The Jackson girls basketball team should be over its playoff jitters.
The Western Conference South Division’s No. 1 seed regrouped after its opening round loss to Oak Harbor to beat Arlington 49-45 in a loser-out 4A Northwest District I playoff game Feb. 20 at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.
Junior Chanel Sam scored a game-high 16 points and freshman Kristin Stoffel added 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Timberwolves advanced to a loser-out game against Marysville-Pilchuck at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.
The winner of that game plays the winner of the Edmonds-Woodway/Oak Harbor contest at 6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 27 in a winner-to-state/loser-out game.
Jackson coach Jeanne Thompson was pleased to see a little bit of the fire return to her players. She noted that 10 of the 12 players on the roster had never played in a district playoff game prior to last week.
“I thought they did a nice job of regaining their confidence,” Thompson said. “They came out pretty tight in the first game.”
Junior guard Erin Feeney, the league’s leading scorer, was limited to only five points, 15 points below her 20-point per game average.
“They played a diamond and one – one person following her the entire game,” Thompson said of the Arlington defensive scheme. She did a nice job of creating for other players.”
The Timberwolves, however, didn’t shoot very well from the field, Thompson added. “We were able to hit enough shots to put the game away.”
Jackson (18-4 overall) connected on only 1 of 16 3-point attempts.
“We did shoot very well from the free throw line,” Thompson said.
Sam made nine of 10 free throws and the team finished 15 for 19 from the line in the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves only made two fields goals in the final period.
“She’s doing a nice job of being more aggressive on offense with her speed and jumping ability,” Thompson said of Sam. “She’s a very tough person to guard. We’re using both strengths of hers to generate more offense.”
In the fourth quarter, Sam continued to be aggressive to the basket and the Eagles (13-8) also started fouling early. “Either way, she stepped up,” Thompson said.
Jackson led by 10 points with about a minute and a half left in the game before Arlington staged a late rally.
Thompson hopes the Wolfpack’s spirited response to its fourth loss of the season continues.
“The last time we lost we went on a great winning streak,” Thompson said. “The girls are going to try and pick up from where we left off.”
Arlington had three players score in double figures – Quinn Kesseiring (15 points), Kyra Prause (13) and Sheryl Scheppele (12).
Marysville-Pilchuck (15-7) lost to Snohomish 51-33 in a semifinal matchup. The Tomahawks edged Edmonds-Woodway 59-57 in overtime in a first-round game. Marysville-Pilchuck is led by Britt Harris, who averages 14.6 points per game.
Teammate Brittany Pierce scored 11 and 10 points in the team’s first two district playoff games.
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