Martin leads Meadowdale past Blanchet

LYNNWOOD — Meadowdale’s Anne Martin was frustrated.

After picking up her fourth foul early in the third quarter, the senior guard headed to the bench to stew for a while.

“I was pretty down after the fourth foul,” Martin said. “I got really down. I usually don’t pick up too many fouls … I really wanted to be in there.”

Mavericks coach Karen Blair encouraged Martin to forget about it and get ready for the fourth quarter.

“You’ve got one more (foul) and we’ll get you back in there in the fourth quarter,” Blair told Martin.

Martin made the most of her return in the final period by sinking three straight 3-pointers as Meadowdale went on a 13-3 run to start the fourth quarter and pulled away from a pesky Blanchet squad for a 56-43 victory in a non-conference game Dec. 27 at Meadowdale High School.

Three Mavericks scored in double figures, led by Martin’s 17 points. Senior forward Quinn Brewe added 13 points and grabbed 17 rebounds and junior guard Ashley Fenimore had 10 points and seven steals.

Martin’s hot streak to start the fourth quarter seemed to energize her teammates.

“That’s just a senior really stepping up. She’s been there,” Blair said. “She knew what she needed to do, kept her mental focus and knew what she needed to do to help the team.

“I thought she ran the floor really well, spotted up well and obviously Fenimore did a great job finding her and getting her the ball. She hit a couple of 3s and that got everybody going.”

Neither team could muster much offense in a lackluster and mistake-filled first quarter that saw Meadowdale take a 8-7 advantage. The Braves stayed right with the Mavericks in the second quarter before a 3-point goal and a pair of free throws by Marelle Moehrle gave Meadowdale a 25-19 cushion heading into halftime.

The Mavericks extended the advantage to nine points at the end of the third quarter.

“I was real impressed with Blanchet and the intensity they came out with and the focus,” Blair said. “I thought they pretty much controlled the boards on us. I felt the second half we finally picked up a little bit of defensive pressure and that helped.”

Both teams were without key players. The Mavericks were missing Ashleigh Graham, who was sidelined with a sprained ankle. Blair also noted that Caitlyn Rohrbach will miss the entire season, as an MRI revealed the sophomore guard had suffered a 50 percent tear of her Achilles’ tendon.

Rohrbach is in a cast and is scheduled to start rehabilitation in January.

“We won’t get her back,” Blair said. “We’re happy they’re saying they don’t need to do surgery. We’re hoping she will come back 100 percent.”

While she suited up, Braves guard Michelle Augustova did not play and another key Blanchet reserve also was out.

But the Braves still battled hard.

“Blanchet has a great tradition,” Blair said. “They’re always disciplined and they have great athletes. It’s always a bonus to play against them. I think playing in this game helped us to realize some things we need to improve on and we’ve got a week to improve before we get back to playing in league.”

Meadowdale (4-0 in the league, 5-0 overall) hosts Edmonds-Woodway (3-0, 4-0) at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, Jan. 3) in a game featuring two of the three undefeated teams in the Western Conference 4A South Division. Everett (3-0, 3-1) in the other unbeaten team.

“They have a lot of athletic girls on their team,” Martin said of E-W. “I think we match up pretty well with them. It should be a good game. We’re really looking forward to it.”