SNOHOMISH — Snohomish girls basketball coach Ken Roberts says his team is still playing for second place with one game remaining in the Western Conference season.
But on Friday night, the Panthers had the satisfaction of knocking off league-leading Lake Stevens in a close, hard-fought and spirited game. Behind the 17 points of sharp-shooting junior forward Madison Pollock, Snohomish went ahead to stay late in the second quarter and held on for a 45-38 victory that pulls the Panthers within one game of Lake Stevens in the conference standings.
Pollock, who comes off the bench, dropped in three straight 3-pointers in the second quarter, with the last of those shots giving the Panthers a 19-17 lead, and they never trailed again. The 6-foot-1 junior forward added another 3-pointer in the third quarter and one more in the fourth period as Snohomish determinedly held off the Vikings down the stretch.
“Madison Pollock did a great job,” Roberts said. “We started having her come off the bench (recently) because we just haven’t had any scoring off the bench all year. And tonight that really helped us because she had a heck of a shooting night.”
Pollock also contributed on the defensive end, drawing the primary assignment on Lake Stevens forward Emily Vandegrift. Though Vandegrift had 11 points through three quarters, she went scoreless in the final period.
“(Pollock) did a good job on defense,” Roberts said. “Vandegrift is a tough, but she had to work for her points and that’s all you can do.”
Also contributing on the defensive end for Snohomish was junior Shaylee Harwood, who was asked to guard Vikings freshman standout Kylee Griffen much of the night. Griffen had eight points in the game’s first nine minutes, but just three points the rest of the way.
“Shaylee Harwood did a great job (defensively),” Roberts said. “Kylee Griffen is a tough player, but Shaylee made it very difficult for her to catch (the ball).”
With the win, Snohomish keeps alive its hope for a share of the Wesco title, though Roberts admits the odds are slim. The Panthers travel to Monroe on Tuesday in what will likely be a showdown for second and third place in the final standings. Lake Stevens will close its regular season Tuesday at home against Mount Vernon.
“We’re not playing for first (place),” Roberts said. “We’re just trying to win each game. … But it was nice to be in a close game and make some plays at the end that put us over the top.”
For Lake Stevens, the defeat was only the second of the Wesco season and the third overall. The Vikings started well, leading by two points after one period and pushing their margin to 17-10 early in the second quarter.
But Lake Stevens went without a field goal the rest of the first half and could never regain the lead, despite trailing by one point four times in the second half.
The setback came two nights after the Vikings clinched at least a share of the league title by beating Monroe at home. Coming off that win, said Lake Stevens coach Randall Edens, “it was a natural thing to maybe be a little flat.”
Looking ahead to Tuesday’s league finale, “it’ll be Senior Night and we’ll be ready to go,” he promised.
At Snohomish H.S.
Lake Stevens 10 8 8 12 —38
Snohomish 8 11 10 16 —45
Lake Stevens—Alex Briggs 8, Emma Smith 1, Kristen Glick 2, Anna Dominick 0, Ashley Richardson 0, Marissa Walton 0, Emily Vandegrift 11, Kylee Griffen 12, Hailey Wilson 4. Snohomish—Katie Brandvold 3, Emily Preach 0, Darian Rielly 5, Shaylee Harwood 4, Madison Pollock 17, Madeline Smith 13, Ireland Baus 0, Bernadette Beeman 0, Ellie Flitsch 3, Morgan Loberg 0. 3-point goals—Lake Stevens: Briggs 1; Snohomish: Rielly 1, Pollock 5. Records—Lake Stevens 11-2 league, 16-3 overall. Snohomish 10-3, 11-8.
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