The Friday Harbor girls basketball team put the brakes on a three-game skid by dealing Meridian a decisive 48-33 defeat at home, Tuesday, in Turnbull Gym.

The Wolverines jumped out to a commanding 16-4 lead in the first period and kept the Trojans down by double digits until the final buzzer sounded. Tabatha Keane scored 22 points, her second 20-plus point game in a row, to lead all scorers. Sophomore Maddie Kincaid tossed in 18 points, 10 in the first half, and Allie Galt had six. 

“It’s been a roller-coaster season so far for us,” Head Coach Eric Jangard said. “I think we’re finally healthy, or at least as healthy as we’ve been all year. We know we’re a good team and we can play well. It’s just a matter of doing it.”

With the victory, Friday Harbor improved to 5-7 overall.

The Wolverines bounced back to topple the Trojans (3-9) after suffering a 3-point loss on the road one week earlier against Northwest 1A/2B rival Mount Vernon Christian. Three of the team’s losses, to Darrington, Orcas and Mount Vernon Christian, have been by a combined total of 10 points.

“We’re 5-7 but I think we could easily be 8-4, or something like, we just haven’t quite gotten there,” Jangard said.

The Wolverines (0-2 league) will have an opportunity to “get there” and to collect their first league win, Friday, in their second meeting of the season against Orcas. The Vikings prevailed 54-46 in a closely contested non-league match up on the Wolverines home court in the second week of the season. The two teams tip off at Orcas, Friday, at 4:30 p.m.

Friday Harbor will be home Jan. 23 to host league opponent Concrete, a rematch of an earlier non-league contest in which the Wolverines routed the Lions in a 36-point win on the road; tip off for the Jan. 23 league game is 4 p.m. in Turnbull Gym.