ARLINGTON — A 68-47 win over Mount Vernon in their last regular season game is just what the Lady Eagles needed going into the Wesco 4A District Tournament on Feb. 6.
“I think we feel really good right now, we’ve been playing really well and put ourselves in a good position for the postseason,” said head coach Joe Marsh.
The team’s final regular season game was held at home on Thursday, Jan. 31, and the Bulldogs had a tough time keeping up with the skill and focus of the Eagles.
The Wesco 4A North division champions have 12 league wins and only two losses this season, so it is no wonder that they outscored Mount Vernon, a team with only one league victory, by 21 points.
“Krista [Showalter] had a career high on senior night, so that was great for us,” said Marsh. “Lindsay Brown had a great game. She played really well. But I think it was just another great team effort. The whole team — that’s what’s made us great so far this season.”
Showalter was certainly a driving force behind the Eagles’ win, with 24 points, including four 3-pointers.
The Bulldogs kept up the pace with the Eagles during the first quarter with 13 points to Arlington’s 16, but after that it seemed to be the Eagles’ game, as they upped the ante offensively adding another 19 points in the second quarter, leading Mount Vernon 35-24 going into halftime. They kept the lead in the third and fourth quarters, putting up another 33 points in the second half to the Bulldogs’ 23 points. They finished with a 21-point advantage, ending with 68-47 on the board.
Brown scored 12 points during the game, with one 3-pointer. Jayla Russ scored 11 points and Taylor Graham and Jessica Ludwig each scored seven points, with Graham scoring a 3-pointer. Lyndsay Leatherman scored four points and Emma Janousek scored one 3-pointer.
Although it was the final game of the regular season, the Lady Eagles are one of the best girls basketball programs in the state and head now to the first playoff game on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
“We just need to play at a higher level,” said Marsh on the plan for their first postseason game. “There’s no going backwards. We just have to keep doing the things we’ve been doing. We have a great defense and we feel really good right now.”
Marsh said that he isn’t worried about overconfidence blurring the players’ focus.
“Before this last week we lost three of our games,” he said, of losses to Lynnwood, Stanwood and Lake Stevens. “So we went through that and that really helped us to refocus. It’s nice to get a few wins in before playoffs. I’m not worried about overconfidence at this point.”
The girls face the Kamiak Knights, a team that’s ranked fourth in the South 4A division with a league record of 5-10, at home on Feb. 6 at 7:15 p.m.
