The Mount Si girls’ basketball program hosted a summer hoops tournament June 17 and 18 at Mount Si High School and the hosts did very well in going 3-1.

On day one, June 17, the Wildcats opened play by making quick work of their two opponents, Eastside Catholic and Valley rival Cedarcrest.

A balanced attack led Mount Si to a 69-16 pasting of the Crusaders, a Metro League team coached by former Wildcat assistant coach Tina Washington. Madison Yaka-boski led all scorers with 15 points, as all nine Mount Si players in uniform played and scored. Symone Shaw paced the Wildcats with 14 points and 13 points from Caitie Richards, who also aided the cause. Mount Si rolled out to a 24-2 lead after one quarter and it was all over from there.

It was more of the same against Cedarcrest. The Wildcats ran out to a 31-4 lead after the first frame and routed the Red Wolves 69-19. Yakaboski scored 21 points to once again lead all scorers and was aided by 17 from Richards.

On Father’s Day, June 18, Mount Si and their Kingco rival Bellevue put on a classic. Both teams gave it their all, but when the final horn sounded, it was the Wildcats who had pulled out a come-from-behind 50-48 victory over the Wolverines.

Mount Si trailed Bellevue for much of the game, but took the lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Wildcats were up by as many as seven with a minute left in regulation. The Wolverines mounted a late rally, only to come up short at the end. Mount Si’s Yakaboski and Bellevue’s Joey Brazen each led their respective teams with a game-high 17 points.

The victory over the Wolverines advanced the Wildcats to a semifinal contest against the Newport Knights. Both teams played hard and it was another close one. Unfortunately, Mount Si ended up on the short end in this contest. Newport advanced to the tournament final with a 38-34 win, eliminating the Wildcats from further play. Shaw led Mount Si with 10 points.

Overall, Wildcat coach Dirk Hansen saw this tournament as a barometer for what needs to be done to get his players ready for a very tough winter ahead. “It’s summer ball and I try not to get too carried away. The main emphasis is to develop some good fundamentals over the summer, and this is a good indicator of what we need to work on coming into the season, the ’06-’07 season,” Hansen said.

Teams from Liberty, Mercer Island and Prosser also competed in the Mount Si tournament.