EDMONDS — Before Tuesday night’s game, Edmonds-Woodway coach Rob McMains urged his team to go out and play with the enthusiasm they’ve had for most of the season.
For only the second time this year, the Warriors were coming off back-to-back losses, and though McMains wasn’t panicking, he reminded his players what they needed to do to be successful.
“He just said to go out there and play with enthusiasm and to just get out there and do what we know we can do,” said senior center Jason Hopkins. “He said that we’d forgotten that before in the last couple of games and we just needed to remember it again.”
Hopkins led the charge, scoring a team-high 17 points to lead Edmonds-Woodway to 65-47 victory over Shorewood in a Western Conference 4A South Division game at Edmonds-Woodway High School.
Despite a 48-45 overtime loss to Mountlake Terrace on Feb. 10 and a 52-44 defeat to Mariner, the Warriors’ confidence was not waning by any means.
“We were in good spirits,” Hopkins said. “We realized that those are good teams and we just let it slip away a bit. We knew we were a good team and we came out here and beat another good team.”
Hopkins had plenty of help. Junior guards Huston Conti and Mackenzie Toms scored 13 and 12 points, respectively. Senior guard Josh Griffin added 10 points.
Edmonds-Woodway led for all but a few minutes of the first half and took a comfortable 33-24 lead into halftime. The Warriors then seized control of the game with a 14-3 run in the third quarter.
“We just needed to be fundamental and execute and be patient,” McMains said. “When we did that we were in good shape. I think Shorewood was a little down. They lost Friday, so I don’t think they were as focused as they have been in the past, so it made it a little bit easier for us.
“We just have to do the basic things. When we try and do our own things and play a little more individualistic we struggle a little bit … we need to stay in the offense and play as a team.”
The Thunderbirds, a preseason league favorite by many observers, lost to Jackson 83-78 on Feb. 13 and were officially eliminated from playoff contention with Tuesday night’s loss.
Edmonds-Woodway (12-5 in the league, 14-5 overall) already has clinched a district playoff berth, but the Warriors’ seeding had yet to be determined as of the Enterprise’s deadline. Mountlake Terrace secured the South Division’s No. 1 seed with its victory over Edmonds-Woodway.
Regardless of where the Warriors end up, McMains is confident his team is ready for the playoffs.
“We feel that we can beat anybody in the league as long as we play and do the fundamental things,” he said. “We like that we can beat anyone, but we also know we can be beaten. We’ve been there. We like our chances.
“We know we’ll be in every game in the playoffs.”
The postseason is going to be a new experience for every player on the Edmonds-Woodway roster.
The Warriors don’t have any idea of what it means to be in the playoffs, McMains said.
“So once we’ve gotten there and we’ve played a playoff game, I think they’ll say ‘Wow, this is great. This is exciting’ and it will make them hungry for more,” McMains said.
“But as of now, they’re still kind of wondering ‘What is this? What is this all about?’”
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