ARLINGTON – After watching his team play three non-conference games, first-year Lake Stevens girls basketball coach Randall Edens yearned for one thing above all: tough defense.
On Wednesday night, Edens got his wish in a big way.
Elizabeth Armstrong / The Herald
Speedy guard Kristina Schumacher scored a game-high 21 points and the Lake Stevens Vikings clamped down on the Arlington Eagles for a dominating 66-40 victory at the Arlington High gym.
Energetic Lake Stevens defenders Anna Kruse and Brittany Aanstad helped limit Arlington star Randi Richardson to one field goal through three quarters, and the Vikings romped in the Western Conference North Division opener for both teams.
“Our girls were a little anxious,” Edens said, “because it means a little more than non-conference games.”
Lake Stevens (1-0 Wesco North, 3-1 overall) led 27-20 by halftime and used a 14-0 run in the third quarter to subdue Arlington (0-1, 2-1). Schumacher and forward Ashley Housden (12 points) provided the scoring punch, while Kruse and Aanstad frustrated Arlington’s Richardson, who entered the game averaging 26.5 points but had just seven points heading into the final quarter.
“It was frustrating,” said Richardson, who tallied 11 points in the final five minutes, 58 seconds, after the outcome was essentially decided.
“It just seemed like there was a lid on the basket for us tonight,” added Richardson, who finished with 18 points on 4-for-17 shooting from the field. “It was one of those games where it seemed like nothing went our way.”
Arlington never found a way to counter Lake Stevens’ box-and-1 defense, and the Eagles had no answer for Schumacher, who frequently zipped into the lane and finished fast-break opportunities.
“She’s a very quick slasher (and) a very good finisher. She just penetrated our defense,” Richardson said of Schumacher, who had 11 points in the first half and 17 after 24 minutes.
Meanwhile, Lake Stevens successfully stifled Richardson, a 5-foot-6 guard who accepted an athletic scholarship to play for the University of San Francisco. Richardson was 9-for-9 from the foul line but she couldn’t get on track otherwise.
“She’s a special player,” Edens said. ” … You gotta give her the respect, and that means that you’ve got to account for her defensively.”
Lake Stevens did, and credit Kruse and Aanstad.
“They’re kind of our two defensive stoppers,” Edens said.
Last season, the teams split two regular-season games but Lake Stevens ended Arlington’s season with a 58-48 victory in the Class 4A District 1 tournament. Arlington will get at least one more shot at the Vikings later this season.
“It’s a game that we’re gonna have a lot to learn from,” Richardson said.
At Arlington
Lake Stevens12151623-66
Arlington119416-40
Lake Stevens: Ochiltree 9, Housden 12, Kruse 2, Schumacher 21, C. Fischer 6, Boehme 4, Aanstad 8, K. Fischer 4. Arlington: Prause 6, Welk 4, Richardson 18, Tanguay 4, McCowan 3, Holton 2, Allen 3. 3-point goals-Ochiltree 3, Richardson 1, McCowan 1. JV score-Lake Stevens 48, Arlington 23. Records-Lake Stevens 1-0 in Wesco North, 3-1 overall. Arlington 0-1, 2-1.
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