By Quint Turner

Through 24 minutes of Monday night’s Meadowdale-Lynnwood girls basketball game, the score was 20-12, Royals. It was the Mavs’ lowest scoring set of three quarters this season, and it looked like the fourth was going to be the same. But then something changed.

Both teams started hitting three-pointers after shooting 0 for 18 combined; lay-ups on drives were going in and the free throws were falling. A total of 38 points were scored in the fourth quarter, including a buzzer-beating lay-up by Katie Rickel, and in the end, the Lynnwood Royals outlasted the Lady Mavs by the score of 36-34.

The first quarter started promising when Margreet Barhoum stole the ball away from a Royal and put up a lay-in in traffic for the first points of the game, but then the Royals took over. Meghan Cross faked a pass while driving to the hoop and scored an easy lay-in to put Lynnwood up 4-2, and take a lead Meadowdale would never recover from. The Mavs had a tough time playing defense against a style that is seldom seen. The Royals would use 20-30 seconds for each possession, trying to pass for an open shot. It worked really well, since it allowed them to get away from the double-team trap Meadowdale loves to do. Cross scored with five seconds left on the shot clock when she drove and one-handed a lay-up to make it 7-2. After the opening Meadowdale basket, the Royals went on an 11-0 run for the rest of the quarter, and went into the second up 11-2.

The second quarter was more of the same. Grace Douglas stepped up and knocked down a long two to make it 13-2 Royals. The Mavs responded when Barhoum received a pass down low, drew a couple of defenders, and hit Julianne Kossian with a behind-the-back pass. Kossian layed the ball in with no pressure, and it was 13-4 Lynnwood. Casey Evans showcased one of the reasons why the Royals were able to win when she got her own rebound off a missed jumper, and she put it back in traffic to make it 15-4. All game long, the Royals used tremendous hustle against the Mavs. The teams traded a few more baskets, and at the end of the half, the score was 17-8 Lynnwood.

The teams combined to score just seven points in the third. Lynnwood scored all three of its points on foul shots after hard drives to the hoop. On the Mavs’ side, Barhoum faked out a defender on a breakaway, turning the defender around while she scored an easy lay-in to make it 18-10 with 5:30 left in the quarter. That would be pretty much it, except the Lady Mavs got another two point, and it was 20-12 going into the fourth.

Things started heating up in the fourth. Rickel hit the first three of the game for either team to make it 20-15, and that sparked a 6-0 run to put the Mavs within 2. But Douglas hit a three of her own from the corner. Suddenly, the game was up for grabs with five minutes to go. Madison Parker responded with a three to make it 23-21 with 3:37 left. Then Casey Evans faked out the defense with a crossover move the other way, and she hit a bucket to make it 26-21. After the score went to 28-23, Barhoum drove through the Royal defense and hit a tough lay-in to get within three. But then, with the shot clock expiring, Evans hit a three to make it 31-25 and there was 1:45 still to go.

Alyssa Reuble scored her only points of the game when she knocked down a deep three to make it just 33-30 with a minute  remaining. And then, after a Lynnwood turnover, Barhoum drew a foul and sank both free throws to make it 33-32 with 30.8 on the clock. The Mavs were forced to foul Arsenia Ivanov on the next possession, and she hit one of two to make it a 34-32 game.

With 21 seconds to go, Reuble tried to tie the game on a long two, but it wouldn’t fall, and Cross got the rebound. She was fouled, and she sank both free throws with 10.3 left in the game to make it a four-point game. The Mavs got within two when Rickel hit a buzzer-beating two, but it wasn’t enough as the Royals closed out a 36-34 win.

With the loss, the Mavs fall to 7-9 (6-6 in conference), and their next game is Wednesday at Oak Harbor, at 7:15 p.m.

Meadowdale Scoreboard: Margreet Barhoum 16; Katie Rickel 8; Alyssa Reuble 3; Julianne Kossian 2; Mackenzie Bretz 2; Madison Parker 3

Sports correspondent Quint Turner is a sophomore at Meadowdale High School.