Elite 11: Tenuous 'Team'

Jackson's upset of previously unbeaten Meadowdale, aided by the great play of Brittany Eskridge, appears to be an example of the sensitive and fragile nature of chemistry on a team operating at high success levels.

STORY & PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON
There are super teams and there are teams that are super. Chief Sealth is an example of the former, a team with super talent that has gotten super results. In the latter category is Meadowdale, a team, in the classic sense of the word, that had been getting super results.

Note, unfortunately, the use of past tense in the previous sentence. Last week was probably the last hurdle for the Lady Mavs, who seemed to be sailing to an unbeaten regular season. All that laid in their path were Edmonds-Woodway and Jackson, two teams Meadowdale already had beaten, convincingly if not handily.

Wednesday brought a narrow escape at Edmonds-Woodway, which had the ball, trailing by only one, with 17 seconds to play. Meadowdale was held to a season low in points, 17 below its team average, during its 46-43 victory. The Mavericks had a scare, but had every reason to believe they had dodged a bullet as the next opponent was Jackson - at home, no less.

Marelle Moehrle of Meadowdale

Meadowdale, see, had never lost to Jackson in girls basketball. Yes, never. Ever. Further, Meadowdale hadn't lost at home in two years (since Jan. 17, 2004, to Snohomish), hadn't lost a WesCo league game since Jan. 5, 2001 (95 straight) and had won 43 straight regular-season games overall - including two over Garfield during that stretch.

But Brittany Eskridge, a 6-foot-2 junior transfer from Shorewood, had the game of her life - 16 points, nine rebounds and six blocks - and Jackson pulled off the upset, 57-54 on Friday night.

What happened to make Meadowdale suddenly drop from invincible to vulnerable?

Last Monday during practice, junior guard Marelle Moehrle suffered a knee injury. On the surface, such an injury didn't appear devastating to Meadowdale's season, but such is the tenuousness of team. Moehrle may be only fifth on her team in scoring (8.2 points per game), but her shooting, ballhandling and, mostly, her toughness and willingness to do any kind of heavy lifting necessary are the ingredients of a "glue player."

Meadowdale may be the best overall shooting team in the region, gets very good post play from Caitlyn Rohrbach and Cambria Smith, has one of the best young point guards in Eryn Jones, an athletic penetrator-shooter-defender in Latrina Woods, plays very good team defense and can pressure. Moehrle contributed to all of that, plus took charges, set tough screens, skirmished on the boards and helped on defense. Even in a mix so potent, one missing ingredient can throw off the entire recipe.

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WesCo Stretch Run
Key regular-season showdowns

Lake Stevens at Marysville-Pilchuk, Feb. 1
Mountlake Terrance at Meadowdale, Feb. 1
Snohomish at Monroe, Feb. 8
Lake Stevens at Snohomish, Feb. 10
Monroe at Lake Stevens, Feb. 13
Jackson at Mountlake Terrace, Feb. 14

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And such is the way a single player has thrown WesCo and the State 4A Northwest district into chaos. Three teams will emerge from the district, and six teams appear capable.

WesCo North: Lake Stevens 11-0, Snohomish 10-1, Monroe 8-3.
WesCo South: Meadowdale 12-1, Jackson 10-2, Mountlake Terrace 10-2.

A week ago, Meadowdale appeared to be a shoo-in. However, Eryn Jones joined Moehrle on the wounded list with a left-ankle sprain suffered near the end of the Jackson upset. Now the Mavs could be limping into a matchup at home with Mountlake Terrace, which has joined the fray. A young team, Jackson has been up and down.

Up north, Lake Stevens and Snohomish likely will decide the division on Feb. 10. The Panthers, which also have lost to Jackson, lost by only four at Lake Stevens on Jan. 10.

Shorecrest (9-4 in WesCo, 11-4 overall) and Marysville-Pilchuk (7-4, 10-5) have jumped into contention. Marysville-Pilchuk has fared well against WesCo elite, beating Jackson and Monroe and losing two to Snohomish by a combined six points and one to Lake Stevens by three. However, Shorecrest is a 3A school.

