Cougars wrap up unbeaten

Published 6:00 pm Monday, December 18, 2006

The seventh-grade girls basketball team at Langley Middle School ended their season with a bang Wednesday by decisively beating Kings 38-24.

“This was a very impressive season by a strong group of female athletes as they went 7-0; they have more depth than the rest of the league and it easily showed,” LMS Coach Dave Adams said.

“The varsity finished the season undefeated, outscoring their opponents by an average of 35 to 19,” he added.

Top scorer Linden Firethorne thinks she knows why the Cougars did so well.

“We’re all good friends, we can rely on each other and that made us the best team out there,” she said.

Firethorne has been playing since she was 5. “I love basketball. I was on the Little Dribblers team and have played ever since.”

Playing as a team was key for Coach Adams as he emphasized executing on offense and creating scoring opportunities with the defense.

It worked. Against Kings, Firethorne led the charge for the Cougars with 18 points, followed by Marianna Murphy with six, Makenzie Peterson and Paige Miller with four and Liz Adams, Grace Monte Calvo and Brittany Wood, all with two.

Langley came out pressing in the second quarter to extend their lead to 22 to 11 at the half and never looked back.

“The effort the girls showed tonight was a fine exclamation point to such a successful season,” Adams said. “We came out with intensity and showed up to play good basketball in both games. The defense and rebounding are what won the games for us. I’m proud of these girls. They played at a high level and had fun doing it.”

The Langley Middle School Cougar eighth-grade girls basketball team ended their season on a high note Wednesday with a pair of wins over the Knights from Kings.

The varsity team won 26-20, and the JV, 11-0.

Amanda Cochran scored nine points, Bayley Heggenes, Taylor Pope, and co-captain Marie Shimada each sank four points, co-captain Laurie Robinson put in three while Chantel White added another two. Emily Martin also played in the game.

“The varsity team ended the season with a 6-1 record, good enough for a first place finish in the conference,” Coach Paul Arand noted. “The JV team closed the year with a team record of 2-2-1.”

“Our teams had great success this year because of the players’ dedication to the game fundamentals, unyielding determination, and unselfish team play,” Arand said.

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or sports@southwhidbeyrecord.com.