Wildcats post great week of basketball

Published 8:23 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

ISSAQUAH – The Mount Si girls’ basketball team held the lead after three quarters last Tuesday at Issaquah, but failed the close to deal, falling to the Eagles 41-37. Brittany Bowsher scored 22 points to lead an injury depleted Issaquah team to victory; two of their key players, Ellen Vertatschitsch and Lauren Dascenzo, did not play due to injury.

The Wildcats rebounded last Thursday and picked up their first conference win in dramatic fashion. Senior Rachel Travis scored the game-winning basket, then made the big defensive play afterwards, to give Mount Si a come-from-behind 54-52 win over Liberty.

“I credit this win to our seniors tonight, because without their leadership, we wouldn’t have been there. It would have been easy to roll over. Liberty was undefeated coming in here tonight and so it felt good and we feel fortunate to get a win,” said Mount Si coach Dirk Hansen.

Junior newcomer Tori Ewing scored a game-high 20 points for Mount Si. For Ewing, it was a personal accomplishment.

“I’ve never had a 20-point game, ever,” she said.

Ewing said the win took a lot of pressure off her team.

“We came into this game wanting to prove that we have the skill to play any team. We have the heart to play and win, so we came out here and proved that tonight, with the two losses and kept our heads up,” said Ewing.

The game was tight all the way, with Liberty holding the lead for much of it. That all changed with 36 seconds left in the game and Mount Si trailing 52-51. Liberty was called for traveling, and that set up the game-winning drive. Focused passing led to Travis getting an open look at the basket from just inside the three-point line with 13 seconds left. She took the shot and it went in the basket to give Mount Si the 53-52 lead. On the next Liberty possession, the Patriots mishandled the ball and Travis fell to the floor to grab the basketball, a common defensive play in the Mount Si system, and was fouled. Travis hit one of two shots, and Liberty had no chance for another shot.

The loss was difficult for the Patriots.

“It was tough, but we knew from the beginning we would be evenly matched with this team and we were, so Dirk [Hansen] and I both knew that. You know, they beat us on the boards. That’s what it boils down to, they beat us on the boards, but it was a great game. The girls played hard,” said Liberty coach Shiree Harsh.

Leading that strong presence inside for Mount Si was Ewing and senior Shannon Posey, who herself added 10 points to pace the Wildcats.

Sophomore Sarah Laws scored 12 points to contribute to the Patriot effort.

Mount Si continued its winning ways last Saturday with a rout of the Kingco 4A Juanita Rebels. The Wildcats struggled early, but with strong defense and a balanced offense, especially in the second half, Mount Si easily disposed of the Rebels, 62-37. Ewing led all those who scored for Mount Si with 13 points, while seniors Travis and Whitney Beyerlin (10 and 12 points, respectively), and junior Nicole Remish (11) contributed to the effort as well.

Sophomore Monica Nelson was called up this week from junior varsity, and her excellent defense, which she displayed in the win Saturday, was the reason.

“Well, she’s aggressive and this is her first time playing varsity basketball. She has good speed, she works very hard on defense, and if you have good speed and work hard on defense you’re going to be playing varsity basketball for me,” said Hansen.

Nelson is thrilled with the opportunity to play.

“It’s really cool playing with them. I’m excited,” Nelson said.

Mount Si is at Interlake Friday, then over the holiday break plays in the Central Washington Holiday Hoop Classic in Yakima, hosted by West Valley (Yakima) and Ellensburg High Schools. Game time for the Interlake game in Bellevue is 7:30 p.m.