ARLINGTON — Shorecrest, coming off a win in their season opener against Lake Washington on Nov. 30, visited Arlington High School on Dec. 5 to face the Lady Eagles who had just trounced Oak Harbor on Dec. 1.

Arlington, loaded with seven seniors and five juniors, became the Scots’ latest victims as they fell 59-45 in a physical low post battle.

The Eagles and Scots split the rebounding battle in the first quarter before Shorecrest called timeout, trailing 10-5, with 3:22 to play.

The Eagles looked to establish position in the key with senior centers Cassie Van Loo, Danyell Winterrowd and Kaiti Ferro.

The Scots did the same with seniors Mickey Greenburg and India Matheson when the Eagles slowed their dribble-drive attack. Shorecrest sophomore Onyie Chibuogwu refreshed the Scots’ offense by nailing a quick jumper from the top of the key as the first quarter came to an end.

Arlington slowed Shorecrest’s drives to the basket with double teams with under two minutes left in the second quarter, but time and again Arlington fouls bailed out the Scots.

Van Loo, Winterrowd and Ferro stepped up to slow down Shorecrest’s guards who drove to the baseline.

Greenburg and Matheson stayed strong, bearing down in the key to help their guards keep the offense running and close the door on Arlington’s passes to the inside.

Fortunately, enough of Arlington’s perimeter shots fell to give the Eagles a 28-27 lead heading into halftime.

A difficult first half did not discourage Arlington’s post play, instead they stuck to their guns and forced Shorecrest’s scrappy defense to stop their triangle attack. Low post collisions beneath both baskets created numerous free throw opportunities for both squads.

The Scots countered the Eagles’ power game with a faster pace to run the floor and keep the Eagles off-balance, but Eagle senior guard Megan Abdo hit a defiant three-pointer, one of Arlington’s seven triples in the game, to keep the Arlington crowd energized.

Shorecrest led 33-32 midway through the third quarter.

Van Loo and Winterrowd battled Greenburg and Matheson in the paint as the game gravitated toward a low post war before the third quarter ended with the Scots leading 43-38.

Shorewood entered a 1-3-1 zone early in the final quarter to neutralize Arlington’s post players and keep the Eagles on the perimeter. Arlington switched to a full-court press to create turnovers and score easy buckets.

“Our defensive intensity really picked up in the fourth quarter,” Abdo said.

The Scots’ shots kept falling, however Shorecrest put the Eagles on the free throw line again and again allowing them to hang around, but Matheson stepped up in the paint and tangled with Eagle drivers.

Shorecrest led 52-45 with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Scots missed free throws here and there as Arlington had to foul to keep the clock from running out, but the Eagles could not connect on a flurry of late shots, falling at last, 59-45.

“They were sitting in a zone and our shots weren’t falling,” Abdo said after the game. “We tried to attack the rim and break through.”

Arlington junior guard Lindsay Brown led her squad with 12 points combined with seven rebounds. Junior guard Krista Showalter added nine points of her own and senior guard Jensen Evans notched seven more.