.
Leading just 27-24 halfway through the third quarter, DeLeon hit her fourth shot of the night. This time it was a 3-pointer from the corner. She capped a 9-1 run with another 18-footer to give the Wildcats a 36-25 advantage that would be all they would need.
A gassed Love was held scoreless in the fourth quarter and Cascade managed just two buckets.
“(The Wildcats) are definitely a tough physical team,” Humphrey said. “Frustration set in a little bit.”
Oak Harbor, picked to finish sixth in the preseason, now sits atop the North looking to make some noise.
“If we play defense like this,” McLeod said. “We’ll give ourselves a chance.”
At Cascade H.S.
Oak Harbor714158—44
Cascade108114—33
Oak Harbor—DeLeon 14, Mowbray 9, Denmon 13, Abadesco 4, James 4. Cascade—De. Love 3, Bergman 2, A. Davis 5, Da. Love 13, Hood 6, Dorcas 2. 3-Point Goals—Da. Love 1, A. Davis 1, Denmon, DeLeon 2. Records—Oak Harbor 1-0 league 3-0 overall, Cascade 0-2, 1-3.
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