Civil War Battle Round 2: Monarchs Defeat Jills

By Kendra Shine

It was a close loss as the RAL girls’ basketball team fell to the Monarchs 30-40 here at the Lumberdome on Feb 8.

A slow start was the downfall for the Jills.  They were behind 5-12 at the end of the first quarter and 11-20 at halftime.  Though outscoring the Monarchs in the fourth quarter, the Jills couldn’t pull out a victory.

“Defensively, I felt the girls played extremely well.  They played very physical and aggressive,” said Mr. Ott, girls’ basketball head coach.

The Monarchs’ strong defense prevented the Jills from getting shots up, as well as their dominating rebound stats.

Sadie Petersen 12 led RAL with 12 points and Tirzah Coalman 12 put up six.  Petersen was the high scorer of the game; no Monarch scored more than six points.

In the previous Civil War game, the Jills were narrowly defeated by the Monarchs 40-39.

Of the first loss, Mr. Ott was “happy with our effort.  It was a disappointing loss to a cross-town rival, but I was proud of how the girls played.”

This loss may have been the nail in the coffin for the Jills’ playoff dreams.  Only Jill victories in their final three games of the season can guarantee that the Jills clinch fourth place in league and the district pigtail playoff game.

In the final league games of the season, the Jills faced off against Ridgefield on Feb 11 and were just edged out 59-55 after double overtime.  The game was neck and neck until the very end when the Jills were outscored 4-8 in the second overtime. 

Petersen lead the Jills with 21 points, Coalman had 15, and Christina Driscoll 12 had 11 points.

Also, RAL fell to Hockinson 29-47 on Feb 15.  Petersen and Coalman both added nine points and Driscoll added six.  Coalman also had 13 rebounds, Tara Haas 12 had eight rebounds and Miranda Wilson 12 had seven.

“I was disappointed that we didn’t make the playoffs, but I feel like out team worked hard all season and never gave up,” said Averie Bogner 12.

Overall, the Jills worked extremely hard in league play as they strived to make the playoffs.  With eight seniors graduating this year, next year will be a new beginning for the team.