The prep basketball regular season just passed the half-way mark. Here is a look at how area teams have performed so far.
Lake Washington
Girls
The Lake Washington girls team continues to take steps in the right direction, despite a rough stretch of recent games.
The Kangs (3-7 overall, 1-5) started the season 3-3, then hit a three-game span of games against Skyline, Roosevelt and Eastlake.
“We are in a brutal league,” said Lake Washington coach Cory Shepard. “Those three games have all been pretty good whoopings. But we just have to remember that our girls are pretty much rookies, we don’t have a lot of experience.”
Size has been an issue for the group, as teams like Skyline pounded the Kangs on the inside game. Skyine’s 6-foot-1 post, Carlie Wolken scored 25 points against Lake Washington.
Shepard said his team’s lack of experience also affects them once they get behind in games.
“We have a little crisis of confidence on the court when we get down,” he said.
On the season, Lake Washington has been outscored 137-85 in the first quarter and 268-168 in the first half.
The Kangs are averaging 44.44 points per game of offense and Shepard said that total simply isn’t enough to consistently win games in a league as tough as the KingCo 4A.
Seniors Kate Rasmussen and Olivia Lewis lead the team in scoring. Rasmussen is averaging 9.6 points per game and Lewis 9.2. Lewis has three games with 15 or more points and three with five or fewer.
Shepard said one or two more girls on the team also needs to step into a scoring role and provide a strong third option.
Rasmussen is leading the team with 5.7 rebounds per game. Sammy Brender leads the team in assists (3.4 per game) and steals (3.6 per game).
Boys
The Lake Washington boys team started the season on a strong note, winning three straight games, but has since found league play more challenging.
The Kangs (4-7, 2-5) have lost five straight games — four straight league games — heading into a Friday night showdown with Inglemoor.
Senior post Greyson Blue is leading the team in scoring and rebounding. The 6-foot-2 Blue is averaging nearly a double-double, at 15.8 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game. He is also blocking two shots per contest.
After Blue, Spencer Wozeniak and Preston Fawcett are picking up the scoring slack. Wozeniak is averaging 9.6 points per game, Fawcett 7.1.
Slow starts might be a problem for the team. Opponents have outscored the Kangs 129-104 in the first quarter this season and the team’s highest scoring quarter is the fourth.
The good news is that Lake Washington hasn’t been blown out this season at all. The team’s biggest loss was 16 points against Eastlake, and the Wolves added seven points to that lead in the fourth.
The Kangs have been competitive, they’ve just dropped a few tough league games.
Juanita
Girls
Juanita girls coach Sam Lee knew what he was doing when he scheduled a difficult non-league run for his team.
“I purposely made sure we didn’t have any automatic wins in the offseason,” Lee said. “It doesn’t do any good to play teams you know you can beat up on. … Playing that brutal schedule pays off in the stretch run in the league.”
The Rebels currently stand at 4-9 overall, thanks largely to that non-league slate. Juanita is 2-3 in league play.
Guard Olivia Marshall leads the team in scoring at 10.1 points per game. Forward Tori Close is second at 9.8 points per game.
As with the Lake Washington girls team, a big problem for Juanita is size. Or more accurately, a lack of size. The Rebels’ tallest player is Close, who is 5-foot-11.
Lee said to overcome that deficit the team needs to be scrappier on both offensive and defensive rebounds.
The team averages 16.4 steals per game and five players average at least two per game. Taylor Paddock (3.3), Michelle Baba (2.8), Kimberly Baba (2.5), Marshall (2.5) and Close (2.1).
Lee said one surprise this season is just how strong and balanced the KingCo 3A/2A is. For example: Sixth-place Interlake is 10-3 overall.
“Six of the seven teams are very well balanced,” Lee said. “Any one of us could beat each other any given night.”
Paddock is leading the team in rebounds with 6.3. Kimberly Baba leads the Rebels with 4.3 assists per game.
Boys
The Rebels struggled out of the gates, losing eight of the first nine games. The team then won three in a row before dropping another game to Interlake 44-33 Jan. 16. Juanita stands at 4-9 overall and 2-3 in league play.
Juanita has an extremely balanced scoring attack. Seven players average between five and nine points per game. Ryon Cunnigan leads the team at 8.5 points per game. Jake Ichikawa (7.1) and Jesse Zachery (7.5) are close behind.
The balanced scoring is a positive because it makes the team less prone to shooting slumps, since there are so many different players scoring. Two or three Rebel players seem to rise to the challenge and lead the team in scoring each night, it’s just not always the same two or three.
The team hasn’t had a consistent rebounder that performs every game yet this season. Cunnigan leads the team at 3.6 rebounds per game, while Kris Otterholt (3.3), Cole Graves (3.2), Dahruis Mills (3.0) also contribute.
Mills leads the team in assists at 1.8 per game. Cunnigan is averaging over 16 points per game in his past three games.
