Girls Basketball spring league

There were a total of 3 games this past Monday, 4/7. The JV and Varsity squads both played at 6:15pm, at different sites (great scheduling!), and the varsity team played a second game.

I went to the JV game and the 2nd varsity game.

The JV game was at Skagit Valley College, and by the end of the game, there were 5 really tired girls, as there were ONLY five girls at the game. Coached by Keely Smollack in place of Gary Brundidge, who was at the varsity game, the JV players were Janelle Yoshimoto, Jodi Jackson, Sheena Corey, Jessica James and Ariel Brothers. It was a tight game against Lakewood all the way, with OH leading for most of the game, including a 14-11 halftime lead. After the half, though, Lakewood took advantage of the depleted Wildcat team, establishing a lead not long after halftime. The 'Cats closed, with James tying the game at 20 and Corey swishing a trey to give the Wildcats a lead they would not give up again. Jessica's score was particularly satisfying, as it came after a long possession with several attempts, but the Cats were able to keep getting the rebound and shot until they scored. Another exciting play was a nice block by Ariel Brothers with Sheena grabbing the ball and going all the way for the score. The final score was 28-23 for OH.

The result was much better than last Monday's game, when Coach Gary had only a single OH player. That's right - due to spring break travel and other sports commitments, only Sheena Corey was at the JV game that night, and the varsity team was also short players.


The varsity team played at Mt. Vernon HS, in the field house for both games. They also played with a small team, with only 7 players suited up for the first game, which was against Mt. Baker HS. I arrived near the end of the game, but the girls ran out to a 30-13 halftime lead, and held on for a 55-38 victory. Suited up for the first game were Molly DeLeon, Cheyenne Tubo, Cori Henricksen, Jessica Denmon, Jasmine Chong, Tiffany Earnhart and Roshaunda Smith. Apparently it was a fairly physical game, as Smith fouled out with over 6 minutes to play in the 2nd half.

The second game was against Arlington, and in addition to the players listed above, Brothers, James, and Corey saw significant playing time. Starters were Tubo, Henricksen, Chong, Denmon, and Smith. In this game the Wildcats built a 3-0 lead when the Eagles started a full-court press. This hobbled the OH offense for a short while, but long enough for Arlington to tie the game at 3-3 and force the OH timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Jessica Denmon hit three 3-pointers, taking the 'Cats to a 12-3 lead and an Arlington timeout. Arlington came out of their timeout and hit back to back threes, but that was at close as it got, including a halftime shore of 27-24 in favor of OH. The final was 52-39. One humorous play of note was Roshaunda Smith giving a loose ball a hard smack, sending it right at the crowd, where it hit the wall right in between Yoshi's mom and Sheena's mom!

Our girls looked good, displaying a lot of offensive speed and tenacious defense. If this team is any indication of what the team will look like next winter, look forward to another trip deep in the WESCO tournament.

The league is run by the Skagit County Parks and Rec dept, with schedules and standings online at:
http://www.skagitcounty.net/Common/asp/default.asp?d=ParksAndRecreation&c=General&p=youthbasketball/main.htm