Demon girls primed for the postseason

A thrilling end to the regular season did a couple of things for the Washington girls? basketball team.

The Demons? overtime comeback victory over rival Mt. Pleasant on Friday night gave them momentum heading into the postseason and perhaps most importantly secured a 10-win season and put them at .500 for the season, accomplishing one of the team?s biggest goals entering the season.

Now that the team is eyeing a postseason battle with Oskaloosa on Wednesday night, the Demons are looking to alter their goals.

?The next goal is to finish with a winning season overall,? Washington senior Amber Salow said. ?I?m pretty confident in our team, and if we play as well as we have been, I think we can make it pretty far.?

Washington enters the postseason winning three of its last four games, the only loss in that stretch coming to Class 3A, No. 14 ranked Mid-Prairie, and coming off one of their best ball-handling games of the season, first-year head coach Jordan Bentley said the team is looking good.

?They are having fun,? Bentley said. ?They are seeing the fun that basketball can be. It?s not as hard as they think it is, and it?s not as tough if we listen and execute and see these things. Friday we only had 10 turnovers, and we moved the ball well. We hit nine 3s. We did that because we moved the ball and kept them off balance that way.?

Having athletes who hit 3-pointers is an important aspect of the team?s success so far this season, with every player fitting a specific role this year.

Sophomore guard Sarah Nacos leads the team with 9.9 points per game, and has made her role as the team?s top 3-point threat, notching 33 this season, while Salow (7.2 points per game) has 25 made long balls this season to help stretch the floor.

While they hit the outside shots, a bevy of post players take care of the ball inside, with Addie Pacha (9.3 points, 6.6 rebounds per game), Brynna DeLong (6.8 points, 4.7 rebounds per game) and McKayla Miller (3.9 points, 3.2 rebounds per game) holding the fort inside.

Salow has been the main distributor this season for the Demons, averaging 2.3 assists per game.

Nearing the end of his first season at the helm, Bentley said he is happy with the way the team came together.

?We had to find that happy medium and the style that they had played and what I wanted to do,? Bentley said. ?I knew we had some post play and some guards. We wanted to see if we could run a pick-and-roll offense and still set up shooters, and I think we?ve seen that evolve through the month of January.?

Ever since the calendar switched to 2016, the Demons are 8-5, including a win against first-round opponent Oskaloosa, and Salow noted that the big difference this season is the team?s improved cohesiveness.

?Our chemistry is better as a team,? Salow said. ?I?ve worked with all the seniors since fourth grade, and we?ve been on tournament teams together. Our chemistry is really there. Last year we didn?t get in too much together, but that?s different this year.?

The Jan. 16 game against Oskaloosa saw the Indians get 26 points and 11 rebounds from Alexis Westercamp, but the Demons pulled out a 63-60 victory.

Bentley said the team will be looking to do a better job on Osky?s top threat.

?I don?t know if there?s anything different about them,? Bentley said. ?That Westercamp girl is a great player. We need a scheme that isn?t going to allow her to score 26 points again. We need to contain her a bit better and not give her multiple opportunities. We need to control the ball.?

If the Demons hold form against Oskaloosa, they will earn a Saturday trip to Fairfield, to face the Trojans who have two wins over Washington already this season, and you can bet the girls want to get another crack at their rivals.

?If we get through this Oskaloosa game, we know what?s next,? Bentley said. ?We know what?s coming up. We need to mentally prepare to take care of the basketball. I don?t think there?s concern (about looking too far ahead). I think we are motivated to take another crack at them. I think they believe we will come up with some way where we?ll have a competitive game when we face them again.?

Tipoff against the Indians is set for 7 p.m.