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Averaging 72.6 points per game in their eight wins since Jan. 20, the Meadowdale Mavericks have been beating opponents with a strong dose of offense. While the formula has been working (the Mavs have a record of 8-3 in their past 11 outings), Coach Benson Sims has been pushing the team to up their defensive game.
Judging from the Mavericks’ effort Saturday, the emphasis has been heard.
With one of their best defensive efforts of the season, Meadowdale stung the Enumclaw Hornets 54-34 in a WIAA 3A Girls State Basketball Tournament round of 12 loser-out game played at Auburn High School.
The win earned the No. 15-seeded Mavericks a trip to the Tacoma Dome to continue play in the State tourney. Their next test will be a Round of 12 loser-out matchup against the No. 7 seed Evergreen Plainsmen Wednesday, March 4 at 5:30 p.m.
The Mavs’ Dome appearance comes after the team held the No. 10-seeded Hornets to their lowest point total of the year. Against a swarming Mavericks’ defense, Enumclaw could only muster four points in the first quarter and then just six points in the final quarter.
Meadowdale senior Mia Brockmeyer said the team’s defensive effort on Saturday isn’t really a surprise. “(Coach) Benson has been really dialing in our defense, our rebounding and deflections,” she said. “That’s been our main focus at practices.”
The Hornets sank only three shots (six points) from inside the 3-point arc against the frantic pressure of the Mavs. Enumclaw made eight 3-pointers in the game, but needed 28 attempts from long range to do so, finishing at 28.6% from 3-point range.
A collapsing zone defense applied by the Mavericks seemed to frustrate the Hornets, especially their two low-post players, Ava Smith and Emma Holt, a TNT All-League first team selection. Smith and Holt scored just two points each in the game for the Hornets.
Much of the credit for shutting down Enumclaw’s two big stingers was given to Meadowdale sophomore Hannah Keeney.
“They have two 5 (foot) 11s in there and Hannah had to stick in there,” Sims noted, calling Keeney’s play against Smith and Holt “tenacious.”
“The way she plays, she plays not just for herself but for her teammates,” Sims said. “She gives everything she has for every moment she is on the floor.”
Brockmeyer also praised Keeney after the game. “She’s a really good defensive player; I’d say that she specializes in defense,” Brockmeyer said. “And she’s always sprinting everywhere. It’s really good to see that.”
The Meadowdale defense made it difficult for any of the Hornet players to get clean looks at the basket on Saturday. As a team, the Mavericks blocked 10 Enumclaw shots.
“Lately we’ve been getting a lot of blocks,” Brockmeyer said. “(Assistant) Coach Chris (Muanda) calls us ‘block party. ’I think a lot of us have long arms and we can get our hands in the right places.”
While the Mavs’ defense was shutting down Enumclaw, the offense struggled to get going early. Meadowdale tallied just nine points in the first quarter and 22 points in the first half. Brockmeyer, the team’s leading scorer, had just four points before the halftime intermission.
Brockmeyer said she didn’t let her first-half shooting woes concern her. “I wasn’t stressing because my teammates had a great game today,” she said. “We’ve been playing really well as a team. So my individual success doesn’t really matter as much.”
Brockmeyer ended the game with 15 points, including six during a big 20-0 run by the Mavericks in the second half that sealed the victory.
Meadowdale junior Lexi Zardis led all scorers in the game with 17 points. The Hornets were paced by 12 points from Kaidyn Johnson and 11 from Callie Almire.
The Mavericks will now finish their year in the Tacoma Dome for the third time in the past four seasons. Meadowdale has had limited success in those most recent appearances against the top 12 teams in 3A , going 0-2 last year and 1-3 in 2023.
Can this year’s Mavs’ squad get a win or two at the Dome? Brockmeyer thinks so. “We’ve just got to keep going, keep pushing,” she said. “You just have to want it every time. And I really think we can do it.”
To view the entire WIAA 3A Girls State Basketball Tournament bracket, click www.wpanetwork.com/m2/tourn.php?act=vt&tid=4961.
Prep Girls Basketball: Meadowdale vs. Enumclaw, Feb. 28 (WIAA 3A Girls State Basketball Tournament loser-out game)
Meadowdale 9 13 15 17 – 54
Enumclaw 4 13 11 6 – 34
Meadowdale individual scoring: Lexi Zardis 17, Mia Brockmeyer 15, Kaya Powell 7, Hannah Kenney 6, Lisa Sonko 6, Kylie Richards 3, Quinn Cannon, Mara Keller
Enumclaw individual scoring: Kaidyn Johnson 12, Callie Almire 11, Logan Girias 7, Ava Smith 2, Emma Holt 2, Kayla Feddema, Halle Martel, Camryn Thomas
Records: Meadowdale 16-10 overall; Enumclaw 15-7 overall
Meadowdale next game: versus Evergreen; Wednesday, March 4; 5:30 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome (WIAA 3A Girls State Basketball Tournament Round of 12 loser-out game)
Enumclaw next game: 2025-26 season completed
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