With twice as many wins as losses so far this year, the Meadowdale Mavericks have proven they are a team to reckon with against any opponent on any given night. But can the Mavericks put up a strong showing when a number of their key players are sidelined due to injury?

The Mavs answered that question with a resounding “yes” on Saturday.

With Mia Brockmeyer, Lexi Zardis and Kaiya Dotter all not suited up to play, the remaining Mavericks hustled their way to a 60-32 victory over the Edmonds-Woodway Warriors in a Wesco League battle staged at Meadowdale High School.

Using their trademark defensive grit, Meadowdale kept the Warriors off the scoreboard for the first six minutes of the game. By the time Jamie Hanson scored the first E-W points of the contest with 1:56 to go in the first quarter, the Mavericks had already built up a 10-0 lead and were well on their way to the lopsided victory.

Even though they were without three key players, the Mavs prepared for their matchup against the Warriors in the same way they would for any other contest. “Even without Mia and Lexi (and Kaiya), we agreed that we would attack the game the same way we attack every game,” said senior Kyairra Roussin. “We play as a team, win as a team, lose as a team.”

Roussin, a transfer student athlete from Mariner High School to Meadowdale this year, has gelled well with a Mavs’ team that went 19-5 last season and that has hopes of playing deep into the postseason this year.

“I’ve actually known a lot of these girls over the past years,” Roussin explained. “All these I’m graduating with I’ve known forever and played against or with since the sixth grade. The underclassmen, they’ve just been so warm and welcoming to me.”

Even though it’s her first year at Meadowdale, Roussin has assumed the role of starting point guard for the Mavericks and has become one of the team’s leaders on the court. On Saturday, the senior scored 10 points, had a number of steals and received a big thump on her head when battling under the boards and falling to the floor in the third quarter.

“I feel all right; the adrenaline’s really going through me,” Roussin said while holding an ice pack to her forehead after the game. “I’m just happy to be here and having a good time with all the people I love and care about.”

Meadowdale’s Audrey Lucas led the game in scoring with 14 points.

Edmonds-Woodway (2-9 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference play, 9-10 overall) was led in scoring by Finley Wichers’ 13 points, all scored after halftime. The entire Warrior roster struggled to find their scoring touch against a fierce Mavericks’ defense in the first half.

“We’ve had a hard time just putting the ball in the hoop this year,” said E-W Coach Quinn Manning. “And (the Mavericks) play really intense; their brand is all over you and they’re physical.” 

Despite trailing at halftime 33-10 and never threatening to mount a second-half comeback, Manning was still pleased with the way her Warriors’ squad responded to their early game adversity.

“I told my kids I’m super proud because they came into a game like this where last time we saw them we lost by 44 points (64-20 in Jan. 10),” Quinn said.  And (tonight) it’s a great packed gym, lots of energy and it would have been easy to play really tight and get nervous and fold, and they didn’t. They kept competing.”

“In fact, I played 13 kids tonight and every single one of them that stepped on the floor competed,” Quinn continued. “They held us to 20 (points) last game – so 32 feels like a good showing.”

Saturday’s game marked Manning’s first visit to Meadowdale High School as coach of the rival Edmonds-Woodway Warriors. She played four varsity seasons of Mavericks’ basketball and led Meadowdale to a state championship in 2004.

With Saturday’s win over E-W, the Mavericks (9-2 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 13-6 overall) have prevailed in eight of their last nine outings and are riding a wave of late-season confidence. 

“As long as we’re able to really play for each other and focus on ourselves in the moment,” Roussin said, “I feel like we can take it all the way to the championship if we really wanted to.”

Prep Girls Basketball: Edmonds-Woodway at Meadowdale, Feb. 1

Edmonds-Woodway   5   5 11 11 – 32

Meadowdale 12 21 12 15 – 60

Edmonds-Woodway individual scoring: Finley Wichers 13, Darcy Brennan 5, Annika Beckstrom 4, Jasmine Gill 3, Elle Alderson 3, Janie Hanson 2, Lilly Wartelle 2, Abi Porter, Amelia Miller, Abigail Johnson, Audrey Rothmier, Isabella Beltran, Savannah Huffman

Meadowdale individual scoring: Audrey Lucas 14, Kyairra Roussin 10, Sam Medina 9, Lisa Sonko 9, Payton Fleishman 7, Kylie Richards 5, Quinn Gannon 4, Kaya Powell 2, Hannah Keeney

Records: Edmonds-Woodway 2-9 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 9-10 overall; Meadowdale 9-2 in 2A/3A Wesco League South Conference, 13-6 overall

Edmonds-Woodway next game: versus Shorewood; Monday, Feb. 3; 7:15 p.m. at Edmonds-Woodway High School

Meadowdale next game: versus Shorecrest; Monday, Feb. 3; 7:15 p.m. at Shorecrest High School

— By Doug Petrowski