High School Sports
Hoop Challenge roundup: Thompson's 31 wakes up Monroe

By Matt Peterson
Seattle Times staff reporter

Kirsten Thompson made 13 of 15 shots.

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Kirsten Thompson wasn't sure what lulled her Monroe girls basketball team into its sluggish start yesterday. Maybe it was the morning opening tip. Or the sleepy drive to Seattle. Or that the Bearcats were playing their second game in less than 24 hours.

But she had no doubt what woke them up.

"A realization by me and my teammates that they're beating us," Thompson said. "We don't like that."

So after shuffling through the first 18 minutes of their nonleague encounter with Redmond yesterday, the Bearcats went to work. And when they were done, Monroe had overcome a 15-point second-half deficit and maintained its unbeaten record with a 68-65 victory in the Les Schwab Hoop Challenge at Brougham Pavilion.

"We started moving our feet on defense and getting in the passing lanes," said Monroe coach Alan Dickson of a comeback that began with a 13-3 run to close the third quarter. "We've actually been starting slow, but our bench is really deep."

More of a factor yesterday, however, was Thompson. The 6-foot-6 Arizona State-bound center scored a season-high 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. She made 13 of 15 shots, including a three-pointer from about 25 feet that tied the score at 45 at the end of the third quarter, and hit four of five free-throw attempts.

"We tried to do everything except bite her," said Redmond coach Pat Bangasser of Thompson, noting that 22 of Monroe's 27 field goals came inside the key.

Monroe (5-0) shot 74 percent (17 of 23) in the second half and 61 percent (27 of 44) for the game.

Erika Edwards had 20 points, and Idaho-bound point guard Mackenzie Flynn added 17 points, five rebounds and five steals for Redmond (2-2).

 
Boys games

Bellevue Christian 60, Brewster 58

Bellevue Christian (3-1) closed with a 10-0 run, taking the lead on Avery Gorter's two free throws with 2:27 left and knocking off Brewster (1-1), the defending Class 1A state champion.

Sophomore Jeffrey Downs scored a game-high 26 points, including 16 of Bellevue Christian's 24 in the second quarter, and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Mount Si 60, Seattle Christian 47

Erik Tierney, a 6-1 guard, scored a game-high 21 points, helping the Class 3A Wildcats (3-1) fight back from a 14-3 first-quarter deficit against the 1A Warriors (2-1).

Mount Si outscored Seattle Christian 28-6 over the last 9:49 of the first half to take a 31-20 lead.

Kent-Meridian 67, Roosevelt 55

Playing without 6-foot-7 star guard Marcus Williams (shin splints), the Roughriders struggled early to score points and lost to the Royals (3-0).

In the third quarter, David Grant's nine points helped cut a 17-point Kent-Meridian lead down to six. But Royals guard Steffan Johnson answered with a big three-pointer and several key steals to help build the lead back to double digits. Johnson scored 22.

Mercer Island 63, Bothell 53

Bothell couldn't find the basket in the fourth quarter and saw its 47-42 lead at the end of the third quarter disappear.

The Islanders (3-1) outscored the Cougars (1-1) 21-6 in the final quarter, sinking 10 of 12 free-throw attempts.

Alex Stuck scored 17 and Noah Blankey added 15 points and seven rebounds to lead the Islanders. Jake Grant scored 12 to lead Bothell.

Seattle Times staff reporter Michael Ko contributed to this report