In a conference that features a number of strong teams, including the state’s top two ranked 3A girls basketball teams in Lynnwood and Glacier Peak, the squads from Meadowdale and Mountlake Terrace had yet to find that elusive first league win this season before Wednesday.

The 0-5 Mavericks met the 0-4 Hawks at Mountlake Terrace High School, and in the end it was the Mavs that were able to put a mark in their win column.

The Meadowdale Mavericks doubled up Terrace 52-26 for the victory.

Maverick Coach Marcus Merrifield was quite relieved after the game. “It’s just nice to play well and be able to go (sigh), ‘we got a win.’ It’s brutal in the (Wesco 3A ) South. There’s not an easy game anywhere to be had in the South. It’s fun, but it’s also hard,” he said.

Meadowdale jumped all over Terrace early, shooting better than 50 percent from the field in the first half and building a 31-5 lead at halftime.

“What I was really proud about with our kids was that we came out and really responded,” Merrifield said. “We’ve had two games where we just didn’t make enough shots, that we had opportunities to cut lead and even take leads, but we just missed shots and got down on ourselves. But in this game we didn’t let that happen. We executed our game plan.”

That plan led to a balanced scoring attack for the Mavericks, led by the 13 points of senior Ciara Hart and the 10 points of sophomore Lauren Hunnewell.

“Ciara got dinged up in practice a little bit and wasn’t sure if she would be able to go — her elbow was a little sore — but she come out and knocked down a bunch of shots and played well for us,” Merrifield said.

The Maverick coach was especially please with the scoring contribution by Hunnewell. “We’ve been asking her to shoot the ball, and shoot the ball, and shoot the ball — and finally something clicked with her today,” Merrifield said. “She had eight points at the half, was looking for her shot and getting after it.”

Senior Riley Zucker led Terrace (0-5 in the Wesco 3A South, 1-11 overall) with 21 points, but had little offensive support for her teammates as Jorie Lambert and Jasmine Zenk were the only other Hawks to put points on the board.

Despite the Hawk’s offensive struggles, Merrifield noted that the team never gave up against his Mavericks. “Whenever you play Terrace you’ve got to bring your hard hat and your lunch pail and go to work,” he state. “It’s going to be a tough game because they compete. And they did.”

“Zach’s (Mountlake Terrace coach Zach Wilde) done a really good job with his group, teaching them how to just play basketball no matter what the score is, no matter what the situation,” Merrifield said. “And it’s fun to play in games where it’s competitive the whole time, and that’s what that game was.”

The most brutal stretch of the season comes next for the Mavericks (1-5 in the Wesco 3A South, 5-9 overall) as the team must face the 11-2 Edmonds-Woodway Warriors on Jan. 21, followed by matchups with 12-1 Glacier Peak and the No. 1 state-ranked and undefeated Lynnwood Royals — all on the road — later this month.

– By Doug Petrowski

Prep Girls Basketball: Meadowdale at Mountlake Terrace

Meadowdale             15        16        11       10        —          52
Mountlake Terrace     4          1          3        18        —          26

Meadowdale individual scoring: Ciara Hart 13, Lauren Hunnewell 10, Angela Birchman 7, Kassi Dotter 6, Samantha Gregoryk 5, Selina Tekle 5, Alexandria Steen 3, Emily Carroll 1, Grace Wilson 1, Sarah Haughney 1, Emma Helm

Mountlake Terrace individual scoring: Riley Zucker 21, Jorie Lambert 3, Jasmine Zenk 2, Claire Zucker, Skylar Zenk, Ashley Klippert, Maddie Powers, Juanita Johnson

Records: Meadowdale 1-5 in Wesco 3A South, 5-9 overall; Mountlake Terrace 0-5, 1-11

Meadowdale next game: vs. Edmonds-Woodway, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 7:15 p.m. at Edmonds-Woodway High School (to be streamed live on the Sound Live Sports Network)

Mountlake Terrace next game: vs. Shorewood, Friday, Jan. 16, 7:15 p.m. at Shorewood High School