By Chris Beatty

Herald Writer

SEATTLE — Two Western Conference South Division girls basketball teams came to play at KeyArena, home of the Seattle SuperSonics, with different agendas.

For Jackson, it was an effort to maintain momentum and keep up with division leaders Meadowdale and Kamiak in the standings. For Mariner, the goal was to use this game as a positive turning point in its season, one plagued by injury and losses.

And both teams were looking to score some Gary Payton bobblehead dolls, given out as a promotion to the first 10,000 fans attending the Sonics game that evening.

In a fund-raising event hosted by the Sonics’ organization, the Jackson and Mariner teams met in a regular season contest, resulting in a 55-35 Timberwolves victory in front of close to 400 fans.

“I put in a call to the (Sonics’) sales department, and I knew (Jackson coach) Julie, and we just picked one of the available dates,” said Mariner coach Scott Dillinger. “Both coaches thought this would be a really fun thing for the girls to be a part of and participate in.”

In order to participate in the fund raiser, both schools must sell a combined total of $1,500 worth of tickets to the Sonics-Denver Nuggets game in one of two price levels. Seven dollars from every ticket Mariner and Jackson sold went toward its team fund and gave the buyer admission to both the girls game and the sold-out Sonics game that evening.

“The Sonics look at it as a fun way for the schools to earn money,” said Sonics sales representative Keith Armstrong. “It’s a nice alternative to selling candy bars or raffle tickets.”

While the Sonics have held four such events this season, this was the first game where girls teams were the participants.

Lance Pilon, proud father of Mariner player Loresa Pilon and vocal leader of the Marauder fans, felt the trip to the Key was a good experience for everyone involved.

“This is a cool setup for the ladies,” said Pilon, who claims to have been at 99.9 percent of the Mariner games this season. “The fan turnout for a girls game is way above the norm. It’s a no-brainer to say this is a good experience for the kids. My daughter’s been talking about this since the beginning of the season.”

Both teams looked pensive in warm-ups and at the start of the game, with airballs aplenty as the teams adjusted to their unique surroundings.

“We came off of a big win Friday,” said Jackson coach Julie Iverson, in reference to her team’s 53-38 victory over Mountlake Terrace the night before. “Our team didn’t realize how tough it is to play back-to-back until the first quarter. Overall it was a great experience, and we would love to come back next year.”

Jackson (7-3 in the Wesco South, 9-3 overall) was the first team to calm down, and it used an 11-2 run to take a 13-5 lead after the first quarter and were able to hold off Mariner for the rest of the game.

Despite the final score, Mariner (0-10, 2-10) didn’t see this as an ordinary loss.

“We played a whole lot better than we normally play,” Mariner team captain Ashley Burns said. “I think our intensity was there from the beginning, and now we know what to expect from ourselves from now on.”

Jackson also had a good time playing under these special circumstances.

“It was fun, but the lights were blinding,” said Jackson sophomore Emily Eisinger, who was the leading scorer with 19 points, and she also grabbed 11 rebounds. “It was a good learning experience on how to adjust to playing in a different environment.”

Leading the way for Mariner were Sam Richardson with nine points and Burns with eight points. Teammate Nikki Rambo collected 11 rebounds and Shaniyha Moore added seven points and nine rebounds for the Marauders.

Jessica Shadle scored 10 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Jackson, and teammate Carissa McClenahan made four steals.