Cougars dethrone Kings

We had not beaten Kings for some time, and in my 13 years of coaching girls basketball, I had never beaten them as a varsity girls coach, said Lakewood girls coach Chris Walster. Any time you can beat them, down there, is special.
By that measure, Jan. 4 was a special night for the Lady Cougars, toppling the defending conference champs on their own turf 45-41.
Lakewood had to like their odds coming into the game. The Cougars return much of their varsity lineup from 2006-07 while Kings lost three college-caliber players to graduation.
That was a big win, even though they are a little down, Walster added. Theyve still got a good system and good coaches.
And, as evinced by the score, it was still a very close match.
Lakewood trailed at halftime, but rallied by outscoring the conference rivals 25-16.
Six players scored, led by post Jennifer Linds 16 points. Lind had a double-double with 10 rebounds. Lakewood guard Jocelyn Shafers nine points were critical as well, Walster said.
She came out with two of her big three pointers at the beginning of the game, he said, adding that the junior has been shooting three-pointers with about 50 percent accuracy so far this season.
Contributions like Shafers make it easier for the Jen Linds who play on the inside, to stretch it out a little, he said.
Senior Aly Stewart had good numbers for Lakewood as well, with 11 boards, eight assists and two blocked shots. A solid 10-for-14 free-throw shooting performance helped the Cougars put the game away in the fourth quarter.
With the win over a team widely picked to repeat as league champs, Lakewood improved to a 2-0 record in conference, tying them for first with Archbishop Murphy and Coupeville. One quirk in Lakewoods early season success their home record. While the Cougars are undefeated in conference thus far, theyre 0-2 at home and 6-1 on the road.
The Cougars hope to pick up their first home win against Granite Falls (whom they faced after The Globe went to press) on their way into a scheduled Jan. 11 clash with Murphy.
I think well have a good game against them. Hopefully well have a good crowd, Walster said. Theyre tough and theyre a lot like us, theyre tough inside. We always have good games with Granite Falls.


At Kings H.S.

Lakewood 15 5 12 13 45

Kings 15 10 8 8 41

Lakewood Hoidal 5, Lind 16, Ji. Shafer 3, Jo. Shafer 9, Stewart 6, Work 6. Kings Cuttright 4, Friar 4, Jack 22, Krannitz 2, McConnaughey 5, Taylor 3, Westbrook 1. 3-point goals Hoidal 1, Ji. Shafer 1, Jo. Shafer 3. Records – Lakewood 6-2 overall, 2-0 conference. Kings 1-7, 1-2.

Aussies skewer Lakewood

One night after an emotionally uplifting victory over Kings, the Lakewood girls basketball team fell to the Hawthorn Magic of Melbourne, Australia.
The visitors entered the game with a 6-0 record during their American tour and notched their seventh win Jan. 5 at Lakewood High School, 39-32.
Jeneca Hoidal led the Cougar offense with 11 points, while Aly Stewart and Karli Hesselman combined for 23 rebounds in the loss. Stewart added five assists and six points.
The Aussies had the advantage of height coming in with multiple players over 5-10 and Cougars had a couple of key losses to injury and illness. Despite those factors, Lakewood kept the game close, trailing by just one at the half and again going into the fourth quarter.
We called a couple of timeouts to try and get our breath back, but we just couldnt find the energy and couldnt find the basket at the end of the game, said Lakewood coach Chris Walster.
It was near the end of the game junior guard Anna Work suffered an injury that put her on the bench for the rest of the night. Additionally, Lakewood was without Jocelyn Shafer, who has been an impact player starting for the Cougars in her junior season after playing off the bench as a sophomore.
She has really stepped up in terms of her calmness on the floor, Walster said. I think she felt a little like the low man on the totem pole (last year), but this year she stepped up and shes not afraid to take shots.
The loss to Hawthorn was Lakewoods third of the season and the Cougar coach said hes pleased with his teams progress so far this season. The teams other two losses have been to a tough Foster High School team and the states top-ranked 2A squad at Anacortes.
Weve still definitely got room for improvement like anyone else, Walster said. (But) you know, we feel really good about where were at.

At Lakewood H.S.

Hawthorn 8 7 10 14 39

Lakewood 6 8 10 8 32

Hawthorn McNanara 1, Stewell 6, Morell 6, Lochran 1, Skelton 8, Ross-Harris 6, Coleman 2, Lowe 9. Lakewood Hoidal 11, Lind 6, Steinborn 4, Stewart 6, Wiederkehr 2, Work 3. Record Lakewood 6-3 overall. Hawthorn 6-0 overall.