Amy Gould said it is all about mental toughness.
It is tough to come to practice every day after all the losing. But the Heritage Timberwolves just kept at it.
That’s why this night felt so good for Gould and her teammates.
The Heritage Timberwolves beat Evergreen 38-23 on Friday night, the first league win for the Heritage girls basketball program in more than two years.
“This feels really good because we have never gotten one,” said Gould, who took over the contest in the fourth quarter, scoring eight of her game-high 17 points during clutch time.
Evergreen had moved within three points of the Timberwolves early in the fourth quarter. Then Gould and company scored 16 fourth-quarter points to pull away from the Plainsmen.
The Timberwolves did not win any Class 4A Greater St. Helens League games the past two seasons.
“It’s been a long two years,” Heritage coach Karrin Wilson said. “I can’t say enough about the kids’ perseverance through these years. They continued to play hard and get better. Now they’re seeing the results of all that.”
A 3-pointer from Cassidy Morris gave Heritage a 26-19 advantage. Then Gould scored the next eight points for the Timberwolves. Anna Pentilla had a steal and then an assist to Gould in that spurt to win the game.
“That felt really good because I was frustrating the other team,” said Gould, who made 7 of 11 shots, including three 3-pointers.
Makenzie Smith, Keilea Swearingen, and Lexi Burney each had six points for Evergreen.
Morris finished with eight points for Heritage.
Gould credited the team’s defense with the win. The Timberwolves held Evergreen to 16 percent shooting from the floor.
HERITAGE 38, EVERGREEN 23
EVERGREEN — Hayley Avery 3, Moriah Doyle 2, Makenzie Smith 6, Keilea Swearingen 6, Lexi Burney 6, Stephanie Didenko 0, Felicia Bahr 0, JaNae Calaway 0, Alyssa Smith 0. Totals 10-61 (1-16) 2-8. 23.
HERITAGE — Cassidy Morris 8, Anna Pentilla 5, Amy Gould 17, Kassidy Williams 4, Lisi Thomas 3, Vanessa Brown 0, Jazmin Lopez-Placito 1, Deja Gomez-Lewis 0. Totals 15-31 (5-11) 3-6 38.
Evergreen 6 5 6 6—23
Heritage 9 9 4 16—38
