Lakewood hosts to Holiday tournament
LAKEWOOD — The Cougars are still searching for that elusive first win after suffering losses to King’s and Mount Si at the Lakewood Cougar Holiday Classic Dec. 29-30.
“It’s been a tough road so far, but we’re staying in games and fighting for it,” said Lakewood coach Chris Walster, whose team is off to an 0-6 start.
In the first game of the Cougars’ home tournament they trailed 33-12 at halftime to a long, athletic Mount Si team that used its height advantage to notch a 60-22 win.
“Their 6-1 guards had too much speed and athleticism for us,” Walster said of his 3A opponent. “They were able to take the ball almost anywhere.”
Mount Si had 10 players score and two in double figures.
Senior guard Chrystle Clark demonstrated the heart of Cougar basketball by playing just a few days after having her wisdom teeth removed.
“It was a gutsy performance, that’s for sure,” said Walster.
Clark wasn’t allowed pain killers for the game and was only able to play about two or three minutes at a time, scoring a team-high seven points before re-aggravating her mouth by diving into the bleachers face first for a loose ball.
Walster praised sophomore Ashlie Jensen, a junior varsity call-up for the Mount Si game who came away with three points.
“She did great,” Walster said. “She works hard, talks on defense — she does all the things that we’re trying to get the varsity players to do.”
The following night, Dec. 30, the Cougars took on King’s in a non-conference game between two Cascade Conference teams resulting in a 51-33 Knights victory.
Junior forward Kayley Mizell led the Cougars with eight points, followed by another seven by Clark.
“This was a real test for us because Kings saw how we played and our weaknesses the night before,” Walster said. “We play them three times this year and we’re trying to stay in those games close enough to get a couple wins.”
Kings led 23-13 at halftime before running away with it in the third quarter on a 19-8 run.
Also playing in the tournament was Nooksack Valley.
