In District 1 3A girls basketball action Tuesday night at Lynnwood High School, the Meadowdale Mavericks took control early with a huge second quarter and refused to allow the Lady Royals back into the game, taking home the 60-43 victory that ends Lynnwood’s season.

Meadowdale had a slight lead after one quarter of play, 9-7, before the Mavs erupted for 24 points in the second period to Lynnwood’s four, to take a 33-11 lead into the break.

The Mavs utilized a pressure defense to slow down the Lynnwood offense, take them out of their normal rhythm, and create some turnovers that Meadowdale then turned into points.

“Over the past couple weeks we’ve installed a new press, and that’s what we ran most of the evening,” Meadowdale head coach Arie Mahler said after the game. “It’s been about a two-week process to get the girls to buy into that press, but we’ve run it the last couple games and got turnovers with it.”

“We’ve also changed up our lineup a little bit,” Mahler continued. “Some freshmen are getting valuable minutes. We brought up a post from JV, and she played big minutes against Snohomish, and tonight, we started her. The moment wasn’t too big for her, she was a difference maker. She’s not afraid to attack the hoop.”

The freshman player he’s referring t, is 5-foot-11-inch Audrey Lucas, who finished the game with four points but was aggressive down low and was active on the boards.

In addition to Lucas, Meadowdale has three other freshmen receiving quality minutes and contributing to the Mavs’ success: wings Payton Fleishman and Kaiya Dotter and another post, Samantha Medina, who checks in at 6-foot-1.

Meadowdale led by as many as 27 points, but a flurry of action at the end of the third saw the Royals’ Kayla Lorenz connect on three of her five 3-pointers to cut Meadowdale’s lead to 20. She added another three in the fourth that cut the lead to 16, but that would be as close as Lynnwood would get.

Lorenz was Lynnwood’s leading scorer. She finished with 17, while Aniya Hooker added 16.

Meadowdale’s sophomore standout guard, Gia Powell, paced the Mavs with a game-high 27 that saw her score outside — hitting on four 3s — and inside, slashing to the hoop.

Lynnwood’s overall record falls to 9-9 and their season comes to an end.

Meadowdale is now 11-9 overall. The Mavs’ next game comes Saturday at 4:15 p.m. at Everett Community College, when they will take on the Seagulls from Everett High School in a winner-to-regionals, loser-out game. This is a rematch of their meeting on Jan. 20, when the Gulls beat the Mavs, 51-38.

Prep Girls Basketball: Meadowdale at Lynnwood, Feb. 15, 2022

Meadowdale                 09   24   15   12   —  60

Lynnwood                      07   04   16   16   — 43

Meadowdale individual scoring; Gia Powell 27, McKenna Keucker 9, Jordan Leith 6, Kaiya Dotter 6, Audrey Lucas 4, Samantha Medina 4, Jenaly Gabriel 2, Ava Powell 2, Payton Fleishman 0, Brezan’e Sanches Nobles 0.

Lynnwood individual scoring: Kayla Lorenz 17, Aniya Hooker 16, Nyree Johnson 4, McKenzie Martin 3, Sarah Cambronero 3, Mataya Canda 0, Jocelyn Tamayo 0, Tmara Lukia 0, Eve Periera 0.

Records: Meadowdale  11-9 overall. Next game: versus Everett, Saturday, Feb.19; 4:15 p.m. at Everett Community College

Lynnwood  9-9 overall. The Royals’ season comes to a close.

— Story and photos by Scott Williams