EVERETT — The Arlington High School girls basketball team brought a well-rounded performance to the court in a showdown with Archbishop Murphy.
Five Eagles reached double figures and Arlington used a strong defensive effort to secure a 74-61 victory over the hosting Wildcats in a key Wesco 3A/2A clash on Tuesday night.
“It goes based off everyone’s individual energy, and then all together, we kind of just boosted each other up,” Arlington junior Kierra Reese said of her team’s play. “I know I felt good and others felt good, so I think it just feeds off other people.”
Feeling good sure was the case for Reese as she led Arlington (10-2 overall, 6-1 league) with 24 points, drilling three 3-pointers and finding buckets in the paint. Senior Samara Morrow scored 14 points and Katie Snow added 13 while helping facilitate in the Eagles’ balanced offensive attack. Sophomore Jersey Walker had 11 points and senior Rachel Snow chipped in 10.
Arlington senior Samara Morrow drives on a defender against Archbishop Murphy on Tuesday at Archbishop Murphy High School in Everett. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
“The best part was we shared the ball tonight. It was team basketball,” Arlington coach Joe Marsh said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about all year long. And it’s taken us a while to get there, but we’re starting to feel it, and we’re starting to see it. And we have success when we do that.”
The loss was the first in league play for Archbishop Murphy (10-3, 6-1 league). The Wildcats struggled to find their shooting rhythm early on and were held to just 25 first-half points. It was also just the third time the team was held below 64 points this season.
“That’s defense, right?,” Marsh said. “We talked about it. We get stops. And like I said, ‘one and done.’ They got to be one and done every time. And we do that, we’re in good shape.”
Players scramble for a rebound during a matchup between Archbishop Murphy and Arlington on Tuesday at Archbishop Murphy High School in Everett. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Sophomore Brooke Blachly paced Archbishop Murphy with 21 points, junior Ava Marr netted 18 and freshman Ashley Fletcher added 12.
The Eagles led at the end of each quarter and grabbed their largest advantage at 68-50 with less than four minutes remaining in the game. The game was knotted at 12 in the final minutes of the first quarter, but Arlington’s defense clamped down to spark a 9-0 run that stretched into the second and put the Eagles in control.
Arlington’s victory knocked Archbishop Murphy into a group of four Wesco 3A/2A teams with one loss in league play, alongside Lynnwood (5-1) and Meadowdale (5-1).
“I feel like we’ve played the toughest part of our schedule for the most part in league,” Marsh said. “We still have Everett coming up and a couple other games that we’re not going to take for granted, but we did what we needed to do tonight, and I’m really happy about that.”
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