Cheney's Olson, Brophy explode to help Lady Hawk's rally, roll to huge win
By PAUL DELANEY
Staff Reporter
The fall was hard and perhaps unexpected for the Medical Lake girl's basketball. Their 61-35 loss to Cheney in the first round of the Great Northern League playoffs last Wednesday in Medical Lake sent the team to the locker room one final time this year with tears streaming down the cheeks of some players. Fans grasping their maroon rally towels exited silent and stunned.
“For the first time in quite a while with girls' basketball in Medical Lake (there was) the opportunity to go on to do something more than what people expected,” Cardinals' coach Justin Blayne said. “That was a real possibility and that's what made that last loss so tough.”
Medical Lake saw the end of their five-game winning streak – including a victory over Cheney in their final GNL game just days before – and finished 9-12 overall.
Cheney had a “phenomenal game plan and I think they used their size real well,” Blayne said. “Unfortunately, we couldn't answer.” Cheney was led by the junior duo of Janae Olson's 23, and Laikyn Brophy's 18. Olson had 10 and Brophy just one point in the earlier meeting.
The big thing that stands out in Blayne's mind was Olson. “She went to the basket, had some mid-range shots, a couple of 3-pointers.” Eleven of Olson's points came in the second quarter.
That's when the Lady Hawks sprinted away with the game by outscoring the Cardinals 17-1 in the quarter, overturning Medical Lake's 10-7 first quarter lead.
After the Cards' Savannah Raczykowski hit the back end of a pair of free throws two minutes into the second quarter to give her team back the lead at 11-10, the Lady Hawks went on a tear, scoring the next 18 straight in a run that extended halfway through the third quarter. Amelia Cook's 3-pointer with 4:25 remaining in the third ended the drought and was the Cards' first field goal since the waning seconds of the first quarter.
Cheney coach Hal Sauter's game plan was not all that much different from when the two teams faced each other earlier. The biggest difference, Blayne noticed, was Brophy shifting to the post. Cook normally defended Brophy on the perimeter and was forced to play inside where she and Cassie Shoben got into almost immediate foul trouble. Cook had four fouls only 46 seconds into the second half.
“They knocked us onto the ropes,” Blayne said. “We tried to fight back but they always seemed to have an answer and then some.”
The Lady Hawks had numerous second, third and fourth chance shots, Blayne said, calling them, “shoot ‘til you make ‘em. I think they had more offensive rebounds than we had total rebounds. That is not often seen in a basketball game,” he said.
Kylie Tareski's 10 and Cook's eight points led the anemic Medical Lake offense, but both return for 2010-11. “The core of the team is still intact,” Blayne said.
Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.
Reader Comments(0)