Meadowdale finishes fifth at 3A tournament

Published 11:23 am Thursday, March 13, 2008

SEATTLE

Meadowdale’s victory over Lakeside at the Class 3A state girls basketball tournament produced a wide range of emotions.

First and foremost, the Mavericks were elated to end their season with a win, the first time since 2004 that Meadowdale has not finished with a loss at the state tournament. The Mavericks overcame a sub-par shooting performance to outlast Lakeside 39-30 in the fifth/eighth place game March 8 at Bank of America Arena at the University of Washington’s Hec Edmondson Pavilion.

“It feels so good,” said senior guard Eryn Jones, who along with senior guard Alli Streit led Meadowdale with eight points a piece. “This year we ended on a good note. … It’s nice to go out that way.”

Meadowdale shot a tournament-low 27 percent from the field, but that was better than Lakeside, which managed to connect on only 20 percent of its field goals. The Mavericks were feeling the effects of a four-day tournament schedule that saw the team play two 9 a.m. and two 10:30 a.m. contests.

“We were so tired,” Streit said. “It’s such a great feeling. We haven’t come off a win in a really long time.”

The Mavericks have come home with a trophy in 11 of their last 12 appearances at state. The fifth-place finish is the highest since 2004 when Meadowdale won its second state championship.

For Meadowdale coach Dan Taylor, Saturday’s victory was the first time in his playoff basketball coaching and playing career that he walked off the court on the winning side. Taylor, who wrapped up his third season at the helm of the girls basketball program, planned to savor the victory.

“I just want to enjoy the moment,” he said.

But some of the Mavericks were feeling a tinge of the opposite emotion.

“It’s really sad,” Danica Coronacion said of the end of her high school career. “But I’ve had fun with my teammates.”

Jones is headed to Portland State University where she will be continuing her basketball career. Saturday was all about Jones being with her high school teammates for one final time.

“It really hasn’t hit me yet,” Jones said. “I’m lucky I get to keep on playing.”

Junior Hanna Fjortoft battled through a serious ankle injury suffered on Feb. 28. The injury kept Fjortoft out of the district championship game, but the junior standout was on the court for all four games at the state tournament.

“I love our seniors,” Fjortoft said. “I just wanted to play with them one last time. … It really was a good experience. This (finish) was the best we’ve ever placed out of my high school years, so that was really exciting.”

Jones, Streit and Coronacion brought intensity each and every day, Fjortoft said.

“They all know their roles and do their part and they’re just great teammates, players and friends,” she said.

When he woke up that morning, Taylor felt a rush of emotions thinking about Meadowdale’s three seniors, who would be playing their final high school games later that day.

“I’ve grown so close to those girls the past three years,” he said. “It’s almost like I’m sending my daughters off to college kind of feeling.”

The three helped ease the transition when Taylor took over from former coach Karen Blair, who led Meadowdale to two state titles.

“They extended themselves out to me first,” Taylor said of Jones, Streit and Coronacion. “I don’t even think I had to work hard because of their character and class. I was welcomed from the first minute.”

The players were glad to secure the victory not only for themselves but for the coaching staff.

“We’re all so close with our coaches,” Jones said. “It feels so good to just win it for them and win it for our team and our fans and the community.”

Jones struggled from the field, making only one of 13 shots, but she found other ways to contribute. The Meadowdale senior made six of seven free throws and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds. She also had three assists and three steals.

“Other people stepped up the scoring,” Jones said.

Neither team distinguished itself in the sloppily played first half, though the Mavericks had the better start, jumping out to a 7-0 lead. The Lions made their first field goal, a 3-pointer by Madeline Barnes at the 1:38 mark of the first quarter.

Meadowdale led 7-5 after the first quarter and took a 15-14 lead into halftime. The third quarter turned into a see-saw battle with six lead changes.

The Mavericks opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run to take a 32-24 advantage. Lakeside cut the deficit to 32-28 with 1:09 remaining in the game before Jones and Coronacion helped seal the victory. Jones dished to Coronacion, who scored on a baseline lay-up and was fouled in the process. Coronacion made the free throw to give the Mavericks a 35-28 lead. Jones then made two free throws to extend the Meadowdale advantage to 37-28.

Lakeside’s Whitney Best then scored her only two points of the game and Meadowdale’s Gabi Beyer closed out the game with a pair of free throws.

Taylor was confident the Mavericks would rebound after their first round loss to Lakes.

“I knew that we would be, at least, one of the five, six best teams in the state,” he said. “I know they could prove that in these next three games and that would be challenging.”

At the beginning of the year, Taylor said that one of Meadowdale’s goals was to finish higher than last year’s sixth place finish.

“We wanted it so bad,” Streit said. “We gave it our all and there’s nothing left.”

NOTE

JONES SELECTED TO FIRST TEAM: Eryn Jones, a senior guard from Meadowdale, was named to the 3A girls basketball all-tournament first team. Jones, a Portland State University recruit, averaged 19.2 points (first among tourney players), 5.5 assists (second) and 8.2 rebounds (fifth) in four games last week at the 3A state tourney in Seattle. She helped Meadowdale go 3-1 and win the fifth-place trophy. Jones also averaged 4.0 steals, which tied her for second-most, and made 28 of 31 free throws (90.3 percent).

OFFENSIVE WOES: The 39 points scored by Meadowdale in its victory over Lakeside was not only the low point total of the tournament for the Mavericks but also for the season. The Mavericks previously scored 45 points in a loss to Ferndale in the district championship game on Feb. 28.

Herald writer Mike Cane contributed to this story.