SNOHOMISH — The Snohomish girls basketball team showed why they’re a force in the state, taking care of business on their home court and defeating the Tomahawks 59-45.

Marysville turned the ball over on offense and missed second-chance opportunities in the first half as Snohomish built a 17-6 first quarter lead in the Jan. 21 game.

Although M-P was held about 10 minutes without a field goal between the first two quarters, the girls still managed to score points driving to the basket. Sophomore guard Morgan Martinis led the charge, driving along the baseline. She drew fouls on three drives, shooting a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Dacia Heckendorf and Becca Lenz also extracted foul shots from the Panthers before Britt Harris scored from under the basket.

“That’s what we were trying to do — drive the ball,” said M-P coach Julie Martin. “We didn’t block out. They got second chances and they were good at free throws,” she added.

Marysville came out of halftime a different team, starting with a third-quarter bucket from senior Brittany Pierce, where she had eight points of her team-high 12. With Pierce’s third basket of the quarter, the Tomahawks nearly halved their 33-16 halftime deficit, getting within 10 points. But Snohomish forward Katie Benson closed strong, putting on 10 points of her 23 in the latter part of the period.

Britt Harris had eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter, but the Tomahawks couldn’t gain an advantage in the final eight minutes.

“They need to play the way they know how to play,” Martin said. “We hustle and have heart. We got outhustled that first half.”

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