The Capital Cougars got caught up in the in-your-face pace of their city rivals in a 45-25 win for Olympia on Wednesday night in Chick Rockey Gymnasium.
“We’ve got a little nastiness … in a good way,” Olympia coach Rod Tripp said. “They come out and they compete.”
Three freshmen – Laura Snodgrass, Sarah Snodgrass and Jona Spiller – play lead roles for the Bears, and a fourth played useful minutes.
“It’s a learning process as we go this year,” said Tripp, in his second season as Olympia’s coach.
Olympia held Capital without a field goal in the first quarter and allowed two baskets from the field in the first half.
In the second half, the Cougars played with better composure.
“If we played the way we played in the second half in the first half, it would have been a better game,” Capital coach Colleen Wells said. “We get in a real big hurry. We were a lot more patient in the second half.”
The last minute of the third quarter belonged to Olympia junior Chantel Arevalo.
The 5-foot-2 junior scored on a breakaway, nailed two free throws and then, just before the buzzer, made a steal and layup as the Bears took a 35-17 lead.
Sarah Snodgrass led the balanced Bears with nine points. Sophie Rice, a 5-foot-10 junior, scored six points for the Cougars.
