The South Whidbey girls basketball team faced Steilacoom High in a road game Tuesday and were soundly outscored in the second half by the Sentinels.

Fortunately, it didn’t matter as the Falcons had fashioned a sterling 33-13 lead at the half.

The Sentinels attempted a man-to-man press that was ineffective, giving the Falcons girls room to roam on the Sentinel court.

In the second half, the Sentinels re-grouped into a zone defense with better results, outscoring South Whidbey 19-13.

“We had few inside looks and the outside shot wouldn’t drop,” Falcons Coach John Pyrtek explained.

“Britta Madison played her most solid game of the season, as did Amanda LaVassar,” Pyrtek said.

“Lauren Sandri had a great steal the length of the court to take the wind out of their sails with the clock winding down,” he added.

Leading scorer Caitie Newman did everything but drop in shots, contributing 10 rebounds, three steals, five assists and three blocked shots. She finished with four points.

“Her performance gave us confidence that we can win when our leading scorer isn’t scoring,” Pyrtek said.

Marcella Litwiller led the team with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Madison, Jessi Eaton and Lindsey Newman each had eight points.

As of Friday morning, the girls are 4-1 in Cascade Conference standings, behind undefeated Cedarcrest with Archbishop Murphy and Kings in the hunt at 5-1.

Stare at the standings a bit before making judgments, though.

“One needs to look at the quality of the opponent when looking at non-conference records,” Pyrtek pointed out.

Cedarcrest is 5-0 opposite teams with a combined record last season of 5-95.

“Our pre-league schedule was made up of state-quality teams such as Ellensburg, Burlington, Steilacoom and Port Townsend,” Pyrtek said.

The coach noted that Kings scheduled a 4A state runner-up (Snohomish), the 3A state champion (Sealth) and Kennedy, always a powerhouse. Those are all tough teams, making last night’s contest at Kings all the more important.

Tuesday the Lady Falcons travel to Lakewood.