Cedarcrest’s girls basketball team has had a good start to this season going into last Saturday’s, December 11, game against nonleague foe Aberdeen. The Red Wolves came in 2-2 and had won their previous game, their league opener against Lakewood. But, after last Saturday’s game against their opponents from Grays Harbor County, the Red Wolves got a big reality check about what they will need to do to remain successful as the Cascade Conference schedule gets going this week.

Offensive struggles doomed Cedarcrest in a 46-35 loss to the Bobcats, and Red Wolves coach Angela Jensen was not pleased. “I just don’t think that we showed up to play,” Jensen said. “In high school basketball, you’ve got to show up every game and execute, do the little things and play as hard as you possibly can, and I think that tonight we didn’t do that.”

The game was filled with turnovers and missed shots from both teams from the opening tip, but the Wolves held their own coming out of the first quarter. The Bobcats, though, took control of the game just before halftime, using a pair of three-pointers and a couple of key free throws to take a 27-15 lead to the break. Cedarcrest was unable to mount a rally in the second half, even though they had many opportunities to get one going. Aberdeen closed it out behind the game-high 14 from sophomore Mo Donovan. Freshman Susan Kenney, key to the Red Wolves’ solid start on this campaign, scored nine points to lead Cedarcrest’s efforts.

The Wolves’ game against Aberdeen was second of back-to-back games which started with their win last Friday, December 10 over the Cougars in Arlington. Asked by the Valley Record whether fatigue resulting from playing two games in two nights may have been a factor, Jensen didn’t believe so. “I think that we have a deep enough bench where it shouldn’t be an issue. I just think that we’ve got to focus more mentally,” she said. The coach then added, “And even if we were tired from last night, it’s not an excuse.”

In that victory over Lakewood, Kenney scored 11 to help Cedarcrest to a 47-38 decision.

The Red Wolves come into this week with tough league games against Coupeville and Archbishop Murphy. Cedarcrest knows it will have to be ready if they want to contend for the Cascade Conference title. “I think the league’s pretty balanced this year so every game is going to be a tough one and we’ll have to show up definitely a lot more intense and mentally prepared,” Jensen said.

The game against Archbishop Murphy is Friday night on the road at the Wildcats’ campus in Everett, and tips at 7:00.