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The La Conner High School girls’ basketball team did not plan on losing Friday night. Then again, the Lady Braves had not planned on facing undefeated 4A Eastlake on the road, either. The team’s regularly scheduled Jan. 14 tipoff with nearby 1B rival Mount Vernon Christian was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols and the open date was filled with a trip to the Sammamish Plateau and a Hoosiers-type matchup with the Lady Wolves. “We needed to pick up a non-league game for a game that wasn’t played over Christmas break, so we traveled to Eastlake s...
Some would say the La Conner High School girls’ basketball team has the sport down to a science. Count veteran head coach Scott Novak among them. “The chemistry on our team is unbelievable,” Novak insisted to the Weekly News following a convincing 70-29 non-conference home win over 1A Klahowya of Silverdale last Tuesday night, Jan 11. Indeed, the Lady Braves showcased all the elements of a championship caliber club in easily defeating their fifth larger school foe of the campaign. Four players, led by junior post Ellie Marble, finished in do...
Though idle for two weeks beforehand, the unbeaten La Conner High School girls’ basketball team had no trouble shaking off the rust at Coupeville last Tuesday, Jan 4. La Conner returned to action showing machine-like precision in its half-court offense while also scoring repeatedly off its high-octane transition game enroute to a convincing 69-13 NW2B road triumph. With icy road conditions having nixed a much-anticipated Dec. 30 matchup with 4A Kamiak, La Conner was revved up for this tipoff. “This was our first game in two weeks and we pla...
It was a good news, bad news kind of night for Braves boy basketball at Coupeville last Tuesday. The good news is La Conner held unbeaten Coupeville, ranked No. 4 in state 2B boys’ polls, to nearly 20 points under their per game scoring average. The bad news is the Braves still found themselves on the short end of a 54-29 conference verdict Jan. 4, falling to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in NW2B play, La Conner played the Wolves on equal terms over the final three quarters but couldn’t overcome an early 27-2 Coupeville run fueled by three-point spe...
Concrete took a novel approach to slow down La Conner’s vaunted transition game during NW2B girls’ hoop action at Landy James Gym Saturday night. The visitors kept two players at the defensive end of the floor, only bringing three potential scorers across midcourt to run their offensive sets. The ploy did little to change the game’s anticipated storyline. Far from it, actually. Even with two full-time defenders Concrete saw La Conner blister the nets at a 58 percent (45 of 77) clip. The victors converted nine of 23 attempts beyond the trey...
A La Conner High School senior is the first election winner of the new year. Not just locally, either, but on a statewide basis. Sarah Cook, a key member of the school’s undefeated girls’ basketball team, was the top online vote-getter in polling for WaFd Bank’s Washington State Athlete of the Week honors through Sunday by Scorebook Live, a major sports website. Cook was one of 19 nominees on the ballot for Dec. 20-26, a field that included Garfield boys’ hoops standout Koren Johnson, who is committed to the University of Washington men’s b...
Bigger isn’t necessarily better. The unbeaten state champion La Conner High School volleyball team proved that repeatedly in the fall, beating several bigger schools. Now the school’s girls’ basketball program is further emphasizing the point. The NW2B leading Lady Braves (8-0 overall), with wins already this season over larger schools Lynden, Nooksack Valley and Anacortes, posted another statement win with an impressive 56-48 home game last Tuesday over previously undefeated 3A Stanwood. It very well could be La Conner’s best victory to date...
The undefeated La Conner High School girls’ basketball team romped past NW2B rivals Friday Harbor and Darrington last week, posting lopsided wins. But it was last night’s much anticipated meeting with 3A Stanwood that was being eyed as a true barometer of just good La Conner is as the team braces for the midway part of its season. They already owns triumphs over larger school programs Lynden, Nooksack Valley and Anacortes. The clash with Stanwood, originally set for Monday, was another example of recent schedule changes necessitated by shortage...
The La Conner High boys’ basketball team lost more than a non-league game when it dropped a 40-31 verdict Dec. 11 at home to Puget Sound Adventist Academy. Through no fault of their own, the Braves (3-3) also lost the opportunity to face NW2B foes Friday Harbor and Darrington last week. Because an opposing player apparently tested positive for COVID-19 after the Kirkland team’s visit here, pandemic protocols forced the Braves to postpone their Dec. 13 home date with Friday Harbor and a trip the next night to Darrington. The tipoff with Fri...
La Conner High School volleyball foes were not just way out of their league this past season. They were hardly in the same state. Undefeated La Conner, which captured its third consecutive state volleyball crown last month, has continued to score points in the post-season – its players garnering a slew of All-League honors and the Lady Braves being recognized as the 2B State Team of the Month. The accolades did not stop there. Players and head coach Suzanne Marble dominate the Washington State Volleyball Coaches Association 2B All-State...
It’s been quite a year for La Conner High School volleyball. And no month reflects that better than November, when the team captured its third straight state 2B tournament championship. They did it dropping only a single set at Yakima to cap yet another undefeated season. Because of that, and their winning ways off the court in terms of community service and academic excellence, the Lady Braves were selected by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association and Les Schwab Tire Center a...
The La Conner Braves were truly road warriors last week. The Braves played some of their best basketball of the young season at Concrete last Tuesday, posting an impressive 67-16 NW2B road triumph behind double-figure scoring from Isaiah Price, Miles Sydzik and Ivory Damien. The La Conner trio combined for 44 points and led nine teammates in the scoring column. Price paced all scorers with 20 points, including a perimeter trey. Sydzik delivered a game-high four three-pointers enroute to a 14-point effort. Damien finished with 10 points on...
