A spectacular third quarter unveiled by the Skyline Spartans girls basketball team was the difference against the Issaquah Eagles in a matchup between rival schools.
The Spartans outscored the Eagles 23-6 in the third quarter and cruised to a 63-45 victory on Dec. 16 at Skyline High School in Sammamish. Skyline improved their overall record to 1-2 with the victory while Issaquah dropped to 1-5. The Spartans led the Eagles by a paltry seven points (24-17) at halftime but dialed up the intensity in the third quarter. The Spartans stingy defense surrendered a meager three field goals in the third period of play.
Skyline head coach Stacie Erfle was thrilled to see her team dominate on the defensive end of the floor.
“Our defense has been what we’ve been focusing on the most in practice. We want to be known for grind-it-out defense. The girls have been playing much better as the games have gone by,” Erfle said. “Issaquah is a quality team. For us to play like that tonight, it really shows our growth.”
Spartans’ junior point guard Julia Mitchell made her presence felt in the third quarter. Mitchell calmly knocked down 10 free throws as Skyline extended their lead to 24 points by the end of the third period.
“You don’t want anybody at the (free-throw) line except Julia. She is a sharpshooter. She doesn’t really miss at the free-throw line,” Erfle said.
Mitchell believed the Spartans success in the second half was due to their defensive prowess.
“We were just focusing all on our defense. We were trying to not break down. We had the lead and we wanted to keep pushing. We were just focusing on defense and fundamentals,” Mitchell said. “It feels great to get that win and it always feels great beating our rivals.”
Erfle is excited to see what her squad will accomplish as the 2016-17 season progresses.
“This team has a ton of talent. I think that is pretty obvious. Our long-term goal is to get better every single game. That is all we can really focus on. It is just a matter of us coming together piece by piece,” she said.
