SEATTLE
For three quarters, an almost unthinkable upset appeared completely possible.
Could a team playing without its top scorer/rebounder actually chop down the undefeated Meadowdale Mavericks?
Not quite, but the short-handed Kennedy Lancers sure made things interesting.
Behind the strength of a 16-3 fourth-quarter surge, Meadowdale overcame nervousness and poor field-goal shooting to pass its first test at the girls Class 3A state basketball tournament.
Junior guard Eryn Jones scored a game-high 23 points, going 10-for-11 on foul shots, to lift Meadowdale (25-0) past Kennedy 55-40 in a March 7 first-round contest at KeyArena.
“We’re just glad that game is over. We put it behind us and we’re ready to move on to the next game,” said Jones, who also grabbed six rebounds.
Kennedy (18-9) was without senior C’Era Walking Child, who missed her third straight game with an ankle injury. The 5-foot-11 forward averaged 11.9 points and 7.0 rebounds. Despite the absence of Walking Child, and a horrid start marred by three turnovers and five air balls in the first few minutes, Kennedy trailed by just two points going into the final quarter.
Marelle Moehrle (12 points, six rebounds), Jones and Danica Coronacion combined to score seven straight points for Meadowdale to start the fourth. Kennedy never recovered.
Kennedy was athletic and fast, Meadowdale coach Dan Taylor said, but he attributed his squad’s struggles to nerves.
“They weren’t ready to go from the beginning. I just think that they were kind of jittery,” he said.
Leading just 27-25 after two quarters, the Mavericks took stock of themselves in the locker room, Jones said.
“At halftime we were like, ‘It’s the first day at state. We can’t give up. They want it just as bad,’” Jones said.
Guard Katie Kirsch led Kennedy with 11 points, including three 3-pointers. The Lancers committed 20 turnovers, twice as many as Meadowdale.
Taylor tried all sorts of lineup combinations to get Meadowdale going. One substitute, in particular, performed extremely well: sophomore center Anna Molitor tallied 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 19 minutes, 55 seconds of action.
“Defensively and offensively, if one girl was doing well, the others weren’t, and vice versa,” Taylor said. “It was one of those things where we were up and down, up and down.”
Meadowdale made just 28.1 percent of its field goals, but was 20-for-25 on free throws. Eight of its 12 third-quarter points came on foul shots.
Throughout the game when Meadowdale needed a spark, Jones stepped up. Though her outside shot was off, she continually penetrated into the lane and got fouled. She scored 10 points at the line and missed just one free throw.
“She’s a huge part of our team and I think that her leadership and just her intensity, her competitive drive, that’s always gonna help us to push (ourselves),” Taylor said.
In a span of just a few seconds in the fourth quarter, Jones summed up her impact. After making a steal, she passed to a teammate, who drove to the hoop but missed a layup. No worries: Jones hustled in for the offensive board and scored a put-back that gave Meadowdale a 44-37 advantage.
“We shot the ball pretty well and we played pretty good defense on them for most of the game,” Kennedy coach Don Hoffman said. “And then Jones, you know, she’s tough to contain.”
Mike Cane writes for The Herald in Everett.
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