In an overall great performance, the Eagles took control of the game from the very start and did not let up at all, cruising to a 55-39 win and improving to an 11-9 record for the season. The Eagles rolled out with a starting lineup of #4 senior Annie Gibbons, #3 sophomore Rhenna Hung, #10 junior Lia Hanson, #20 sophomore Avani Akerkar, and #22 sophomore Riley Baumann for their last regular season game of the year.
The Wildcats started off the scoring in the first quarter with a nice offensive rebound followed by a layup, but Baumann of the Eagles answered back with a nice layup herself. Soon after, Hanson forced a steal and with a fastbreak to the basket, laid it in for back-to-back points. This theme would recur throughout the first quarter with the Eagles playing great defense and forcing Mount Si to make many mistakes. With this strong start for the Eagles, they ended the first quarter with a 13-11 lead.
To start the second quarter, Gibbons had a nice spinning layup to increase the lead to four points. Following that, the Eagles continued the pressure with a nice assist from Akerkar to Hanson who hit the jumper and got the Eagles to a lead of 22-14. The continuation of great defense by the Eagles and the constant fouls by Mount Si allowed the Eagles to feel control throughout the entire first half and go into halftime with a 28-20 lead. Head coach Randy Edens said, “I thought we played a really, really solid first half.”
Coming out of halftime, the Eagles started on fire. Hung had a classic steal with a fast break into a layup that quickly got Issaquah on the board in the 3rd quarter, a similar theme as the rest of the other quarters. Additionally, the Eagles did a great job in drawing fouls with Hung and Baumann both going to the free throw line making two of two and one of two free throws, respectively, to further lengthen the lead to 33-24. The constant fouls and a dominant Gibbons on the glass allowed the Eagles to go on a 13-3 run to finish the 3rd quarter with a score of 46-27, capped off by a beautiful wide-open three-pointer from Hanson. Edens said, “That third quarter was probably the best third quarter of the season, right there.”
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Eagles had tons of momentum and Gibbons was able to hit a nice layup, but Mount Si responded with a layup of their own. Later into the game, Issaquah began making many of the mistakes Mount Si had been making allowing the Wildcats to come back within eight points with a score of 48-36. However, Edens called a timeout, letting his team relax and refocus which allowed Issaquah to finish up the game and win 55-39, capped by #23 Annarose Eckmann-manahan’s three-pointer from the corner.
After the game, senior Gibbons said, “It was a great game overall, and a great way to end the regular season. I will definitely miss being here.” Edens echoes her sentiments and says, “The seniors have done so much for this team” and “you don’t want to think about them leaving.” As Hanson says, “The seniors have given so much help in being leaders.” Now as the team looks toward the postseason, they will be facing North Creek in a tough match on February 1 in hopes of advancing for the Kingco Crown.
