MILL CREEK
Jackson heads into this week’s Class 4A state girls basketball tournament more confident than ever.
The Timberwolves tuned up for their second straight trip to the Tacoma Dome with a hard-fought 54-44 victory over Snohomish in the 4A District 1 championship game Feb. 24 at Jackson High School.
The district title was the first ever for a boys or girls basketball team at the school.
“It’s amazing. That’s what we worked for all season,” said junior guard Kristi Kingma, who led all scorers with 23 points. “It’s the most amazing feeling to work that hard for something and know that you finally got it.”
The Wolfpack, the Wesco South Division’s No. 1 seed, already was a confident team coming into Saturday’s contest. Jackson already had clinched a berth to the state tournament. First-round games were scheduled to start on Wednesday with the tournament continuing through Saturday.
“To be able to go in off a win like this, it just adds that little extra boost to the kids’ demeanor and their morale and everything and to beat a team like Snohomish means a lot because they have such a great program,” Thompson said.
Jackson (21-2 overall) jumped on Snohomish early and led 15-4 late in the first quarter before the Panthers regrouped to cut the deficit to 17-10 by the end of the period.
The two teams reversed roles in the second quarter with Snohomish outscoring Jackson 17-9 to take a 27-26 lead into halftime.
“You knew they were going to fight back,” Kingma said. “They’re Snohomish. They always do.”
Jackson had a 37-35 lead at the start of the fourth quarter but saw the Panthers (15-8) tie the score at 37 with a quick basket. The teams exchanged scoreless possessions before the Timberwolves seized control of the game with a 13-0 run.
Eskridge had a pair of putback baskets and junior guard Ashly Bruns and Kingma also scored.
“Getting those first couple of baskets in the fourth quarter kind of helped us out because they kind of let down a little bit in the fourth quarter,” said senior center Brittany Eskridge, who scored six of her 11 points in the final period. “When we got our couple of baskets … we just ran with it.”
Eskridge also grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked five shots.
Jackson was confident heading into the fourth quarter, according to Kingma. She expected the Timberwolves to play well.
“This team has always been a fourth quarter team,” Kingma said. “This team never gives up. Everybody plays so hard coming into the fourth quarter.”
It also was not lost on everyone that the game would be the last time the seniors would be playing on their home court.
“You want to get this one. Let’s go get a win,” Kingma told her teammates.
Thompson noted that the Panthers did a good job of defending Kingma and Eskridge the first three quarters of the game. But Jackson’s guards were able to knock down enough shots from the outside.
In the fourth quarter, Snohomish had to come out and defend the guards.
“By working that for the first three, it enabled us to finally pound that ball inside and to get those looks to Britt that we weren’t able to do in the first half,” Thompson said.
Snohomish coach Ken Roberts cited his players’ inexperience as a factor in the loss. The Panthers started three sophomores and a freshman.
He noted that his players actually have more select ball than high school experience.
The tendency of the players is to go back to what they do during the summer, which is get in a hurry, Roberts said.
“We got in a hurry. We don’t play well when we get fast,” he said. “We play better when we’re methodical, come down, run our offense and use our size.
“To their credit they were able to get us to play faster than we wanted. They’re a very good team. They’ve got some kids that step up and make big plays when they needed to.”
Roberts expects Jackson will do well at the state tournament.
“They’re one of the top five in the state for a reason,” he said. “I know that not many people want to play them down there.”
The expectations for the Timberwolves are a little different the second time around.
Unlike last season when the whole experience was new and at times overwhelming, Jackson comes in with a different mindset.
“State is a really fun experience. Then again you have to know that it’s down to business,” Eskridge said. “You’re doing business down there … we’ve got to make sure that we keep our focus.
“We were there before. Now all the jitters are out. We should go down there and make some noise this time around.”
At the top of Jackson’s wish list is some state hardware.
“We have a reason to go there now,” Kingma said. “Last year we just wanted to go. This year we want to get a trophy. … This team can go all the way. We just need to believe.”
Thompson also senses a different mentality from her players since this is the second trip to state for most of the team.
“We know that if we play well we can compete with every team that’s down there and we have the potential of beating any team that’s down there,” Thompson said. “They know and understand that now, especially after being down there. Our goal this year isn’t just to win a game. It’s to (get a) trophy and hopefully get that state championship.”
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