MILL CREEK — The last time the Jackson and Edmonds-Woodway girls basketball teams played, the Warriors erased a 22-point deficit to defeat the Timberwolves.
Jackson had not forgotten.
Proving no lead is safe between the two teams, the Timberwolves flipped the script Friday night. Jackson rallied from 12 down to come from behind and defeat Edmonds-Woodway 58-52 in a Wesco 4A South contest at Jackson High School.
“I told them at halftime, ‘It’s a good thing we’re not up by 22,’” Jackson head coach Mark Haner said. “That was definitely a lot of fun to get it going. It was almost the exact opposite of the first game. We came out and weren’t shooting well. They were putting the ball in. They really got going with Sidney (Eck) early and did a great job with that. But we weathered the storm.”
The Timberwolves began the fourth quarter with a 15-3 run that was capped by a four-point play by senior Sierra Anderson. Anderson was fouled as she made a deep 3-point shot and added a free throw to give Jackson a 50-49 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
After that it was all Jackson as the Timberwolves outscored Edmonds-Woodway 23-6 in the final period on their way to their ninth-straight win.
“We were definitely a little bitter about the last game that we played,” Anderson said. “Woodway ended up coming back and they totally deserved that win because they outplayed us that day. We were definitely looking for redemption. I think as a team, we’ve gotten so much better since then and I think we just wanted to showcase that.”
Jackson scored only five points in the third quarter and found itself trailing by 11 going into the fourth. An early free throw gave the Warriors a 47-35 advantage before the Timberwolves began their rally.
Anderson, who has committed to the University of Montana, had nine of her 17 points in the fourth quarter and fellow senior guard Kelli Kingma scored a game-high 19 points for Jackson.
Faithaleen Lopez-Flores added 13 points for the Timberwolves.
“It’s a really nice luxury to have,” Haner said of his three guards. “When I got the job I told everybody, ‘I inherited a Maserati. I just have to not ding it up.’ There’s more scorers on this team from the guard position than I’ve ever seen.”
Jackson struggled in the first quarter with a pair of turnovers at the start of the game as Edmonds-Woodway built an early 16-10 lead. Anderson said that the Timberwolves were really eager to get back on the court with the Warriors.
Maybe too eager.
“We were just all really excited about it. In the beginning I think we were a little too excited, to be honest,” Anderson said. “We were really amped up and I think that kind of hurt us.”
Both teams’ offenses found a spark in the second quarter as Jackson and Edmonds-Woodway combined to make seven 3-pointers while both teams scored 20 points apiece.
After a low-scoring third quarter that saw the Timberwolves only get five points, Jackson (9-1 league, 13-2 overall) quickly began chipping away at the Warriors’ lead in the fourth, as it got a little revenge for the first of only two losses this season.
“Ever since that loss in the beginning of the season we’ve really looked forward to this game,” Anderson said. “I think we always had faith in ourselves that we were going to be able to come out with a win (this time). I know at times it looked a little sketchy, but we were just really fired up from the last time we played them.”
Even Haner said it was useless pretending like the teams’ first game wasn’t a huge motivating factor.
“I’d love to give the diplomatic answer and say, ‘no,’ but I know our girls really wanted to get it back after the last one,” Haner said. “They felt like they gave it away. You don’t give anything away without help. Edmonds-Woodway played a great game against us last time and came back. We just needed to show we were diligent and could do the same thing.”
Eck had a double-double for Edmonds-Woodway (6-5, 10-6) with 14 points and 18 rebounds. Junior Moni Jackson added 12 — nine of which came in the first half.
Jackson post Emily Boyd had six points and nine rebounds, and helped limit Eck to just three points in the second half.
“They’ve got great players,” Haner said of Edmonds-Woodway. “Sidney Eck is an amazingly strong post. She’s a matchup problem for us. Fortunately, Emily Boyd, for us, came out and played the most monstrous game I’ve ever seen her play.”
At Jackson H.S.
E-W1620106—52
Jackson1020523—58
Edmonds-Woodway—Kate Wooley 4, Mady Burdett 7, Sidney Eck 14, Natalie Kasper 4, Maddy Nealy 0, Claire Fyfe 5, Moni Jackson 12, Lea Bakken 0, Victoria Lebesis 0, Sydney Peterson 6. Jackson—Faithaleen Lopez-Flores 13, Sierra Anderson 17, Kelli Kingma 19, Imari Clinton 2, Emily Kipp 0, Anna Johnson 1, Drew Locknane 3, Emily Boyd 3. 3-point goals—Wooley 1, Burdett 1, Kasper 1, Fyfe 1, Jackson 3, Anderson 2, Kingma 4, Locknane 1. Records—E-W 6-5 league, 10-6 overall. Jackson 9-1, 13-2.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
