The Girls’ Junior Varsity basketball team for Issaquah lost 40-45 to Woodinville after the Falcons scored five points in the last 30 seconds, breaking a close tie and bringing the Issaquah Eagles down to a 2-3 league record.
Head coach Randy Edens says ,“I [felt] pretty good about the game. Tthe girls, they all worked [hard].” There was one player who stood out through the entire game, being on top of the ball: freshman Taylor Tsuchikawa. She scored almost 20 points in the game despite this being her first year on the team. Both teams committed multiple fouls, although no one was injured. Issaquah is now tied with Woodinville with a 2-3 record.
The game was dictated by drives back and forth that lasted for minutes at a time. After an early basket scored by the Falcons, Issaquah scored nine points in a row. After a quick exchange of two points for each team, Woodinville gained six points. This interchange of points continued till halftime where the score was 22-25, Woodinville. Issaquah drove back in the third quarter almost uninterrupted until the score was 37-32. In the fourth quarter Woodinville brought the score back around to 40-40 with 30 seconds left in the game. Woodinville scored two points with 15 seconds left in the game, after which Issaquah fouled them twice, which allowed them to score three more points.
One of the best plays in the game was when Tsuchikawa pushed up the court with the ball and scored a three pointer with a clean swish. She then smoothly intercepted the ball as it was passed up the court by the Falcons and returned it with grace as she shot the ball for another two points. A similar play happened later in the match when number 23 grabbed the ball out of the hands of a Falcon player and turned around with a clean shot that tied up the game at 40-40.
After this amazing basket, a desperate shot from the Falcons gave them a two-point lead that caused the situation to quickly deteriorate with Issaquah struggling for points in a race against the clock. This caused Issaquah to resort to committing fouls to try and stop the clock to give them a shot. The Falcons managed to pull ahead by three more points using the fouls. It was a hard-fought battle that ended in disappointment for Issaquah. Rest assured that these girls will be training hard for the next game.
