When Eastlake girls basketball coach Sara Goldie came into the room where her new team was assembled before the 2010-11 season, she knew there was a special connection.
Not only because she was returning home to lead the program she once starred for as a player or had a group that was poised to make a run into the postseason.
“I met this group when they were in seventh grade,” Goldie said on Tuesday, as her team prepared to face Rogers in the Regional round of the playoffs. “It is neat for me to have this experience with them.”
A P.E. and health teacher at Inglewood Junior High, Goldie has eight seniors on the roster, including injured guard Sam Nalaui, who would have been a three-year starter for the Wolves. That core advanced to the KingCo-Wesco pigtail game last year before falling to Edmonds-Woodway and none were at Eastlake when the Wolves last made the round of 16 in 2009.
“It’s really a team effort and has been that way for the past two years,” Goldie said. “To be here with this group of kids is a true gift.”
Post Kendra Morrison is the rudder on the offensive end while an active, relentless press is the hallmark on defense and gives the Wolves a chance to control the pace and flow of the game to their advantage.
“I have four days of practice plans,” Goldie said. “Each day we’re practicing six to eight defenses we could pull out and use.”
The Rams are no doubt preparing for an offensive attack fueled by fast breaks off turnovers and a steady diet of Morrison in the half court. The Wolves’ leading scorer at nearly 14 points per game and rebounder at eight per, Morrison has been the focus of opposing defenses for most of the previous two seasons.
“Kendra is the person other people prepare for and try to take out of the game,” Goldie said. “The games where she’s really turned it on, we’ve been able to pull ourselves out of holes.”
Caleigh McCabe and Marijke Vanderschaaf are the other leading scorers for the Wolves at nine and seven points per game respectively and Goldie is confident her team has shown the ability to survive games without huge contributions from Morrison.
“The beauty of our team is Kendra doesn’t have to score 20 points for us to win games.”
One thing Eastlake will need to do in order to win a first round state playoff game for the first time in school history is quiet senior guard Jordan Asher, a First-Team All SPSL South selection.
“They’ve got some good shooters and a really good point guard,” Goldie said, adding that she watched Asher and Rogers twice last week, once with her team. “They shot the ball well, but I think we match up nicely against them.”
Eastlake and Rogers will meet at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Juanita High School with a spot in the Tacoma Dome for the 4A quarterfinals on the line.
And they will do so with a coach who has been waiting a long time to make this journey with them.
“It’s truly a journey we’ve enjoyed and hope it can get us through next Saturday,” Goldie said. “March 3 (the date of the 4A state title game) is where we hope to end our journey.”
