AHS dominates Scots for District Championship

The Arlington girls basketball team travelled to Everett Community College to take on the Shorecrest Scots in the 3A District One Championship game on Feb. 22.

The Scots got on the scoreboard first as they hit a three to start 3-0 over the Eagles early in the first quarter. Over the next couple of minutes Arlington answered back with an 8-0 run and forced Shorecrest to take a time out with 4:52 left in the quarter. Both teams stayed strong on defense over the next few minutes, as the Eagles held a slight lead entering the second up 10-7. Through the rest of the first half, Arlington put their dominate defense on display as they only allowed two points over eight minutes. The Eagles struggled shooting from the beyond the arc but still managed to attack inside and score nine points to end the half up 19-9.

In the second half both teams began to open up a bit as they pushed the pace and started to put points on the scoreboard. Over the first three minutes they went 6-6 with Arlington maintaining their 11-point lead, 25-14. The Scots played hard on both ends but were unable to close the gap as they fell further behind entering the fourth quarter, 33-20. The Eagles continued to keep their foot on the gas in the final quarter as they outscored Shorecrest 7-4 through the first four minutes. After extending their lead to 17 points, Arlington was able to continue to coast to a final score of 50-34 and claimed the District Championship.

“This was one of our goals at the beginning of this season, especially against a team that we lost to earlier in the year. We’re healthy now for the most part and it was great to see us play smart and solid basketball. If we can take care of our effort rebounding and play the way we’re playing we’ll be in good shape,” said Arlington Head Coach Joe Marsh.

Hailey Hiatt, junior shooting guard, was an offensive force for the Eagles from beginning to end. She led all scorers with 18 points while putting up four three-pointers, four assists and five rebounds.

The rest of the starting five worked together to put together a complete performance on both ends behind Jenna Villa, Josie Stupey, Keira Marsh and Makenzie Gage. Villa, freshman guard, hit two three-pointers and went two-for-two from the line on the way to eight points, an assist, four rebounds and a block. Stupey, junior guard, was right behind her with seven points along with a three-pointer, two assists, two rebounds and two steals. Marsh, sophomore guard, scored five points, one three-pointer, four assists, one rebound and led the team with four steals. Gage, junior forward, was charged with guarding the Scots’ strong center while also putting up two points, two assists, five rebounds and a steal.

The Eagles’ senior guard off the bench, Allison DeBerry, played a huge part as the spark throughout the game. She finished with a tough eight points including one three-pointer, one rebound and four steals.

The Eagles will be continuing their journey through the postseason as they take on the Lake Washington Kangaroos in the 3A Regionals on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 12 p.m. at Jackson High School.