Another opportunity.
That is all the solace Auburn Riverside senior Olivia Denton could find following her team’s 58-41 loss at Todd Beamer in a North Puget Sound League Olympic Division girls basketball game Tuesday night.
If both teams finish with identical divisional records, the Ravens (14-5 overall, 12-1 Olympic) will play the Titans again Tuesday at a to-be-determined location and time for seeding into the district tournament.
“I want to see them again just because I know that’s not how we play,” Denton said. “That’s embarrassing.
“We beat them before, so obviously it’s doable.”
Denton said several Ravens, including herself and standout point guard McKenzi Williams, have battled the flu lately. She said the missed practices showed, particularly in the first half.
Auburn Riverside, which converted just 4-of-20 shots in the first half, tried to match Todd Beamer’s field goals with free throws. The result was a 25-17 halftime deficit.
“We’ve never started out like that as a team,” Denton said. “We picked it up in the second half, but it was too late.”
Coach Christian Miller said he “probably didn’t do a good enough job of preparing” the Ravens, who suffered their most lopsided loss of the season. Their previous worst was a 65-51 setback to Kentridge on Dec. 3.
“Sometimes you get out there and get discombobulated,” Miller said. “It can have a trickle-down effect.”
Todd Beamer coach Corey Alexander, whose team moved into a first-place tie with Auburn Riverside, credited his squad for recovering from the first meeting between the teams, a 41-40 Titans’ loss on Dec. 20.
“We played a little more aggressive,” Alexander said. “The first time we went down there, I thought we played a little soft, and they took advantage of that.”
Some of that aggression resulted in early foul trouble for Todd Beamer (17-2, 12-1). Standout guard Japhera McEachin was sidelined for the remainder of the first half when she picked up her third foul with 6:44 minutes left in the second quarter.
But Auburn Riverside was unable to capitalize. The Ravens did not score their first field goal of the second quarter until Williams was fouled on a layup with 3:55 left. Williams finished with a game-high 21 points.
“I thought (Briawna Kelly) did an awesome job on McKenzi,” said Alexander, adding that containing center Faith Turner, who finished with eight points, also was significant. “You can’t contain her, but she slowed her down a little bit.”
The Titans, who never trailed, secured the victory down the stretch through post Makenzie Bond. She scored 18 of her team-high 20 points during the second half.
“Mackenzie Bond is a hidden jewel,” Alexander said. “People don’t realize she can knock that shot down.”
Bond also shot down the Ravens’ hopes of finishing with an undefeated league record for the second consecutive year. Auburn Riverside closes out the regular season at 5:45 p.m. Friday when it hosts Auburn.
“It’s a big-time rivalry game,” Miller said. “We’ll start looking forward to that.”
Elsewhere
Auburn Mountainview 51, at Auburn 32: The Lions (12-7, 8-5) moved into sole possession of third place with their rivalry win. Meanwhile, the Trojans (4-13, 4-9) have lost four consecutive games. No individual statistics were reported from this contest.
