Eagles battle for victory over Wildcats

The Arlington girls basketball team matched up with the Archbishop Murphy Wildcats in a battle of top teams on Jan. 17.

The Eagles came out moving the ball freely and working for the open shot as they scored back-to-back threes to go up 6-0 and forced the Wildcats to take a time out with less than a minute off the clock. After the break, Archbishop Murphy went to work on the inside and relied on their size to get their shots up in the paint. Arlington was able to lock them up in the full court and forced turnovers as they finished the quarter up 23-14.

Through the rest of the first half it was more of the same as the Wildcats were forced into another time out with 3:29 left in the quarter, down 37-22. The Eagles continued to outhustle their opponent in the full court as they went on a 9-5 run to close out the half and enter halftime leading 46-27.

Archbishop Murphy opened the second half on their first big run, 8-2, as they closed the gap down to 48-35. After dealing with a few possessions taking tough shots and giving up turnovers, Arlington began to find their chemistry once again on both ends of the court. The Wildcats couldn’t get any closer as they went into the final quarter down 59-44. In the fourth quarter, Archbishop Murphy went on another huge run as they finally closed the gap to single digits off an 8-0 run, putting them behind 59-52. After a time out by Arlington, they came back with adjustments and outscored their opponent 17-7 to secure the 76-59 victory.

“It was a great game and a good win against a really good team. In the second half they were able to get their runs, but I was happy to see us answer that. Teams are going to score but it’s about our ability to answer that and rise to the occasion that will set us up for success. We want to continue playing good basketball and keep that going through the end of the year,” said Arlington Head Coach Joe Marsh.

The Eagles' young guards had huge days in sophomore Keira Marsh and freshman Jenna Villa. Marsh had an incredible performance as she led the game in scoring with 29 points, seven three-pointers and went four-for-four at the free throw line. She also added on two assists, four rebounds and one block. Villa came off the bench to score inside and out with 13 points, two three-pointers, three-for-three at the line, one assist, five rebounds and one steal.

The rest of Arlington’s starting lineup of Josie Stupey, Hailey Hiatt, Makenzie Gage and Sierra Scheppele contributed across the board. Stupey, junior guard, finished with nine points, one three-pointer, four assists, four rebounds and two steals. Hiatt, junior guard, led the team in assists with six and steals with five, as well as scoring eight points, two three-pointers and four rebounds. Gage, junior forward, put up six points, two assists, four rebounds and two steals. Scheppele, senior guard, was the final starter as she had five points, one three-pointer, two-for-two in free throws, two assists and four rebounds.

If you want to come out and support the Eagles their next home game will be against the Renton Indians on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 7:15 p.m.