BEAVERTON, Ore.-- If the preseason is any indication, the Mountainside Mavericks have all the tools that they need to make a run to the Chiles Center come March.
On Friday night, the Mavericks (7-5) provided yet another example of the talent and depth that they possess as they took down North Medford 64-38 in their final non-league game of the season.
Mountainside senior transfer Cameron Brink finished with a game-high 19 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks, and has already proven that she is capable of putting the Mavericks on her back if need be, but she also has plenty of help.
Sophomore captain Lindsey Wilson added eleven points as she feasted on the multiple high-low mismatches that Brink created while sophomore Halle Hageman chipped in six points while providing spacing and ball handling.
“I’m really proud of how we played tonight,” Hageman said. “Everyone contributed.”
As a team, Mountainside is continuing to improve when it comes to taking advantage of the mismatches that Brink provides. On Friday night the 6’5 forward often found herself triple-teamed in the high post. Instead of forcing looks, she got the ball out of her hands quickly by finding open shooters as well as initiating the high-low game.
“As Cameron [Brink] gets triple-teamed it means that a bunch of us are open,” Wilson said. “So when I see Cameron being triple-teamed I try to fight for position so I can get the inside position to the basket.”
Added Hageman: “It’s really awesome because Lindsey and Cameron are both really tall so we can get it to them, and if people collapse on them then they kick it out where I can take advantage.”
The Black Tornado (4-10) found themselves at a disadvantage from the get-go. Smaller at multiple positions, many players were unable to secure rebounds which allowed the Mavericks multiple second-chance opportunities while on offense they could never really click. Nonetheless, senior guard Jane Ersepke-- who finished the game with nine points-- said that she was proud of her teams fight noting that the performance, albeit in a result that didn’t quite go their way, was worth building off of.
“Going into this game we knew it was going to be tough, but we played really well together and I think we held our own for most of it,” Ersepke said. “Obviously the score doesn’t reflect that, but I’m really proud of us.”
Junior guard Savannah Weaver finished with a team-high ten points for the Black Tornado.
The schedule now gets tougher for the Mavericks who have already tested themselves in Arizona during the pre-season. Their next opponent is No.4 ranked Metro League favorites Beaverton followed by an end-of-the-week trip to No. 12 ranked Jesuit.
As is the case in any sport, consistency is king. While the Mavericks have shown flashes in the preseason, they will need to continue to prove every game that they can take advantage of mismatches when other teams force anybody but Brink to beat them. It’s also important that Mountainside learns how to keep their foot on the gas for the entirety of 32 minutes, especially in a league as tough as Metro.
“It’s really hard [to keep our foot on the gas] as a young team because we just want to relax, but we learned from prior experience that if we let up, we could get in a bunch of trouble,” Wilson said.
While North Medford was one non-league game, it was a perfect example of what Brink can do when forced to give the ball up. And even with all that defensive attention and the triple-teams, she ended the night with a double-double.
This Mountainside team is dangerous and, much like at Southridge, Brink will spearhead a state-championship contender. The million-dollar question is who else will step up in the next two months.
We’ll find out soon enough.
