- video by Jim P.

Lady Squires JV claw back from a 0-to-14 start only to lose in overtime

 

SILVERDALE, Wash. – Thursday (Feb. 15) was a big day for first-year Mountain View (MV) Girls JV coach Jessi Bolger. It was her homecoming.

 

“It feels weird to be back in this building on a different team,” she remarked prior to the game.

 

From six years, in the early 2000’s, Coach Bolger competed in the green and white colors of the Klahowya Eagles. This day she was here with a different group of girls, the Lady Squires in blue and white, to try and earn a win against the Lady Eagles.

 

Throughout the afternoon her Mountain View girls added to the excitement. First, by spotting Klahowya fourteen straight points to close the 1^st quarter down 0-to-14.  Then, clawing back thru the next three quarters to tie the game (23-to-23) by the end of regulation and force an overtime period.

 

Unfortunately, this reunion/comeback story does not have a happy ending, at least for the Squires. Forward Mainalei Pentusi scored Mountain Views only point in overtime, on the back-end of two free throw, and Mountain View JV lost 24-to-27 to the Klahowya Eagles.

 

It wasn’t until the 5-minute mark of the 2^nd quarter that the Squires final puts points on the scoreboard, on a field goal from starting guard Chalize Blackwell. That basket would prove to be Blackwell’s only points of the game.

 

With an additional field goal from reserve guard Janea Johnston and two from Penitusi, Mountain View ended the 1^st half down by eleven, 8-to-19. Their 7 steals and 8 defensive rebounds held the Lady Eagles to just 5 points in the 2^nd quarter.

 

Whatever instruction Coach Bolger gave her girls at halftime in the locker room hit the mark. In the 2^nd half the MV Girls JV was a completely different team.

 

They more than doubled their field goal attempts, from 16 to 39. Quintupled their offensive rebounds, from 3 to 15. Reduced their turnovers from 58% to 28% per possession. And, snatched five more steals than the 1^st half (13 to 18).

 

Limiting Klahowya to just 4 points in the period, the MV Girls got themselves back into the game (21-to-23) by the end of the 3^rd quarter.

 

With 1:44 remaining in the game, starter Alexandra Alsteen stepped to the line and tied the score at 23-to-23, sinking both of her free throws. The watching varsity players and parents in the stands erupted with enthusiastic cheer. On the afternoon, Alsteen would shot 2 for 6 (33%) from the charity strip.

 

“This is making me sick,” exclaimed Kathi Blai, Coach Bulger’s mother, who was watching her daughter coach for the first time. “Too much excitement.”

 

That was the last time jubilant cheers would come from the Mountain View side of the gym. The Squires in all would attempt nine field goals, three from beyond the three-point arc, and step to the free throw line three different times in overtime. Pentusi’s single successful free throw would be their only overtime point.

 

On top off Pentusi’s team-high 8 points and 13 rebounds, starter Azalia Retome’s 9 defensive rebounds, 13 overall, and repeated overhead outlet passes to a pulling Aliyah Roa proved to be a dynamic combination in Mountain View’s offensive comeback. Retome also contributed 2 points and 5 steals in the contest.

 

Although Roa would not score, the repeated fast-breaks she help start with Retome, as well as her team-high 12 steals and 6 rebounds, were crucial elements in the Lady Squires second half success.

 

With an upcoming bye week to rest and make adjustments, the Mountain View Girls returns home to take-on the Hawkins Huskies on Tuesday, Feb. 27^th. Varsity tip-off will be at 3:30 p.m. The JV game with get underway around 5:00 p.m.