By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Two girls teams starting the season in opposite directions were in action Friday night as 0-2 Highland Park visited 2-0 Washburn Rural.
A second-half shutdown on defense secured a third straight win for the Junior Blues.
“We were really trying to emphasize playing a little more harder, a little more intensely and being a little bit more physical and I thought we did that,” said Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick.
Brooklyn DeLeye
Jada Ingram
On the other side, the 54-12 game represented the third straight loss to open the season for the Scots.
Washburn Rural started off hot offensively, with an early 8-0 lead as junior MaRyah Lutz scored or assisted on all eight. Senior Atiya Gonzalez ended the drought for Highland Park, banking in a 3-pointer at the six-minute mark.
Turnovers were a problem for the Scots in the quarter and in the game. Highland Park’s eight first-quarter points were topped by Junior Blues junior Brooklyn DeLeye, who had nine in the frame.
Both offenses stalled in a sloppy second quarter which featured a combined five field goals with none coming in the first four minutes. Washburn Rural still held a 33-10 lead going into the break.
“I think we just knew we had things to work on this game and we just applied it to the game,” said Rural sophomore Jada Ingram who had six first-half points and 11 in the game.
The Junior Blues came out of halftime on a 10-0 run in just over four minutes, forcing a Highland Park timeout. The lead grew to 40 points at the end of the quarter as the Scots were held scoreless.
“I think getting steals helped us a lot, getting in front of the ball, watching the lob passes,” Ingram said.
The fourth quarter began with a running clock and with two free throws by senior Aisya Taylor to end the scoring drought for the Scots. The last four points of the quarter came from Washburn Rural as they emptied the bench to finish out the game, 54-12.
“We still turned the ball over too much, we are still missing way too many free throws, but I thought overall it was a better outing than what we had on Tuesday,” Bordewick said.
DeLeye led Washburn Rural with 14 points.
Taylor and Gonzales led the Scots with five points each.
Each team will hit the road next week with the Junior Blues heading to Hayden and Highland Park traveling to Seaman.
WASHBURN RURAL GIRLS 54, HIGHLAND PARK 12
Washburn Rural 24 9 17 4 -- 54
Highland Park 8 2 0 2 -- 14
Washburn Rural (3-0) -- Bagshaw 2 0-0 4, Whitmore 1 1-2 3, Lutz 2 0-0 5, Krueger 2 1-4 5, Carlgren 0 1-3 1, Canfield 3 0-0 7, Brogan 1 0-0 2, Ingram 5 1-4 11, Schuler 1 0-0 2, DeLeye 6 0-0 14. Totals 23 4-13 54.
Highland Park (0-3) -- Gonzales 2 0-0 5, Parker-Brown 0 0-0 0, Sanders 0 0-2 0, Reed 0 0-0 0, White 0 0-0 0, Nunez 0 0-2 , Taylor 1 2-2 5, Shutts 0 0-0 0, Ramsey 1 0-0 2, Mitchell 0 0-0 0. Totals 4 2-6 12.
3-point goals – Washburn Rural 4 (DeLeye 2, Canfield 1, Lutz 1), Highland Park 2 (Taylor 1, Gonzales 1). Total fouls – Washburn Rural 9 Highland Park 7. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – none.
