Mount Si girls find cure for road woes
February 4, 2009
By Ryan Piersol
The season may have had its ups and downs, but the Mount Si girls basketball team is intent on staying right in the thick of it.
The Wildcats made a big move toward that last week, notching a pair of important league victories on the road. The more crucial of the two came Jan. 31 in a 52-39 win against Juanita, a team Mount Si was battling with for league position.
Mount Si’s Traci Nelson goes in for an uncontested field goal during the second half of the Wildcats’ win against Juanita.
The win makes the Wildcats only 5-11 overall, but it allows a little light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.
“It feels good. Juanita is a pretty good basketball team,” Mount Si head coach Dirk Hansen said. “Most teams would’ve thrown in the towel, they wouldn’t be around. But we’re still in it. We’re going to give people everything they want in the playoffs.”
Katie Richards led a balanced scoring attack with her 14 points. Jori Braun also scored nine, while four other Wildcats finished with six.
Going into the week, Mount Si was just 1-6 on the road.
“They’re a good team. They’re a middle-of-the-road team like us, so it’s a good win,” Richards said. “It also makes it two in a row.”
Mount Si led only 22-19 at halftime and actually trailed the Rebels, 23-22, early in the second half. It was still tied, 28-28, when the Wildcats ripped off 10 straight points to take control. Freshman Sarah McDonald hit a pair of field goals down low to start the run, which also included back-to-back buckets by Jordyn Wilson and a Hailey Eddings jumper.
The Wildcats were ahead, 39-30, going into the fourth quarter. After a Stevie Riley three-pointer, it was 44-33. The lead eventually grew to 15.
Hansen said the team had been working in the weight room with the Mount Si football coaches and their newly added endurance was a key to pulling away in the second half.
“We’ve gone back to the weight room and conditioning,” he said. “We’re not going to lose any games because we’re tired.”
The win against Juanita followed a 63-12 beating of Sammamish on Jan. 28. The Wildcats led 30-6 at halftime and finished with three players in double figures, as Eddings scored 14, McDonald had 11 and Richards poured in 10.
At 4-4 in the league, the Wildcats are now in fourth place. Both league leader Mercer Island and runner-up Bellevue remain among Mount Si’s final four regular-season contests.
“There have been a lot of peaks and valleys, regarding morale. It’s no fun when you’re working hard and not winning,” Hansen said. “But I’m proud of the kids. They’re starting to come around.”
Mount Si boys win two more
The Mount Si boys basketball team produced a pair of solid first halves in posting two more league wins last week.
First, was a 69-41 beating of Sammamish. The Wildcats led by seven at the end of the first period and were ahead 36-20 at halftime.
Tanner Riley led Mount Si with 22 points, while Zander Nelson added 14 and Dallas Smith 11. The Wildcats shot 50 percent from field-goal range.
That victory was followed by a 61-50 defeat of Juanita. Again, Mount Si jumped out to a seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter and was ahead 33-23 at halftime.
Riley led all scorers with 17 points, followed by 13 from Smith and nine by Taylor Campbell.
The wins mean the Wildcats are now entrenched in the top three in the league. At 6-2, they are one game behind Mercer Island and 2.5 behind league leader Bellevue.
Reach editor Ryan Piersol at editor@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434.
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