Optimism is something new for the Mariner girls basketball team, but it’s something the players and coaches are wearing well.
The Marauders had won only one game in two years before opening this season with a 22-point victory over Oak Harbor. It’s Mariner’s only win so far this season — at least according to the scoreboard. The bigger victory is the fact the Marauders, who in past years were routinely blown out, are starting to compete.
In addition to the win over the Wildcats, the Marauders took Meadowdale into overtime before losing by nine points, lost by eight to Everett and gave Mount Vernon a difficult game last Wednesday before the Bulldogs pulled away late in the fourth quarter. It doesn’t sound like much, but for a team that last season lost 14 of its 20 games by 35 or more points, it’s a significant step.
Freshmen Hannah Hezekiah and Denisa Grebovic are two of the big reasons for the Marauders’ improvement. Hezekiah leads the team in scoring, averaging 23.8 points per game. Grebovic is second at 12.2.
“They’re basketball players,” Mariner head coach Corey Gibb said. “They understand the game. They put in more time than any two players I’ve ever had at the same time. They want to be the best.”
Despite being a freshman, Hezekiah has emerged as one of the top scorers in the state. Prior to Friday’s loss to Kamiak — in which she finished with nine points — she hadn’t scored less than 24 points in a game this season.
“She’s strong for a freshman,” Gibb said. “I haven’t seen a freshman that strong in a while. She’s got great range and her shot doesn’t really change. You see some kids, the further out they go they start dropping their shoulder and trying to push the ball. Her (shot) doesn’t change.”
Hezekiah and Grebovic are best friends who have been playing together off and on since they were in fourth grade. They went to different middle schools then were reunited at Mariner. Grebovic has become the team’s point guard, which means her scoring has taken a back seat to running the Marauders’ offense.
“Her role is changing more than Hannah’s has,” Gibb said. “It’s been more of a struggle for her than Hannah.”
Both girls said the relationship they enjoy outside of basketball has helped them find success on the court.
“We’ve been complimented so many times on how well we read each other,” Grebovic said. “We just have this weird connection on the court that I don’t think a lot of people understand. Whenever we’re open, we see each other.”
The two have provided 79.4 percent of the Marauders’ scoring this season. Though that may sound impressive, both girls say when the scoring totals of their teammates start to increase, so will the victories.
Though the two freshmen are younger than their teammates, they are the most experienced. Gibb said it’s up to the rest of the players to try to keep up.
“The girls are starting to realize that I’m not going to ask Hannah and Denisa to bring their game down,” Gibb said. “The rest of you are going to have to step up — and if you’re not willing or able to do that, then we’ll find somebody who will.”
The offense provided by Hezekiah and Grebovic is the largest percentage of a team’s points scored by any duo in Wesco 4A. The next closest pair, Snohomish’s Madeline Smith and Madison Pollock, account for 58.2 of the Panthers’ scoring.
What do those numbers mean?
Hezekiah and Grebovic are effective, but other teams are getting more production from other players. Since the Marauders don’t have a group of consistent secondary scorers, Gibb said defense has to be a priority.
“I believe you can win if you score 40 to 45 points in a game, but you have to play defense,” Gibb said. “For a 4A varsity basketball team, we’re pretty small, so there are other things we have to do. I always tell them, ‘It doesn’t take any talent to hustle.’ That’s one of my favorite quotes of all-time. You don’t have to be the greatest, but you just work your butt off and that makes up for a lot.”
Gibb said he expects opponents will start to plan their defensive strategies around slowing down Hezekiah and Grebovic, making game preparation more difficult.
“It poses different challenges in practice because you know the other teams are going to focus on those two,” Gibb said. “We’ve yet to see any really screwy defenses, but it’ll come and it will be interesting to see how that 14-year-old will handle an 18-year-old in her face for 32 minutes.”
Though the Marauders have yet to win a conference game, Gibb has set the bar high. He hopes to have his team challenging for a playoff spot, if not by the end of this season, certainly by the end of the next.
“I think we have a legitimate shot of being one of the top six seeds for playoffs,” Gibb said. “We might be a year away. We’re really young. … I think a lofty goal is to make the playoffs this year, but I think it’s definitely a real possibility next year and in the couple years to come just because of the maturity that’s going to happen.”
As for Hezekiah and Grebovic, they are enjoying being a part of the rebuilding process.
“We love playing on this team,” Grebovic said. “It’s not about losing or winning, it’s about how hard everyone tries. We love this team. It’s really amazing.”
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
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