Seven Megan Lewis 3s help Silverdale clinch top spot going into tournament

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

photo Silverdale's Emily Harkleroad (11) and Sydney Smith (14) celebrate their team's 20-point home victory over Boyd-Buchanan.
photo Boyd-Buchanan's Marisa McCalla (40) is fouled by Silverdale's Rachel Sanders at Silverdale Baptist Academy on Tuesday.

It became evident early Tuesday evening that it was going to be Megan Lewis's night, when the Silverdale Baptist Academy guard hit her first shot. Then she hit her second -- then a few more.

The sophomore wound up hitting a school-record seven 3-pointers -- five in the first half -- and the Lady Seahawks clinched the top seed going into the District 5-A tournament with a 64-44 victory over Boyd-Buchanan. Lewis added four assists to he 21 points as Silverdale improved to 23-1 for the season and 7-0 in the district.

Lewis went to Boyd-Buchanan in middle school.

"When I make the first shot, my confidence goes up automatically," said Lewis, who has 80 made 3s this season. "I thought this was a big win for us tonight. Coming from Boyd, I always wanted to beat them, and it is a little nicer for us to clinch the district title against them."

She had plenty of help Tuesday, as the Lady Seahawks made 11 3-pointers. Sloane Woodard had 12 points and four steals before fouling out with 6:02 remaining. Forward Emily Skelton finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks, while Sydney Smith had nine assists and six rebounds.

Emily Harkleroad added nine points.

"We're not a big team, so we try to scrap around," Silverdale coach Tim Thompson said. "We played good defense; our game plan was all around stopping Maddie Wright.

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The Boyd-Buchanan forward was in foul trouble all game, getting her second four minutes in and her third at the 3:33 mark in the second quarter. She finished with only one point, while collecting six rebounds.

Marisa McCalla led the Lady Bucs (8-11, 3-3) with 23 points and nine rebounds.

The Lady Seahawks built a 19-point lead on a Woodard 3 with 4:56 to go in the first half. The Lady Bucs cut the margin to 31-20 at halftime and trailed by 11 again on a number of occasions in the second half, the last time being 51-40 after a 3-pointer by Maddie Abed with 3:42 remaining. The Lady Seahawks answered with a 13-0 run, capped by Lewis's final triple in the final minute.

"The thing we've done well is play as a team," Thompson said. "We've worked hard, and that's continued all season long."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6311. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.