The Lady Mavericks basketball team celebrated Senior Night Thursday with a short pre-game ceremony, then went out and dominated the Kamiak Knights on their way to a 60-34 victory in The Stable at Meadowdale High School.

Led by senior Fatoumata Jaiteh, the Mavericks came out focused and fired up on defense, pressuring the Knights into poor shot selection and frequent turnovers, that the Mavs offense then converted into a steady diet of fast break points.

“We’ve been trying to become a better pressing team, and tonight we learned to just put it on in different spots and they seemed to do a better job with it,” Head Coach Arie Mahler said. “They came focused. And I gotta say, a lot of that comes from our senior leadership this year. The have just really bonded. They are playing for each other, and loving when one another has success, and it showed tonight.”

The Mavs took a 14-point lead into the half. Kamiak chipped away at that lead in the third quarter, reducing it to just 11 points to start the fourth, only to have Meadowdale outscore the Knights 22-7 in the final period to clinch the 26-point win.

“Last night at practice, I got a little emotional at the end,” said Mahler, speaking about his seniors. “You know, we didn’t know if we were going to get to play this year. I knew that Fatou (Jaiteh) and Keisha (Stark) really wanted to put that uniform on one more time. All our seniors have contributed to this program, but Fatou and Keisha helped put Meadowdale girls basketball back on the map. All our seniors have, really. To be out there was something kind of special tonight because we didn’t know if it was going to happen. It’s been such a joy and an honor to coach those girls.”

Jaiteh lead the Mavs with 19, freshman Gia Powell added 13 and Stark had 10. Freshman Bella Hassan led the Knights with 16.

Meadowdale’s next game will be Wednesday, May 26, at 7:15 p.m. when they will visit Archbishop Murphy High School to take on the Wildcats.

Prep Girls Basketball: Kamiak at Meadowdale, May 20, 2021

Kamiak             05   09   13   07   — 34

Meadowdale   16   12   10   22   — 60

Meadowdale individual scoring: Fatoumata Jaiteh 19, Gia Powell 13, Kaisha Stark 10, Jordan Leith 8, Jenaly Gabriel 7, McKenna Kuecker 3

Kamiak individual scoring: Bella Hassan 16, Areya Gamet 7, Lauren Pethick 4, Nayella George 4, Kayla Mullooly 3

Records: Meadowdale 2-2 overall; Kamiak 2-2 overall

Meadowdale next game: versus Archbishop Murphy; Wednesday, May 26; 7:15 p.m. at Archbishop Murphy High School

Kamiak next game: versus Cascade; Wednesday, May 26; 7:15 p.m. at Kamiak High School

— Story and photos by Scott Williams