Kelleigh accuracy, Murphy hustle earn Lady Sparts final victories

Tarah Murphy provided an all-around performance during the Lady Sparts’ season-ending, 60-28 runaway victory over Cascade last Wednesday night. The sophomore guard scored seven points, grabbed 14 rebounds, stole two errant passes and provided six assists during the WesCo 4A North win, with Kallen Shaunghnessy backing her up. PHOTO BY JOHN GALBREATH | STANWOODCAMANONEWS Stanwood’s Lady Spartans (6-10 in league, 8-12 overall) closed out their 2009-2010 basketball campaign with convincing wins over Snohomish and Cascade last week.

Samantha Kelleigh displayed a potent arsenal with 22 (6 three-pointers) and 15 (three 3-pointers) counters, respectively, in the two games to lead the offensive charge. Meanwhile freshman center Rachel Swartz (11 and 13 points) and sophomore Brenda Bingham (8 and 10 points) helped carry the load.

A highly-motivated sophomore, Tarah Murphy, might have been featured in the week’s highlight reel, however, due to her all-around performance against Cascade, it was a 60-28 triumph for the Sparts Wednesday night in Everett. Murphy darted all over the Bruin court while scoring 7 points, providing 6 assists, heisting two errant passes and grabbing no less than 14 rebounds (5 offensive).

Murphy’s exploits were especially noticeable since she, along with Bingham and Swartz, outrebounded Cascade’s all-purpose player, the 6-foot-2, Universityof Oregon-bound Danielle Love despite her 5-foot-6 stature. In addition, she leaped high enough to block a late-stage fast break layin attempt by another Bruin to punctuate her I-wish-theseason was-just-beginning attitude.

In the 45-41 Snohomish victory, Kelleigh was steady all night long from behind the three-point line. Swartz and Bingham tallied 18 of their 19 total points in the second half to hold the Lady Panthers at bay.

Others scoring for Stanwood were Sarah Titus with 2 points while Kallen Shaughnessy and Jade Borseth had one counter apiece.

Against the Bruins, the aforementioned trio helped hold the hometown club to a mere 15 points over the course of the first half with their backcourt pressure. As a result, Love was held to 2 points – and 5 altogether – by Bingham and her fellow forwards in the first half.

After a 16-point run by the Spartans that encompassed the latter part of the first quarter and the initial three minutes of the second, they were never threatened again.

During that stretch of uninterrupted points, Jade Borseth provided two consecutive assists to Rachel Swartz underneath, Brenda Bingham found the basket for two more, Swartz tallied again after receiving a cross-lane pass from Tarah Murphy before Samantha Kelleigh scored three times in succession for eight more points. An 8-7 lead had ballooned to 24-7 in less than five minutes.

The remainder of the half saw Kallen Shaughnessy, playing her final game in a Spartan uniform, netting two jumpers from the key, a follow-up rebound putback by Murphy, a second one by Bingham and yet another basket by Kelleigh, 34-15, Stanwood, after 16 minutes of intense play.

There was no letup in the third period as the local hoopsters outran their reluctant hosts 17-3. That dominance was fostered by a pesky, ball-hawking defense that initiated some fastbreak basketball that led to some easy baskets by Sarah Titus, Shaughnessy, two reverse layins by the ever-present Murphy, four more points from Kelleigh and an inside banker from Rachel Swartz.

The highlights of the fourth frame were a justthe way-you’re-supposedto do-it give-and-go from Borseth to Swartz and a beautiful arching 14-foot jumper by Brenda Bingham that found nothing but mesh.

Head coach Dennis Kloke was especially pleased with the team defense and the extra energy his club displayed in these season-finale contests.