The Arlington Eagles defeated the Monroe Bearcats 65-56 in a non-conference game on Wednesday, December 2nd in Arlington.

In the first quarter, Arlington set the tone on offense early, getting the ball to their sophomore guard, Peyton Brown, who knocked down three three-pointers in a row as a result of outstanding ball movement by the Eagles. Arlington went into the second quarter leading 18-6 and began to run an intimidating full-court press, forcing five turnovers in a row at one point, and converting the majority of their steals into easy layups through crafty passes in transition.

When asked about his team’s ability to pressure the ball in the full court, Arlington Coach Joe Marsh identified the press as a key aspect of his team. “That’s our biggest strength,” said Marsh. “We’re not very big, but we’re quick.”

Arlington’s quick style of play compliments smaller players such as Serafina Balderas, a 5’0” guard for the Eagles, who finished as the leading scorer Friday with 12 points. 

At the half, the Eagles led Monroe 35-17. Coming out of the break, Monroe began to gear their efforts towards breaking the Arlington press that had created the first half deficit. 

“Monroe kind of made an adjustment in the second half and did a better job at handling it,” said Marsh.

Jadynn Alexander led the offensive attack for the Bearcats, finishing with 14 points on the night. Monroe entered the fourth quarter down 51-32, but began to run an impressive full-court press of their own and proceeded to cut the Arlington lead down to 11 with 3:09 to go in the game. The late game push by the Bearcats prompted Marsh to put his starters back into the game and the Eagles were able to come away with a 65-56 victory.

The Eagles improve to 2-0 overall and the Bearcats drop to 1-1 after the contest. Arlington will play the Snohomish Panthers at 7:15pm on Friday at Snohomish High School.