Two La Conner High School wrestlers are again more than holding their own wrestling on a co-op basis with the 2A Burlington-Edison girls’ mat program. Delaney Cobbs and Kaliana Bill, who have wrestled regularly for Burlington Edison High School because La Conner no longer offers the sport on campus, have returned to the Burlington- Edison fold for the 2021-22 campaign. They made their presence felt on several levels Saturday. The two seniors turned in strong showings at the Everett High School Girls’ Wrestling Tournament, an event that dre...
A member of a local pioneer farm family played a key role in growing the La Conner volleyball program into a perennial state title contender. Julie Hulbert Marble is now a dental hygienist at Skagit Valley Family Dental Center. She helped La Conner High School enjoy a steady diet of wins, including state net crowns in 2006-2007 and then majored in nutrition at Central Washington University, A 5’-11” middle blocker who was a four-year high school letter winner, she played for the school’s back-...
Ellie Marble was thankful for a “real season” this fall after the 2020 volleyball schedule was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, replaced by a shorter, modified spring campaign. It was only fitting, then, that the La Conner High junior outside hitter would emerge as the real deal in a real season that saw Marble and her teammates do something really special – go undefeated and win the State 2B Tournament without dropping a single set in Yakima. Along the way Marble recorded her 1,0...
The La Conner High School girls’ basketball defense never rested in three straight wins over non-league opponents opening the 2021-22 season last week. The team romped past 1A Lynden 70-40 on the road Wednesday, then debuted at Landy James Gym Friday with a 41-40 squeaker over 1A Nooksack Valley before routing 2A Anacortes 64-33 at home Saturday. “Our defense has been great,” La Conner head coach Scott Novak told the Weekly News while assessing his team’s quick start against a challenging early season schedule. He said La Conner’s full-cour...
Home is where the heart is. And, for the La Conner High School boys’ basketball team, it’s also where the wins are. At least that was the case through the opening weekend of the Braves’ 2021-22 hoop campaign as La Conner defeated SeaTac 2B foes Seattle Lutheran and Concordia Christian Academy in non-league games at Landy James Gym. La Conner (2-1) routed Seattle Lutheran 59-13 on Friday and downed Concordia 46-32 Saturday afternoon. In so doing, the Braves rebounded nicely from a 43-22 setback at SeaTac 2B leader Northwest Yeshiva in their...
There was rarely suspense when the La Conner High School volleyball team took the court this year. The team not only went undefeated in regular season and playoff matches but didn’t drop a single set at the Yakima Sun Dome enroute to capturing the 2021 state 2B championship last month, the program’s sixth title trophy in two decades. Thus, there were few surprises when it came time for league schools to select this season’s All-NW2B/1B team. Six players were selected for major All-League honors. Leading the way is 6’-0” junior outside h...
Eight is enough. The title of a popular 1970s TV series is also an apt rallying cry for the La Conner High School girls’ varsity basketball team this season. La Conner will employ a short roster to begin its pursuit of a tall order when head coach Scott Novak’s charges tip off their 2021-22 campaign in earnest tonight (Wednesday) at Lynden. In 2020 the team placed second in the state’s 2B Hardwood Classic. It was runner-up in this year’s small school summer state tourney in Mount Vernon. The much-anticipated Dec. 1 non-league clash with th...
They have the same name but play different games. But both will be taking those games to the next level. La Conner High School seniors Emma Worgum and Emma Keller signed letters of intent last month to compete collegiately next year in their respective sports. Worgum signed with the Western Washington University women’s golf program. Keller committed to playing volleyball at Edmonds Community College. Worgum has been a state tournament caliber golfer and top entrant on the Washington junior circuit, playing a dozen or more major events each s...
The lights were bright inside the Yakima Sun Dome last week, but none shone more than the La Conner High School volleyball team. La Conner (22-0) kept its unbeaten mark intact by sweeping four matches over two days to capture the 2021 Washington state 2B championship behind several stellar performances. Head coach Suzanne Marble’s charges posted straight-sets tourney victories over Rainier, Okanogan, Manson and Walla Walla Valley Academy enroute to the sixth state title in program history. H...
It might have looked easy, but no effort was spared by the two-time defending state champion La Conner High School volleyball team in its quest to make a return trip to the 2B title tournament in Yakima this week. La Conner, a perfect 18-0 in regular season action – including non-league triumphs over teams from larger schools – secured its latest state tourney berth with a straight-sets win over NW2B rival Coupeville in district playoff action last Wednesday at Landy James Gym. “I’m proud of the girls and the work that the...
Seniority has its advantages. But once lost, starting over becomes the new normal. Such is the fate of the La Conner High School boys’ soccer team, which rode a strong senior class to a respectable 7-8 record and fifth place finish in a NW2B title chase that saw league leaders Providence Classical Christian and Orcas Island win 14 and 13 conference matches, respectively. Now, for next fall, Braves head coach Galen McKnight faces the daunting task of replacing a key core group of seniors, including Skagit County scoring leader Mason Wilson. W...
Anyone would love to have a dollar for every dig that La Conner High senior libero Rachel Cram has recorded during her four years with the school’s state championship volleyball program. Turns out, the Skagit Valley Hospital Foundation is in line for just such a payout. The unbeaten net team raised $1,200 for the foundation and breast cancer research as part of its annual Dig Pink-Senior Night match last Wednesday, coinciding with Cram notching her 1,200th career dig during a tense five-set n...
Throughout a scoreless, injury-riddled season, La Conner High football players were always willing to go the extra mile for head coach Charlie Edwards and his assistants. That was true – both literally and figuratively – on Saturday morning, just hours after the Braves closed out their 2021 grid campaign with a 56-0 loss at league leading Friday Harbor. Several La Conner players showed up for the weekly “Coaches’ Mile” workout at Whittaker Field, a team tradition every bit a bonding experience as much as a fitness session. “Our...
