Lady Falcons win two back-to-back

Published 1:00 pm Wednesday, December 13, 2006

When Henry Pope took over as head coach for the South Whidbey girl’s basketball team, his first order of business was big.

It was to inculcate his athletes with a sense of team — to get players to think not as varsity, JV or “C” — but as Falcons.

It may be working. Over a very long two days, the Lady Falcons beat Steilacoom 54-50 on Friday, left early the next morning to catch the ferry in Anacortes (they had to be at school by 6:30 a.m.), then swamped Friday Harbor

67-37.

The bus didn’t get home until

7 p.m. Saturday night.

“I’m exhausted,” the Falcons’ Teah Wanamaker said on Sunday.

Even so, the back-to-back games didn’t mean the Falcons were fatigued — on offense, or defense.

“I haven’t played in a game where we so dominated since middle school. I just love the way our team is coming together, especially during a close one like Friday night,” Wanamaker said.

“On the ferry home, Coach Pope was really pumped — all of us were. It gave us a chance to show everyone we can do this.”

Erica Johnson agreed.

“We just went crazy when we started back on the ferry. These were big wins for us. The Steilacoom game went back and forth, it was a nail-biter. The Lady Sentinels were scrappy; any loose balls were scooped up fast,” she said.

Steilcoom Sentinels

The game certainly began on a high note for the Falcons, with a series of sharp passes from Lauren Sandri to Lindsey Newman to Wanamaker, who scored a twine-tickling trey.

“That three-pointer really helped my confidence level,” Wanamaker said.

Then, with seconds to go in the first period, the Sentinels pulled ahead, but Meagen Rawls balanced the score on a close lay-up.

Steilacoom’s Heather Grivas picked up four, then Falcon Rachel Harris ripped the net and it was 16-14 in favor of the Sentinels.

The scoring ran neck-and-neck — it was 29-29 at the half — for the entire match, but the key to victory came in the final 10 minutes.

South Whidbey had 14 tries at the foul line and made eight — Newman alone had seven of 10 — while Steilacoom had two but only scored once.

“We hit more of our shots down the stretch than they did,” Pope said.

“Lindsey had a great game; she did all a player can do,” he added.

Johnson said the coach was supportive at the break.

“He told us we were doing well, had some good looks at the basket, but needed to make the shots,” she said. “We all listened closely.”

Rawls found the game to be unpredictable.

“It was close all the way, very intense,” she said. “But we were truly excited with the win and I think we carried that feeling with us on the ferry up to Friday Harbor.”

Overall, Newman scored 19 with 17 rebounds and four assists. Wanamaker had 10 points and three rebounds, Samantha Pope had nine points and 10 rebounds and Harris had seven.

Friday Harbor Wolverines

At Friday Harbor, the girls ran up a 16-point lead before the Wolverines scored.

It was a one-sided contest. The Falcons led all the way, never tested by an inexperienced Friday Harbor team playing their first game under new coach Eric Jangard.

Never tested, but physical; Lady Wolverines Amanda Root and Kiersten Radden both went out with serious knee injuries.

“Coach Jangard and the folks up there were helpful, gracious and friendly,” Pope said. “I hope we can reciprocate some day.”

The “Big Mo” from the night before gave Pope a chance to play some freshmen up from JV — Chantal LaChaussee and Cayla Calderwood — which fits with his all-inclusive goal of team unity.

Johnson noted it was Friday Harbor’s first contest.

“And they only have one senior. We could tell they had the jitters and were nervous,” he said.

The Falcons, on the other hand, were floating even after the ferry docked.

“It was a long trip but no one regretted it for a moment,” Rawls said.

Newman scored 20 points, freshmen Allison Wood and Alannah Alber each had 11 and Rawls scored a season-high nine. “Meagen showed great attitude and hustle in both games,” Pope said.

“I’m very encouraged by the sense of team bonding for a common goal that I saw over the two games,” Pope said. “The girls played hard, supported and cheered each other and communicated between themselves and me. We still have lots of work to do on the fundamentals starting Monday, and a big season ahead.”

The girls are 2-1 with Cascade Conference action getting underway at 7 p.m. Friday when Coupeville comes to town.