Wildcat girls get good start to season

Published 7:58 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Mount Si girls’ basketball team got revenge for last season’s loss at home to Lake Washington by beating the Kangaroos on their home court.

Mount Si won 49-43 over the Kingco 4A team at Lake Washington High in Kirkland in a nonleague contest Dec. 2.

The Wildcats, fresh off that win, opened their Kingco 3A schedule at home last Tuesday against the league’s best team, the Issaquah Eagles. One would have assumed trouble for the ladies, but once again, Mount Si’s budding star freshman, Madison Yakaboski stepped up, her senior team captain. Nicole Remish, provided a lot of help and kept the Wildcats in the game.

Ultimately, though, it was a 33-point effort from Issaquah’s star senior guard, Melissa Richardson, and a clutch basket with 58.5 seconds left in the game by Richarsdon’s junior teammate Aubrey Jensen that got it done for the Eagles in a tight 58-53 win. Richardson praised her teammates.

“The team effort was tremendous. It was so good,” she said.

Star freshman Yakaboski, in her home debut, scored 23 points, and her senior teammate, Remish, added 20 to pace the Wildcats.

“Well, I feel we’re evenly matched with Issaquah,” said Mount Si Coach Dirk Hansen. “I really felt that it boiled down to who took better care of the ball there toward the end of the game, and we had a few silly turnovers tonight that gave Issaquah a few gifts, and so down the road, if we could just eliminate some of the silly turnovers, then we’re going to be right there in position to beat those guys one of these days.”

The Wildcats and Eagles played a close first half, and Issaquah went into the locker room at half-time up by one point, 26-25. Richardson came out of the locker room and went to work to start the third quarter, single-handedly breaking open the game briefly with nine straight points to put the Eagles up ten at 35-25. Yakaboski and Remish then responded, each hitting key three-point baskets to lift Mount Si back into the game.

“Well, I’m just trying to step it up for my team, and try to be the leader that I am on the team, and knew that someone had to do it, so I stepped up,” Remish said.

It was tight through the remainder of the second half, and with a minute left in regulation time, the game was tied at 53-53. Jensen then hit her bucket and was fouled, and hit her free throw to put the Eagles in the lead for good. Wildcat sophomore Symone Shaw was given the key foul.

Richardson’s 33-point effort, which, according to Issaquah Coach Kathy Gibson, was a career high for her star, marked the second time in three games to open the season that Mount Si’s defense has allowed an opposing player to score 30 or more; Bothell’s Mandy Saintz scored 32 in the season opening game Nov. 26, which, despite Saintz’s efforts, the Wildcats won.

“We’re trying to play good defense, and we understand that we do have some weaknesses in our half-court defense, but the nice thing is that type of thing is fixable,” Hansen said.

Yakaboski had this prediction: “We’re going to beat them [Issaquah] next time.”

The Wildcats went to Liberty last Thursday and, behind a strong first half, took care of the Patriots 55-43. Remish led Mount Si with a double-double, 12 points and 11 rebounds. Rebounding was key as the Wildcats outrebounded the Patriots 47-30; of those 47 Wildcat rebounds, 24 were on the offensive glass. Freshman Caitie Richards led Mount Si in scoring with 13 points, while Yakabsoki and Tara Eddings each added 11 to pace the victors.

Friday, the Wildcats host Interlake. Although many expect the Saints to finish near the bottom of the standings again, Coach Scott Marcum is in his third year at Interlake, and is slowly molding his team into a competitive threat in Kingco 3A. Tip time is 7:30 p.m. at Mount Si High. On Dec. 20, Mount Si hosts 2A powerhouse Kings. Kings is led by senior star Sara Mosiman, who will be playing Division I college ball next year.