In other notable developments around the state last week, previously unbeaten and Elite Eleven No. 3 Lewis and Clark (14-1) was upset by Gonzaga Prep (13-2) 54-43, super-soph post Kayla Standish had 40 points and 13 rebounds as Ellensburg (12-5) beat Sunnyside 65-60, Anacortes (13-4) beat Sehome (12-4) for the second time this season, River Ridge (16-2) and Tumwater (13-4) both beat Black Hills to firm up 1-2 in the Pac-9 and face each other on Thursday, and White River (14-3) was upset by Lakes 49-27.

The HoopGurlz.com Elite Eleven high-school girls basketball team rankings are featured on KING-TV's Sports Blitz and The Seattle Times.

Click Here to Discuss High School Rankings

HoopGurlz.com Elite Eleven

Washington State's Top Teams Without Regard to Classification
Records through Saturday, Jan. 28

1. Chief Sealth (3A) Record: 18-0 Last week: 1
Comment: Regina Rogers had 35 pts in two wins

2. Prairie (4A) Record: 16-1 Last week: 2
Comment: Katie Madison had 23 pts, 8 reb, 5 stl in win over Hudson's Bay

3. Eisenhower (4A) Record: 16-0 Last week: 4
Comment: Laiken Dollente had 23 pts, 6 ast, 5 stl in win over Pasco

4. Lincoln (4A) Record: 13-1 Last week: 7
Comment: Alex Montgomery had 19 pts, 8 reb, 7 ast in win over Foss

5. Garfield (4A) Record: 12-3 Last week: 6
Comment: LaCale Pringle had 39 pts in two wins

6. Lewis & Clark (4A) Record: 14-1 Last week: 3
Comment: Heather Bowman held to 5 pts during loss to Gonzaga Prep

7. Meadowdale (4A) Record: 14-1 Last week: 5
Comment: Almost-loss vs. Edmonds-Woodway led to first loss vs. Jackson

8. University (4A) Record: 13-2 Last Week: 8
Comment: Now leads Greater Spokane League

9. Woodinville (4A) Record: 14-1 Last week: 9
Comment: LeeAnn Palo had 40 pts in two wins

10. Auburn Riverside (4A) Record: 14-2 Last week: 10
Comment: Stephanie Wilber had 45 pts in two wins

11. Central Kitsap (4A) Record: 14-0 Last week: 11
Comment: Junior G Kim Kummer had 14 pts, 7 ast vs. Olympic

Dropped: None

The Wait List

Anacortes (3A) 13-3, Bainbridge (3A) 17-1, Black Hills (3A) 12-4, Chelan (2A) 13-0, Colfax (1A) 15-3, East Valley (2A) 15-0, Ellensburg (3A) 12-5, Freeman (1A) 14-2, Gonzaga Prep (4A) 13-2, Inglemoor (4A) 13-2, Jackson (4A) 11-3, Kennedy (3A) 14-2, King's (2A) 15-2, Lake Stevens (4A) 14-1, Lynden Christian (2A) 14-0, Monroe (4A) 12-3, Puyallup (4A) 15-1, River Ridge (3A) 14-2, Roosevelt (4A) 13-2, Snohomish (4A) 11-4, Tumwater (3A) 13-4, West Valley (3A) 10-5, White River (3A) 14-3

New to list in bold

Dropped: None

Previous Elite Eleven Rankings
Jan 23: Running It Up
Jan 17: Class (4A) Bias
Jan. 9: Tests Loom
Jan. 2: Mostly Cloudy
Dec. 26: Time for Adjustments
Dec. 19: Abes-Bulldogs Redux
Dec. 12: No Hope for 2A, 1A?
Dec. 4: Bulldogs Left Waiting
Nov. 21: Prairie Tops Debut Rankings