The Oak Harbor girls team used some outstanding shooting and a high-scoring first quarter on their way to a 75-37 rout at Mount Vernon on Wednesday night.
The Wildcats established their dominence from the outset, outscoring the Bulldogs’ 27-14 in the first period on some lights-out shooting.
“Well the first was certainly a big quarter,” said head coach Dwight Lundstrom. “We did that through shooting. They came out in a zone defense and we shot the ball well.”
Sophomore Kaylea Kingma scored 10 of her game-high 17 points in the first quarter, including a pair of three-pointers. She was joined by freshman Heidi McNeill (13 points), and senior Valerie Hartman (14 points) in double-figures.
Hartman, the Cats’ senior point guard, filled the stat sheet against the Bulldogs. Besides her 14 points she added 10 assists, five rebounds, and four steals. The team had 20 steals overall.
It was a well-rounded effort by the Wildcats. All 10 team members played significant minutes and everyone scored. Lundstrom was able to play his reserves in the second and fourth quarters and was happy with the results.
“The younger kids got to play and I was encouraged by their effort.” he said. “They looked more comfortable on the floor than they did against Arlington.”
Lundstrom pointed out the play of sophomores Jen White and Sarah Bratt. White scored seven points, went 5-of-8 from the free throw line and had six steals. Bratt contributed four points and three rebounds.
“I was pleased with Jen White’s play, she really went hard to the bucket,” he said. “And Sarah did a nice job coming off the bench.”
With the Cats holding a large lead in the second half, Lundstrom was able to have his players work on aspects of the game that will be important later in the season.
“We worked on our man-to-man defense in the second half and it has come a long way since the Lake Stevens game,” he said. “It was a good night – everyone got to play, everyone got to score, and I think everyone had a good time.”
With the victory, the Wildcats remained undefeated in league play. The team hosted Stanwood last night (results will be published in next Wednesday’s edition of the News-Times) in the final game of the first swing through the conference schedule. With Oak Harbor in first place, Lundstrom believes everyone will be aiming to knock the Cats off.
“I expect things to get tighter,” he said. “Cascade will be ready for us. We need to put a good game together at Marysville. It’s going to be a lot harder going onto their floor.”
Oak Harbor 75, Mount Vernon 37
At Mount Vernon H.S.
Oak Harbor – 27 15 15 18 – 75
Mount Vernon – 14 10 5 8 – 37
Oak Harbor: Kingma 17, McNeill 13, Hartman 14, Spears 8, White 7, Manibusan 5, Brundidge 4, S. Bratt 4, Pruss 2, D. Bratt 1. Mount Vernon: Lorenz 10, Pratt 9, Smith 5, Leibrand 5, Anderson 5, Castillo 2, Van Nortwick 1. 3-point goals: Kingma 2, Manibusan 1, Hartman 1, Leibrand 1, Anderson 1. JV score: Oak Harbor 48, Mount Vernon 32. Records: Oak Harbor 7-0 league, 10-1 overall. Mount Vernon 0-6, 1-9.
