Injuries aside, Inglemoor High girls are scoring big
It may not be the best nickname in the world, but it suits the Inglemoor High Vikings nonetheless.
“Our team is the ‘Walking Wounded,’” said sophomore guard Taylor Peacocke. “We’ve had so many injuries, we can’t even name them all.”
Sophomore point guard Alexis McLeod’s right leg is all bruised up, senior guard and captain Rosie Matsumoto dislocated her right pinky, but the biggest blow is losing 6-foot-1 sophomore forward Deidre Miller for the season due to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear to her right leg.
“You’ve gotta have a thick skin, and it’s working. I can already see we have so much talent to go far,” said Matsumoto, whose team was 2-0 in 4A Kingco play and 4-1 overall at press time after a 56-45 win over Bothell on Friday. “Coach has emphasized and made us realize that she (Miller) would die to be out here and we’re lucky to be as healthy as we are.”
Coach John Augustavo noted that the Vikings wear ribbons on their shoes for Miller — who injured her ACL at practice the day after Thanksgiving on a simple layin — and are thinking about her on the court.
“I’ve made her a captain. She sits on the bench and gives her input — she’s a coach now,” he said.
Added Peacocke: “We’ve dropped from 6-1 to 5-9, and we’ve all been trying to make it a big part of our game to get rebounds instead of focusing on scoring all the time.”
In her first season on varsity, Peacocke has already created a Kingco buzz with a staggering 36-point performance against Juanita and 23-point showing against Ballard.
Peacocke shakes her head and offers an almost secretive look about why things went so well against Juanita, finally saying that she got into a scoring groove due to the fast pace of the game. As for the Ballard scoring spree, she points to McLeod and Matsumoto for making her look good.
“Last night, I wouldn’t have scored 15 points if not for Alexis passing the ball up court or Rosie (playing well),” Peacocke said. “It’s not like I’m doing it all on my own.”
“She’s just a very, very athletic kid who plays hard on both sides of the ball — and never stops,” Augustavo said of Peacocke. “I don’t have the right words, but when it’s all combined together, you have one heck of a basketball player.”
Augustavo, in his seventh season as the Viks’ coach, added that McLeod has been racking up assists and moves the team well and 5-10 senior forward Sara Butterfield is a force down low.
McLeod was a ball of energy in practice last Thursday and was all smiles afterward while she proudly showed off her bruises and talked Vik hoops.
“My role is to get everyone involved in the plays and get more people to step up (their game),” McLeod said, noting that she’s been looking forward to playing Inglemoor varsity basketball since elementary school. “It’s been fun.”
Matsumoto said that she’s enjoyed watching Inglemoor’s sophomores — including Katie Taylor and Larissa Ashby — jump on board and fuse with the returners — including 5-10 senior wing Sarah Breysse — to win some games early on and give the players a hunger for continued success.
The players are learning about each other and their styles of play, Matsumoto said, and in order to be productive, they’ll be relying on each other for support the whole way.
Peacocke concluded about playing in the tough 4A Kingco Conference: “We’ll have to grind through all our games and work together as a team.”
