The week for the Mount Si girls basketball team was a tale of two extremes, as they started out cold and finished hot.
The Wildcats opened last Wednesday, Dec. 10, with a game against a Liberty Patriot team that was not expected to make too much noise this season. However, solid efforts from a Liberty post player combined with ice-cold shooting by the Wildcats resulted in a bitter loss for Mount Si.
The Wildcat girls shot only 21 percent from the floor as Mount Si fell 43-35 to the Patriots. The loss was Mount Si’s third straight.
The Wildcats, who had no players score in double figures, was led by the eight points of Jordyn Wilson. While the offense was struggling, other areas were working well; the team rebounded the ball 37 times, with Aubrey Larion’s 10 leading that category.
A key to Liberty’s victory was the play by their post, Danni Sjolander, who scored a game-high 14 points and dominated on the boards against Mount Si freshman Sarah McDonald, especially in the second half.
Mount Si looked to rebound last Friday against lowly Sammamish, and they did just that in a very big way.
All except one Wildcat scored points, and the one who didn’t contributed nicely in other ways to help Mount Si crush the Totems 84-14.
“We were just trying to share the basketball, move the ball around, get better,” said Mount Si coach Dirk Hansen. “It’s still nice to get a win, especially after last Wednesday. We’re still trying to regroup from last Wednesday. Wednesday hurt.”
Traci Nelson led Mount Si with 18 points, but the defense also was a big story, shutting out Sammamish in the first quarter. Mount Si outscored the Totems in the frame 31-0. The Wildcats rebounded the ball 38 times as a team, and stole it 30 times. Every player rebounded the ball at least once, and all except one had at least one steal. All in all, it was a very well rounded effort that spoke volumes about how good the team can be as soon as it fixes its offensive struggles.
That effort was aided by Larion’s 13 and Jori Braun’s 12. Kylie Jacobs contributed five rebounds, an assist and steal to the effort, helping her team immensely. A busy Emily Ferree scored six points and added three rebounds.
“I just had to go out and give it my all and mix it up,” Ferree said. “I got a little more playing time than I had been lately, so I thought I needed to help the team out. It wasn’t just for myself, it was for the team as a whole.
“After Wednedsay we wanted to come back and prove ourselves as a team,” Ferree added. “It was important to prove to our community that we’re more than what we showed [last] Wednesday.”
Freshman Sarah McDonald took back some valuable lessons from facing Sjolander.
“No matter if the team is playing bad against you or not going as hard as they could, you’re still going all out and not playing down to their level,” she said.
Mount Si plays Tuesday, Dec. 23, against Inglemoor, expected to be one of the top teams in Kingco 4A. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Inglemoor High School.
