MARYSVILLE

It was a tale of two halves for the Monroe Bearcats.

After scoring 13 points in the first half, the Bearcats had a complete turnaround in the second half scoring 30 points and defeating Mountlake Terrace 43-39 in a loser-out 4A District 1 girls basketball game Feb. 21 at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.

The Bearcats turned around a dismal first half, which saw Monroe shoot a frigid 12 percent (4-for-34) from the field and 44 percent (4-for-9) from the free-throw line.

“I don’t think our intensity level was up. Sometimes that affects your shooting,” Monroe head coach Alan Dickson said.

After shooting 2-for-18 in the first quarter and 2-for-16 in the second, Monroe stumbled into the half trailing Mountlake Terrace 22-13. Jesica Anissipour led the Hawks in the first half scoring nine points and five rebounds.

The second half was a different story.

Monroe looked to its star, University of Washington-bound guard Sarah Morton, in the second half. In perhaps her best game of the season, Morton, a senior, scored a game-high 24 points and almost single-handedly brought the ‘Cats back from the dead.

Led by Morton’s 10 third quarter points, the Bearcats trimmed a 13-point third quarter deficit to two and entered the pivotal fourth quarter trailing just 35-33.

“First half — we didn’t do too well. We were kind of slow, they were beating us on the boards,” Morton said, “In the second half, we came out with more intensity, pushing the ball and running more of our game and making our layups.”

“(Morton) kind of cleared up the middle a bit and that helped,” Dickson said, “but basically it was the press that did it.”

Monroe used a full-court press the entire fourth quarter, forcing seven turnovers on seven steals. Senior Keena Hopkins was the defensive specialist in the fourth, coming away with five of Monroe’s eight steals in the quarter. Hopkins finished with eight steals, 10 rebounds and five points.

The Bearcats used a 10-0 fourth-quarter run to grab its first lead, and their defense held the Hawks to just two field goals and six points in the quarter.

A Hopkins’ steal led to a 3-point play opportunity, and after sinking the free throw, the Bearcats had a 36-35 lead, its first since it led 5-4 in the first.

Two plays later Morton drained her second 3-pointer of the night and then followed that with a layup, giving Monroe a commanding 43-35 lead with 3:43 to play.

The Hawks answered back with four quick points, but Monroe’s defense shut them down in the final two minutes and the ‘Cats lived to play on another day.

Tatiana Heck led the Hawks with 12 points and nine rebounds.

These two teams last played in last year’s 4A District 1 tournament with Mountlake Terrace playing the spoilers and knocking out the Bearcats in a loser-out game.

Kevin Johnson writes for The Herald in Everett.