LYNNWOOD — If predictability and structure were expected from Saturday’s game between the Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace girls basketball teams, what transpired was unexpected.
“In any game when you don’t have complete control, you’re not really sure what’s going to happen,” Hawks coach Deidra Ducheane said. “We might have underestimated this team a little bit, not scouting this team and not knowing where this team is coming from.”
The first three quarters displayed physical, intense, yet unorthodox play as both teams had control problems deriving from forced shots, an overabundance of turnovers and excessive fouls. But in the end, Lynnwood ran out of momentum as the Hawks were able to keep their unbeaten streak alive with a 61-50 victory in a Western Conference South Division matchup at Lynnwood High School.
Two factors assisting the Hawks in their victory were Lynnwood’s early foul trouble and the Royals’ inability to match the pace of the Mountlake Terrace (3-0) going into the fourth quarter.
Lynnwood committed 10 team fouls in the first quarter alone, placing players on the bench and giving the Hawks opportunities on the foul line.
“(Foul trouble) was the difference in the game, really,” first-year Lynnwood coach Jody Schauer said. “They made 15 free-throws because of our fouls, and we had three of our best players on the bench half the game.”
At the end of the third quarter, the game was up for grabs with a two-point differential, but key turnovers and big buckets provided the turning point for the Hawks in what appeared to be a game where the team with the least mistakes would win.
“Before the game, I told them this game came down to wanting it and we wanted it more,” Ducheane said. “They started to take care of the ball a little bit better and we got some easy buckets and we got to see some things we didn’t see in the first half.”
The Hawks scored seven unanswered points at the start of the fourth, and point guard Nicki Mosman had several wide open looks at the hoop, allowing her to score 13 of Mountlake Terrace’s final 25 points.
“We believe in running teams down and we were hoping that we could catch them off guard and maybe slow them down a little bit,” Ducheane said. “They seemed a little sluggish in the fourth and we were just getting started.”
The Hawks (2-0 in the league, 3-0 overall) outscored the Royals 25-16 in the last period.
“I’m not sure if it’s a lack of conditioning or just learning the new system,” Schauer said. “They’re shutting down near the end of practice, and it kind of happened in the game today.”
However, Lynnwood (0-2, 0-3) didn’t completely roll over, as junior point guard Alexa Breidenbach scored eight of her season-high 18 points in the final few minutes.
Although the Royals haven’t been successful in the Wesco South Division thus far, Schauer remains optimistic.
“They’re making improvements every day, but we’ve had so much improvement, that I’m kind of happy with our overall effort,” he said. “I think they’re starting to learn the new system. Everything I’m doing has to be 100 percent the opposite of what has been done in the past.”
Ducheane said although Lynnwood hasn’t had success in previous seasons, she isn’t going to let that distract her from what she saw Saturday.
“Lynnwood thinks that they’re underrated, and they proved that to us tonight,” she said.
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