Girls basketball 1-20-2010 vs Cascade

The second half of the season started yesterday in the OHHS gym as the girls basketball team hosted the Cascade Bruins.

Nine different Wildcats scored points in the dome as Oak Harbor demolished the Bruins in freshman action. The score was 19-2 at the first break, and the OH defense held Cascade to just 10 points total in the 52-10 win. Cascade shot only one free throw, which missed. OH shot a total of 28 free throws, but only 11 went in. Leading the scoring was Morgan Young with 19. Taru Ahonen scored 8, Jalani Bobo and Joem Evangelista 6 each, Ciera Wiser 5, Marissa Lewis 4, Paula Gass 2, and Bet Riba and Emily Saar 1 each.

Things weren't as pleasant for Wildcat fans in the main gym for the JV game. OH spotted Cascade an early 11-1 lead, and didn't score a field goal until the 1:45 mark when Rayan Russel nailed a 3-pointer. At that, it was only 11-7 at the end of the first quarter. Cascade's lead grew to 9 at halftime as OH hit only a single field goal and two free throws in the second. The Wildcats came back strong after halftime, scoring 11 points and closing the gap to just two points, 20-22, with 2:00 to go in the 3rd, but a series of OH turnovers allowed Cascade to open their lead to 29-22 at the start of the 4th. OH continued to have problems protecting the ball and Cascade went on to win 41-31. DJ Jackson lead the team with 10 points and Kelsey Rankin added 5 more - all free throws. Kate Rossman scored 4, Lia Pantoleon and Rayan Russell 3 each, and Tatiana Cumming, Erika Flores and Kaileen Burleson 2 each. This was the first game this year Coach B was able to play with a full roster, as the team had been hammered by injuries and losses to the varsity team.

The varsity game started out much like the JV game, with Cascade leading 11-2 halfway through the 1st period and continued to lead at halftime, 22-15. The Wildcats got fired up in the 3rd, outscoring Cascade 14-6. A nice shot by Clarissa Abadesco tied the game at 25 with 1:30 left in the 3rd and a pair of free throws 20 seconds later by Jessica Denmon gave OH their first lead of the game. Cascade was able to tie the game at 33 with 3:31 left in the game, but the Wildcats took back the lead with 3:10 remaining and prevented the Bruins from scoring again to secure a 37-33 win. Denmon led all scorers with 17 and Mowbray scored 12. Also scoring points were Abadesco with 6 and Jessica James with 2.

36 photos of the seniors and their friends, along with some of the band, are posted HERE.

A video clip with 6 highlights is posted HERE.

Next up for the girls is a trip to Snohomish on Friday and to Everett on Wednesday the 27th. They are next at home on Friday the 29th against Lake Stevens.