The Cougars showed improvement against the Tigers, but in the playoffs only wins count.
“Even though I thought we had improved over the season since we played them last, they were moving forward too,” said Lakewood coach Chris Walster.
Senior night might have brought a few butterflies to the Tommies.
In Wesco North boys basketball action, Marysville-Pilchuck had probably the most difficulty scoring it’s had all season in a 54-30 loss to Stanwood.
It’s hard enough to beat Lake Stevens, but Marysville-Pilchuck took on the Vikings with a number of starters out with various injuries.
The result was a 59-12 loss in Wesco wrestling action Jan. 27.
“That’s Lake Stevens, they’ve been on top of the league for a while now,” said M-P coach Craig Iversen about the state’s top-ranked program this year.
The Tommies suffered two losses in one night.
On a night where Marysville-Pilchuck was looking to solidify its playoff position and get a little payback from a loss earlier in the year, the Lady Tomahawks came away with a loss and an injury Jan 26.
“When you lose the player that controls the floor for you, that is really hard to deal with,” said M-P coach Julie Martin after her girls lost 50-46 in Wesco North action.
It didn’t come easy, but the Lady Cougars got back to .500.
In a Cascade Conference hoops game that came down to the final possession Jan. 25, Lakewood defeated Granite Falls 44-42 to better its postseason hopes.
It had to happen to somebody.
Granite Falls rode a hot streak against Lakewood to win its first Cascade Conference contest in two years.
A defeat of Arlington was a few years coming for Marysville-Pilchuck.
“That one was a real nice one to get — we hadn’t beat (the Eagles) in three years,” said M-P head coach Craig Iversen.
Marysville-Pilchuck girls basketball team couldn’t handle Monroe’s backcourt pressure Jan 21 in a 62-48 Wesco North loss.
In a matchup to see which team held sole possession of third place, the Tommies didn’t match the Tigers intensity in the second half.
The Tommies ran into one of the deepest boys swimming teams in the state Jan. 20.
In a 114-72 loss to Kamiak, Marysville-Pilchuck faced just the second team it couldn’t beat as the Tommies prepare for the postseason.
“We knew going in they were going to be a very deep team with multiple state qualifiers in every event,” said M-P swim coach Meredith Jenks. “And they just had too much.”
It didn’t come easy, but the Lady Cougars got back to .500.
In a Cascade Conference hoops game that came down to the final possession Jan. 25, Lakewood defeated Granite Falls 44-42 to better its postseason hopes.
Looking at Tom O’Hara’s face after a duel with Granite Falls, one could easily jump to the conclusion that his grapplers won 86-0.
O’Hara was happy about his team’s performance, despite a 43-36 loss to Granite Falls Jan. 20, but his glee had more to do with the way his five seniors performed on senior night.
The best way to break a full-court press is to play defense.
Coach Matt Hart is hoping his Cougars learned that much against King’s in a 67-51 Cascade Conference boys hoops loss Jan. 18.
“It’s like we just told them (in the locker room), we just need to stop them from scoring,” said Hart.
The Tommies took the Knights down to the wire, but ultimately suffered another close loss.
In a 68-60 Western Conference matchup Jan. 13, Marysville-Pilchuck held a lead with less than three minutes remaining but couldn’t hold on at Kamiak.
