Seven treys the difference as girls lose to Mount Baker

Published 12:00 pm Wednesday, January 14, 2004

As has been the case for South Whidbey basketball teams for years, it’s all about the first quarter.

So when the Falcon girls fell behind Mount Baker 22-13 in the first 10 minutes of their road game Friday night, they had started on their way to a familiar result — a loss not by blowout but by the wearing feeling of playing from behind.

And though they would come within 6 in the third quarter, momentum never truly favored South Whidbey as the Mountaineers used several of their total seven 3-point shots to put the game out of reach long before it was over.

“We were down by 6 and all of a sudden we were down by 20,” said team coach Howard Collier.

Part of the problem, he said after the game, were several ill-considered substitutions on his part. But, from the players’ perspective, the trouble was in the smaller aspects of the game. After managing to stay within 13 with a 34-21 halftime score, the Falcons were unable to make the sort of third-quarter scoring rush they are typically able to put together. Senior Jordan Tobler said her team’s 12-19 disadvantage in that period was not part of the game strategy.

“We come back out really strong, but then we fade out,” said Tobler, who did not fade as she grabbed 12 of her team’s 22 rebounds on the night.

Marcella Litwiller, the 6-1 sophomore who has led the team in scoring all season, said she noticed herself and her team coming out of the locker room “a little uptight” for the second half.

“Our intensity, it needs to be brought up,” she said.

In this game, Litwiller was the team’s second-highest scorer with 10 points, one behind senior point guard Bronwyn Russell. Also putting up solid numbers on the night Nici Eaton and Danielle Burton, each with 9 points.

Though the Falcons would get a break late in the game — a 7-point fourth quarter from Mount Baker — they lost on 3-point shooting. To the Mountaineers’ 7, South Whidbey could only counter with 3. In addition, the team missed nine free throws down the stretch — the points they needed to get back in the game.

The Falcons are now 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the NCC. Their record places them sixth in the conference, in back of 4-0 Blaine.