Woodinville Soars Over Eastlake in 81 Point Effort

Woodinville Soars Over Eastlake in 81 Point Effort
By Steven Dion

Two of the top 4A girls teams in #8 Eastlake (10-2 league, 14-3 overall) and Woodinville (9-3, 11-6) met up Friday night for a pivotal battle in the KingCo Crest division. The Lady Wolves are led by post Marijke Vanderschaaf and her 14.3 points per game and superior rebounding ability. Woodinville boasts a lineup full of scoring options including Emily Spencer, Mackenzie Campbell, and Gabby Phillips. The importance of this league matchup was reflected in the attendance as there was a strong turnout for the clash of first and third place in the standings.

The first half opened at an up-tempo pace as both teams were aggressive on getting to the bucket. Vanderschaaf quickly established her rebounding presence as the 6’3 post plucked the ball from air time and time again. Woodinville grabbed a 15-12 lead in the first quarter highlighted by a steal at midcourt by Sabin Keo and a nice dish to Campbell for the score. The Wolves used their length advantage early in the second frame by feeding Ellie Woerner and Vanderschaaf in the paint for high percentage shots. EHS was in the bonus early which yielded several trips to the charity stripe. However, Woodinville’s will to control the pace of the game was felt as the quarter progressed. Falcon senior Erin Hamilton knocked down some tough shots in the lane. Additionally, the defensive awareness of WHS was demonstrated several times as the Falcons took a handful of charges to gain possession. At the half, the home team led 33-24.

Eastlake’s deficit continued to grow into the second half as a 5-0 run to start the third forced the Wolves to call a timeout and regroup down 38-24. Woodinville was simply clicking on this night as four players scored in double figures and their ability to score down low and from three point range kept EHS on the ropes all night. The Wolves were resilient though and made a strong effort to climb back in the game. The Woodinville lead was cut to single digits at the 2:30 mark in the fourth as EHS opted to foul throughout the quarter to protect the clock. Vanderschaaf made 5 buckets in the final eight minutes, but Woodinville refused to let their led dip below seven points. The Falcons cruised to a solid victory in which they scored 81 points over the first place team in KingCo in front of their home crowd. The Wolves notched 69 points in the contest. Do not be surprised if these two teams meet up again this season.

Top Performers:
Woodinville
Emily Spencer 19 points, Mackenzie Campbell 18 points

Eastlake
Marijke Vanderschaaf 23 points, Ellie Woerner 19 points