Oak Harbor hangs with tough T-birds / Girls basketball

By Jim Waller • January 5, 2017 1:30 am

Chalk this up as a moral victory.

The Shorewood High School girls basketball team came to Oak Harbor with a 9-1 record but got all it could handle from the 3-6 Wildcats, escaping with a 46-33 win Wednesday, Jan. 4.

The Thunderbirds went on an 10-0 run midway through the third quarter, and other than that one spurt, Oak Harbor went toe-to-toe with one of the conference’s top teams.

The Wildcats (0-3, 3-7) will get another shot at being a giant killer when they travel to unbeaten and third-ranked Stanwood (3-0, 11-0) at 7:15 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6.

Oak Harbor got Shorewood’s attention right away. Bryn Langrock scored 5 points in the first quarter, Rashanna Graham 4 and Jordan Wood-Pina banked in a three-pointer as the Wildcats led 12-9 after one quarter.

The Thunderbirds eased ahead 21-19 at halftime.

The teams were tied at 23 two minutes into the third quarter, then Shorewood rattled off 10 straight points to go up 33-23 before ending the period with a 34-26 lead.

A bucket by Julie Jansen and a three-ball and two free throws from Langrock brought Oak Harbor within five, 38-33, with 3:50 remaining.

The T-birds scored the game’s final eight points as the ’Cats couldn’t convert late.

The difference in the game was Shorewood’s 6-foot-2 Taryn Shelley. The WSU recruit scored 21 points, dominated the boards and ignited the Thunderbirds running game with sharp outlet passes.

On defense, she grabbed a handful of steals and blocked or changed the trajectory of numerous Wildcat shots.

Oak Harbor coach Jon Atkins lauded the play of Shelley and noted his team did a good job of keeping the other T-birds “in check.”

Shorewood used only one substitute for a short stint in the second quarter.

Langrock hit four three-pointers and finished with 16 points for Oak Harbor. Graham scored 8, Jansen 6 and Wood-Pina 3.