Scots rally for victory

  • Josh Hicks<br>For the Enterprise
  • Monday, March 3, 2008 11:26am

SHORELINE — Judging from all the crowd noise coming from South Whidbey fans, you wouldn’t have known that Shorecrest had the home-court advantage in its Northwest 3A district playoff game against the Falcons on Feb. 14.

Judging from the tale of the tape, neither team seemed to have an advantage at all. Both squads use characteristic fast-break offenses that feature prolific scorers.

The difference-maker proved to be Shorecrest’s Jocelyn Riordan, who played all but roughly two minutes of the match-up, scoring a game-high 20 points and holding Falcons’ leading scorer Caitie Newman to only nine as the Scots rallied from a 14-point deficit to scratch out a 49-45 victory.

“(Shorecrest is) a two-dimensional team and we’re a two-dimensional team,” South Whidbey head coach John Pyretek said. “They made some plays down the stretch and we didn’t.”

The Scots’ two-dimensional game consists of Riordan, who averaged 17.5 points per game going into Tuesday’s contest, and Mary Tseng, who averaged 17.2.

South Whidbey features two tall seniors: Newman, who averaged 18.4 points per game, and Marcella Litwiller, who averaged 14.6.

“Everyone kept a positive attitude and we kept our hearts in it because we really wanted this win,” said Riordan.

Shorecrest’s character was put to the test in the second half as it climbed out of a 29-22 halftime deficit, overcoming foul trouble that landed Tseng on the bench for the entire second quarter.

The Scots trailed by 14 with 4:06 left in the third before finally mounting their comeback.

The rally was lead by junior guard Bailey Osborne (9 points), who nailed two 3-pointers in a row to narrow the Falcons’ lead to eight.

A 3-pointer by Tseng early in the fourth would give Shorecrest a 40-39 advantage— its first lead since the first quarter.

The Falcons suffered untimely injuries late in the game as Newman collided with a Scot defender during a fast break in the fourth quarter, and Litwiller banged her knee on the hardwood while diving for a loose ball less than a minute later.

Litwiller (14 points) writhed in pain on the floor and never returned after being helped off the court, but Newman was able to check back in as her teammate hobbled away with a visibly bruised, swollen knee.

Minus one of their go-to players, the Falcons kept things close until Sarah Berg hit a two-point bank shot for the Scots, breaking a 45-45 tie with 1:30 remaining in the game. She later hit two free throws to give her team a four-point lead and seal the victory for Shorecrest.

“Our team has fight,” said Shorecrest head coach Jon Rasmussen. “They will not stop fighting. We have one goal, and that’s the state tournament.”

Mary Tseng ended the night with eight points, ten rebounds and ten steals in just three quarters. She also had two fouls before sitting out the second quarter.

“I chose just to not get the third foul, the way the calls were going,” said Rasmussen.

The Scots were called for 10 fouls in the first two quarters, leading to 12 of the Falcons’ 29 points at halftime.

On Thursday, after Enterprise deadlines, Shorecrest played Sehome in a semifinal game of the double-elimination district tournament.

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