The Inglemoor High Lady Vikings were unable to recover from a rough second quarter last Wednesday night during a 4A Kingco girls basketball game.
And the Garfield High Bulldogs stepped in and notched a 53-37 road victory.
The Bulldogs, 4A state champions in 2005 and known for having one of the strongest basketball programs in the league, fielded a physically imposing team that the Vikings simply could not match up against.
“The game plan was to stop the big kids inside, and it didn’t work,” said Inglemoor head coach John Augustavo. “They’re just bigger, stronger and taller. We scrapped as hard as we could.”
No breaks
Garfield’s enormous presence inside caused the Vikings difficulty in driving to the hoop, particularly in the game’s early going, so Inglemoor tried to settle for getting good looks outside.
The home squad used brilliant cross-court passes to set up open shots for senior forward Lynsey Sandum, whose long-range jumpers often clanged in and out.
As a team, the Vikings shot just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first half and 6-of-23 overall, while Garfield went on a tear, making five of its last six shots of the half to widen the gap to an insurmountable 32-14 lead heading into the locker room.
In true Viking form, the girls mounted a charge during the third quarter, as Augustavo ordered a more direct mode of attack.
“We just need to work on moving the ball and attacking the basket a little more than we did,” Augustavo said. “We kind of stood around … and once we started attacking, we started scoring, and that got us back in the game.”
The Vikings started driving to the hoop in the third quarter, and got Garfield into foul trouble. The Bulldogs were already at the team limit with three minutes left in the period.
A Sandum 3-pointer late in the third quarter closed the gap to a single-digit Bulldog lead.
But six different Bulldogs scored in the fourth quarter alone on 7-of-9 shooting, as the Vikings’ 3-balls continued to rattle off the iron.
For the game, Inglemoor shot just 4-of-22 from beyond the arc.
“We have our struggles here and there with our perimeter shooting, but we’re a work in progress,” Augustavo admitted. “We still have a pretty strong group of seniors that, any given night, will show up and compete.”
Sandum’s show
Despite the loss, the Vikings got one of their better offensive performances of the season from Sandum, who recovered from a difficult first half to score 11 of the Vikings’ last 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Sandum finished with a game-high 19 for the Vikings, and senior Melissa Hough scored six points, all in the first half, on 3-of-8 shooting.
Nevertheless, Garfield’s complete arsenal was too much for the Vikings to overcome as forward Cora McManus put in 13 and four other Bulldogs scored five points or more.
Inglemoor dropped to 2-3 in 4A Kingco play and 6-3 overall after a 54-47 overtime loss to Woodinville last Friday. Alex Nelson led the Viks with 19 points, following by Sandum with 16.
Although the Vikings’ league games haven’t gone as well as hoped so far, the longtime coach isn’t worried.
“We know that other division (Kingco Crest) that Garfield comes out of is a tough division, and ours (Crown) is tough, as well,” Augustavo said. “We think we can do damage in our division. We just need to steal a couple from the other side, and we should be OK.”
Around the Northshore
In other basketball action Friday night, Bothell’s girls defeated Ballard, 65-35, behind 13 points from Katelyn Flanigan and 11 from Kareena Dahl.
Bothell’s boys also beat Ballard, 45-42, as Mike Hartvigson led the Cougars with 15 points.
Adam McElwee and Benji Bryant knocked in 20 and 15 points, respectively, in Inglemoor’s 51-46 boys victory over Woodinville.
