EDMONDS — Edmonds-Woodway went through a cold shooting spell at the worst possible time in its Northwest 4A District tournament opener with Lake Stevens.
The Warriors made only one field goal in a difficult fourth quarter that saw the Vikings pull out a 44-38 victory Feb. 25 at Edmonds-Woodway High School.
Warriors coach Amy Branch couldn’t pinpoint the problem in the final period, aside from the obvious fact that her team’s shots were not falling.
“I feel we played well tonight,” Branch said. “I don’t know what went wrong. We played hard. They’re a good team. I have a lot of respect for those teams in the north. It was a great game.”
Lake Stevens actually only made two field goals in the fourth quarter but sank six straight free throws in the final 58 seconds to secure the victory.
The Vikings were clinging to a 33-32 lead at the start of the fourth quarter but freshman Jessica Takara, who had just been brought up to the varsity squad, sank three of four free throws to give Edmonds-Woodway a 35-33 lead with 5:58 to go. Those would be the last points the Warriors would score until junior guard Rebekah Wells made a 3-pointer with one second left in the game.
The Vikings turned to their big people in the fourth quarter and they responded with key points.
Lake Stevens’ Maisie Todd, a 5-foot-10 senior forward, made one of two free throws to cut the lead to one point and teammate Katie Holloway, a 6-3 junior center, followed with a basket that gave the Vikings a 36-35 lead with 4:38 remaining.
Senior guard Gina Carbonatto then scored to give Lake Stevens a 38-35 lead with just over three minutes left in the game.
Edmonds-Woodway came up empty on its next six offensive possessions, while Carbonatto connected on four straight free throws and Todd closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws.
“We knew that with tall players … that’s where they’d be looking,” Branch said.
Part of the Warriors’ offensive struggles may have stemmed from the absence of sophomore forward Katie Trew, who picked up her fourth foul of the game with just under three minutes left the third quarter. She went to the bench for the rest of the quarter and did not return until the 5:11 mark of the fourth quarter.
Todd led all scorers with 13 points. Carbonatto added 11 and Holloway had 10. The Warriors were led by Morgan Harter, who scored 13 points, and Trew, who had 10.
Edmonds-Woodway faces Wesco 4A South Division rival Mountlake Terrace in a loser-out game at 2 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, March 1) at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. The Hawks lost 69-45 to Monroe in another first-round game. Edmonds-Woodway beat Mountlake Terrace twice during the regular season.
Branch and her players, however, weren’t thinking about their next game or the aftermath of the loss to Lake Stevens.
“We’re just talking about what we do now,” Branch said. “What’s important is that we get ready for our practice, not even our game on Saturday. We get ready for practice tomorrow.”
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