SHORELINE — A couple of defensive adjustments at halftime helped the Shorecrest girls basketball team hold Meadowdale to six points in the third quarter then hang on to win 54-51 in a Wesco 3A South game on Wednesday. Due to tiebreakers, the Scots moved past the Mavericks and clinched the No. 3 spot in the Wesco 3A South.
“The third quarter was key,” said Shorecrest head coach Dori Monson. “We really stepped up our defense in the second half.”
The game was tied 25-25 at halftime, but Monson and his team had picked up on few things.
“We just saw tendencies from a couple of their girls, just adjusted out defensive stance, our closeouts, and just tried to take away Meadowdale’s strengths. And they have a lot of strengths. It’s always a chess match against them.”
The third quarter netted the Scots a seven-point lead, but Meadowdale wasn’t done. The Mavericks battled back, and were able to get within one with about 2:30 remaining. But Shorecrest refused to yield.
“The girls handled Meadowdale’s pressure really well. We just held them off down the stretch. We never got up by more than five. It was a one possession game from the midway point of the fourth quarter on.”
Senior Kathryn Lindsey was a big part of that fourth quarter. In what was potentially her final home game, Lindsey came off the bench and scored a career-high 10 points, including two big second-half 3-pointers, according to Monson.
“(Lindsey) has a great attitude. She is a great team player. To see a senior do something like that in the final game of the season was really cool to see.”
Other strong contributions came from Onyie and Uju Chibuogwo who had eight rebounds apiece and Annie Schlachter who played the full 32 minutes and started strong, with nine of her 12 points coming in the first quarter.
Monson also stressed the youth of his team. Five of the 11 Scots on the district roster are freshmen. “All my young players have just done a fantastic job all year for us.”
The win means that next Tuesday Shorecrest goes on the road on to play No. 2 seed Ferndale in the first round of the 2A Girls District Basketball Tournament. Ferndale is 17-1 and ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press poll. “I know they have a fantastic record,” said Monson. “They are the one team in districts we don’t get to see all season. There are a lot of x-factors going into the game. We’ll probably get a crash course on them over the next couple of days and start working on a game plan.”
at Shorecrest H.S.
Meadowdale 13 12 6 20 — 51
Shorecrest 12 13 13 16 — 54
Meadowdale—Keely Hayes 5, Sara Fjortoft 2, Tianna Nugent 3, Jaclyn Barhoum 0, Julianne Kossian 9, Mackenzie Bretz 9, Madison Parker 9, Ndey Sonko 14. Shorecrest—Lindsey Shattuck 6, Wurrie Njadoe 2, Kathryn Lindsey 10, Annie Schlachter 12, Keegan Monson 2, Onyie Chibuogwu 8, Savannah Tidwell 0, Bella Kemp 10, Uju Chibuogwu 4. 3-point goals—Hayes 1, Kossian 3, Parker 3, Shattuck 1, Lindsey 2, Schlachter 1. Records—Meadowdale 8-5 league, 13-7 overall. Shorecrest 8-5, 10-10.
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