The Redmond girls’ basketball team proved to be unwelcome guests at Lake Washington High School Wednesday night as the Mustangs handled the Kangaroos, 62-53 in a 4A Kingco contest.
Using its significant height advantage, an aggressive defense, and accurate free-throw shooting, the Mustangs team broke the game open in the second quarter and led 35-21 at halftime.
Lake Washington knew their game plan had to center upon stopping Redmond’s leading scorer and league MVP Courtney Martin, and they did that with a tough double-team that at times got physical. Martin led the team with 18 points and nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds, but it wasn’t easy.
“Their plan was to bump and thump her, make her work a little bit harder,” said Redmond head basketball coach Dennis Edwards. “But she kept her composure and did a good job getting open and fighting for the ball.”
MAJOR MISMATCH
Redmond took advantage of their strong presence down low, led by 6-foot-4 post Marissa Pratt, who scored a season-high 15 points and five rebounds. Six-foot forward Jordyn Ohrt also asserted herself with eight rebounds.
“It was nice to see her get 15 points,” Edwards said of Pratt’s offensive outburst. “We’ve been looking for that all year.”
Pratt, one of Kingco’s tallest girls, was matched up against LW’s Colleen Walsh, who at 5-11 was the tallest girl wearing a purple and white jersey.
With Pratt’s five-inch advantage and long arms, the Mustangs’ dominating force inside set the tone for the game.
She scored the first six points after the tip-off, including a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, and also made the first Redmond field goal in all three quarters that she started, with her teammates often simply lobbing the ball up to her for an easy layin.
“We all worked really well together,” said Pratt of her team’s effort. “I think it was good how the outer posts were kicking it in. We played really well as a team.”
Coach Edwards noted that since their inside game changes significantly when Pratt is not on the court, they’ve been working hard to keep her in the game, but she picked up two fouls early and sat out most of the first quarter.
“Our game plan was to get the ball inside,” Edwards said. “When you look at Lake Washington’s size, it makes a lot of sense. You have to get the ball to her.”
Chandler Jones also was a solid contributor with nine points.
MARTIN PUTS ON A SHOW
With Pratt sitting out just three minutes into the game, the Kangs held their own. The home team trailed by just three after the first quarter, while the Mustangs went searching for another solution.
Martin provided the answer.
Martin, the defending league MVP, shined on both offense and defense during the decisive second quarter.
She connected on her last four field goals of the period including a rebound and put-back of teammate Alicia Valentine’s missed free throw, and a brilliant steal and layin with 20 seconds left in the half to put Redmond in the lead 33-20.
“(Martin) is just a competitor,” marveled Edwards on his leading scorer. “You can never count her out, she’s just one of those kids that I think is really hard to defend because she doesn’t give up.”
More than once Martin hit the floor hard after getting hacked going to the hoop, but each time got up, shook it off and went back to business.
Martin also set a new school record for consecutive free throws made during a season with 22.
She broke the old record of 19 during the team’s last game against Eastlake on Friday, Jan. 16, and added two more against Lake Washington before finally missing early in the second quarter.
The senior’s success from the foul line seemed to rub off on her teammates, as the Mustangs shot an incredible 14 of 17 from the line in the first half, and ended up scoring 25 of their 62 points from charity stripe.
A TOUGH LEAGUE
Despite the win, which improved to Redmond’s league record to 4-4 and 7-5 overall, the Mustangs are still in last place in the ultra-competitive Kingco Crest Division.
Competing against the likes of powerhouse Garfield and towering Issaquah, Edwards knows his team still has a battle ahead to make a deep postseason run.
“We need to win some games. The top eight teams make it into the district tournament, and we’re in ninth right now. We need to win in our own division, and that’s pretty much what we have left.”
The Mustangs’ next two games are against the top two teams in 4A Kingco. They played Issaquah (6-1, 8-3) late Friday night after the Reporter’s deadline and then face Roosevelt (6-2, 8-4) on Wednesday.
