Caitlin Carr’s career-high 27 points proved the difference Tuesday as the Auburn Mountainview girls swept by No. 9 Lakes, 58-50, in South Puget Sound League 3A basketball action at Auburn Mountainview High School.
With both teams coming into the game with identical 5-1 league records, the showdown had all the hype and energy of a postseason contest, with the league championship possibly on the line.
Although the win was big, Carr – who sealed the win with three clutch free throws with 23 seconds left – said she and her teammates were keeping it in perspective and concentrating on the final three regular-season games.
“This is not it. This is just one of the stepping stones to get where we want to be,” Carr said. “But it feels really good to knock off one of the top teams in our league and get that kind of payback for when they beat us at their place.”
Earlier this season, Lakes (5-2 league, 11-5 overall) beat the Lions, 60-48.
Auburn Mountainview looked eager to avenge its previous loss, posting a 13-0 run out of the gate. Although the Lions enjoyed a 13-3 lead coming out of the first frame, the Lancers put on a run in the second quarter, cutting the deficit to 22-19 at the half.
“We knew that was going to happen,” coach Chris Carr said. “Lakes isn’t going to just roll over and die for us. They’re going to come back, and I knew they had that in them. I thought that we kind of got tentative offensively in the second quarter. Things came a little easier for us in the first quarter. When we got a little resistance, we kind of panicked.”
The Lions also were forced to battle the Lancers without 6-foot forward Hattie Kosko, who spent most of the second quarter on the bench with foul trouble.
In the third quarter, the Lions switched it up, going to a man-to-man defense to try and stop Lakes’ Stevonna Scott, who finished the game with 26 points.
“We knew that Scott was going to get her points,” Catlin Carr said.
Lakes grabbed its first lead of the game in the third quarter, going up 28-26 with five minutes left in the period.
Sophomore Maddy Maley put the Lions back on top, hitting a 3-pointer to put the score at 41-39 at the end of the third quarter.
“That’s the mentality Maddy has,” Chris Carr said. “She’s kind of a gunslinger. You put her in there. If she has an open shot, she’s going to stick it. She’s hit some huge shots for us up to this point.”
With the teams tied at 50-50 with 2:42 left in the contest, Maley sparked an 8-0 run to seal the game for the Lions with a steal and bucket.
Carr then hit three of four free throws after a foul and technical against the Lakes coach.
“We answered back,” Caitlin Carr said. “Anyone of their runs we answered back and just kept our composure and played as a team. I’m so proud of my teammates, they played their hearts out.”
Caitlin Carr added nine rebounds to her 27 points, with Kosko chipping in with seven points, seven rebounds and five assists. Maley finished with eight points and Erika Lombardo and Aalia Braboy had six points apiece.
The Lions (6-1, 13-4) will look to close out the regular season games against Peninsula (1-6, 6-11), Enumclaw (1-6, 5-10) and Decatur (3-4, 6-11).
“We just need to keep playing at our level and not playing to the level of the other team,” Caitlin Carr said. “We need to just get better every day and every practice and be the best team we can be.”
The Lions will host Peninsula tonight at 7.
Elsewhere
The Auburn girls improved to 5-7 in the SPSL North 4A, 5-10 overall, with a 33-28 win over Jefferson (5-7, 6-9) on Tuesday. Erin Fischer and Isia Johnson each had eight points for the Trojans. … Auburn Riverside improved to 10-1 league, 12-3 overall with a 73-19 win over Kent-Meridian (1-12, 1-15) on Tuesday. Kat Cooper had a game-high 19 points, with Makenna Clark adding 15 and Ilona Synder contributing 10.
