One way or another, a basketball game against the Archbishop Murphy Wildcats is always interesting.

So it was Friday as South Whidbey lost 74-32 to a group of girls who were taller, bigger, faster and better in just about every way.

“They had more height and they just played great basketball,” noted Falcon Alannah Alber.

The night was young when Lindsey Newman was fouled and picked up the first two points. But 6-foot Wildcat Megan Carlson responded with a three-pointer and the Falcons struggled the rest of the night to keep up.

In the first quarter Murphy slowly but inexorably pulled ahead, shutting down the Falcon offense — ie., Newman — and using their height advantage to make their shots.

Carlson and Alyssa Smith, another 6-footer, combined for the 14-2 score at the first break.

“Any one of those girls could score 20 points,” said Falcon coach Henry Pope, who noted that Smith has already earned a full-ride basketball scholarship to the University of Montana.

South Whidbey managed nine points to Murphy’s 25 in the second quarter for a 39-11 halftime score.

By the third and fourth quarters, Wildcat coach Keith Johnson was cycling in his bench, but they still outscored the Falcons by 35 points.

And each time Smith took the court, she was aggressive and unstoppable inside the key while guard JJ Campbell made three-pointers almost at will.

The Falcons never gave up, though. Reilly O’Sullivan, Ashlinn Prosch, Chantal LaChaussee, Makenzie Peterson, Alber and Newman did their level best, in the end falling 74-32.

“The Wildcats are well-coached, they play together all year and I think we were a touch intimidated by their skill level,” Pope said. “They out-hustled us in every way.”

Falcon Taylor Pope added that the Wildcats were a solid team at every position..

“To make it worse, they were really nice, good sports,” she recalled. “You couldn’t get mad at them.”

O’Sullivan stated the obvious.

“A lot of our shots weren’t falling in,” she said. “Our defense could have been better, but the fact is, they are just that good.”

Newman led with 20 points, LaChaussee had six and Alber four.

It’s a big weekend for basketball coming up. On Friday, the Falcon girls travel to Lakewood. At 5:15 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, the girls host a make-up game with Coupeville.