MARYSVILLE – It seems only fitting with Tom Brady and Super Bowl Sunday that we have our own local Deflategate.
The harassing full-court defense by the Arlington girls basketball team caused one turnover after another, completely deflating visiting Shorewood Wednesday night 52-19.
That’s right, only 19 points in an entire high school basketball game. Senior guard Peyton Brown had more than that by herself, tallying 20 points for the hometown Eagles.
And it’s not like the Thunder-less birds are a cellar-dweller team. They are 9-9 on the year, while Arlington improved to 10-8, 7-3 in Wesco play, while Shorewood dropped to 5-5 in league.
But it looks like Joe Marsh’s team is peaking just at the right time as the playoffs near.
Even though Shorewood is taller, it never had a chance against the quicker Eagles.
The Thunderbirds hit a couple of early 3’s to take a 6-4 lead midway through the first period, but that was their only lead of the game.
Senior forward Kelsey Mellick scored a couple of inside buckets, Brown hit a 3, and two freshman guards – Jordan Bartlow and Josie Stupey – both got steals off the press leading to layups as Arlington led after one quarter 13-6.
Arlington’s smothering defense double-teaming the ball held Shorewood scoreless for about seven minutes, climaxing with the visitors not being able to get a shot off on the 30-second clock. The Eagle fastbreak was soaring as well, as Arlington dominated the defensive boards. Brown, Stupey and another freshman, forward Abby Schwark, each easily scored driving to the basket, building up a 24-8 lead when Brown hit on another 3.
Arlington’s physical defense and helping each other out continued, holding Shorewood scoreless for another three minutes. The visitors did cut it to 25-12 at halftime. But Arlington blew the game wide open in the third period, outscoring the Thunderbirds 17-2 and then 10-5 in the fourth to win going away as all 13 Eagles played.
Mellick and Bartlow each had 6 in the game, sophomore Georgia Arnold 5, Stupey and Schwark each had 4, senior Maciee Delaney and sophomores Sierra Scheppele and Mackenzie Fischer scored 2 apiece and junior Alaina Duskin added 1.
Katie Taylor scored 10 points for Shorewood.
