MILL CREEK
Dominating.
It’s the only way to explain how the Jackson Timberwolves girls basketball team has been winning games this season.
The domination continued as the Timberwolves rolled to their fifth straight victory with a 79-36 Western Conference South win over Mountlake Terrace Jan. 31 at the Jackson High School gym.
The margin of victory was right on par with the way the Timberwolves, ranked No. 5 in the latest WashingtonPreps.com poll, have been winning games lately.
Jackson’s average margin of victory during its winning streak is a remarkable 41.6 points per contest, and the Timberwolves have accomplished that by playing nearly flawless on both sides of the ball.
The Timberwolves shot a perfect 6-for-6 from behind the 3-point arc in the first half and their defense forced the Hawks into 16 first half turnovers.
“We’ve been working really hard on our half-court defense. We’ve put a lot of focus in that the past couple of weeks and we’ve noticed a big turnaround since our last go through (the Wesco South schedule),” Jackson coach Jeannie Thompson said.
Leading the charge was Jackson’s junior standout Kristi Kingma. She scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the first half and finished with a balanced stat line of six rebounds, five assists and six steals.
She also finished 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point line.
“(Kingma) presents so many different problems for teams. You can’t force her to shoot because she’ll hit it from the outside and you can’t crowd her because she drives to the middle. Offensively she’s so well-rounded,” Thompson said of her star guard.
Adding to the Hawks’ woes was the play of Jackson’s other standout player, forward Brittany Eskridge, an Oregon State recruit.
The 6-foot-2 forward finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots and was often on the receiving end of a Kingma pass.
Jackson jumped out to a 46-15 first half lead, a stark contrast from its previous meeting against Mountlake Terrace when the Timberwolves entered the half leading just 38-37.
In that game, the Timberwolves used a 28-point third quarter to pull away from the Hawks. This time Jackson wasted no time in jumping ahead, outscoring Mountlake Terrace 27-9 after one quarter.
“Last game, Tatiana Heck came out firing,” Thompson said, referring to Mountlake Terrace’s senior forward.
“Tonight it was in our favor. We were able to come out and shoot very very well,” Thompson added.
After scoring 20 points in their prior meeting, Heck — who came in averaging 16.7 points per game — was held to half of that total, finishing with 10 points.
Jackson also received help from its bench as freshman Erin Feeney scored 12 points and forward Natalie Harkness pulled down seven boards.
“She’s holding her ground inside. When it comes to offensive and defensive glass she’s a force down there,” Thompson said of Harkness.
Mountlake Terrace had its three game winning streak snapped. The Hawks have also already clinched a 4A District 1 berth.
Kevin Johnson writes for The Herald in Everett.
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