OAK HARBOR — The stage is set for Monday.
Lake Stevens improved to 14-0 in conference play and 18-0 on the season, beating Oak Harbor 58-43 to clinch at least a tie for first place in the Wesco North final standings.
The second-ranked Vikings take on Snohomish — the only team that could catch them — on Monday night, but coach Randall Edens said he hasn’t thought about that yet.
“Obviously we’re going to enjoy tonight,” he said. “This is a big win for our program and I know our girls will be ready to go Monday.”
Lake Stevens, which let the Wildcats hang around for much of the first half, broke open Friday’s game in the third quarter thanks to stellar post play by Brittany Tri and Karri Gallagher, who combined for 27 points and 18 rebounds.
Oak Harbor took a 4-2 lead early in the first quarter before the Vikings reeled off 10 unanswered points and drew two fouls on Mietra Smollack, the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer, to put her on the bench.
But Oak Harbor’s Jessica Denmon kept the Wildcats in it, connecting on three 3-pointers and converting a three-point play in the first half.
“I was pretty happy actually with the way we responded with (Smollack) on the bench,” Oak Harbor coach Brett McLeod said. “(Denmon) can really get it going.”
Then Lake Stevens’ Alona Personius hit a 3-pointer seconds before the intermission and the Vikings never looked back, using their height and quick ball movement to their advantage to open the third quarter.
“At halftime we knew we had to get it done,” Lake Stevens point guard Leah Tate said. “We knew we had to make a run to put the game away, so that’s what we did.”
Tate found Tri in the high post, who found Gallagher crashing from the weak side for easy layups on the Vikings’ first two possessions of the third quarter. That opened a 31-20 lead.
“Brittany and Karri are really easy to get the ball to and they know each other so well,” Tate said. “That makes it really easy.”
Lake Stevens continued to work the ball into the post, outscoring Oak Harbor 17-8 in the third quarter to open up a 44-28 lead. When the Vikings’ Mary Ochiltree connected for another 3-pointer, the Wildcats never really threatened the rest of the way.
“They executed their stuff and I’m not sure what we were doing on some of those possessions,” McLeod said. “I thought defensively we didn’t do what we should be doing.”
The Vikings also picked up several second-chance baskets, thanks to a 36-31 rebounding advantage — something that pleased Edens.
“We really talked about doing a better job on the offensive glass in terms of getting those second chance opportunities,” he said. “We got a little perimeter happy the last time we played them and we didn’t get the second chance opportunities (last time), so that was a big focus for us.”
Denmon led the Wildcats with 15 points and Smollack added 11. Ochiltree had 15 to lead Lake Stevens, Gallagher had 14, Tri 13, and Personius added 12. Gallagher also led all players with 12 rebounds.
At Oak Harbor H.S.
Lake Stevens14131714—58
Oak Harbor911815—43
Lake Stevens — Ochiltree 15, Tri 13, Burke, Bostwick 2, Tate, Schumacher, Personius 12, Gallagher 14, Warbis, Goddard 2. Oak Harbor — Tubo, Chong 2, Thiel 4, Henricksen 2, Denmon 15, R. Smith 4, Jansen 5, Smollack 11, Baeyen, Brothers. 3 point goals — Personius 2, Denmon 4, Ochiltree 1, Smollack 1. Records—Lake Stevens 14-0 league, 18-0 overall. Oak Harbor 10-4, 13-5.
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