Lady Braves withstand Hurricane visit

There would be no blowout — either way — when La Conner High hosted the Mount Vernon Christian Lady Hurricanes in girls’ hoop action on Friday.

A hard-fought, batten-down-the-hatches clash was expected.

And that’s exactly the scenario that unfolded.

In the end, it was La Conner who sailed — though not always smoothly — to a gritty 35-27 victory.

“It was kind of a grinder game,” Lady Braves head coach Scott Novak said afterward, “but we found a way to get a win.”

For La Conner, it was a ninth win in 11 starts overall. The Lady Braves took a 4-0 league mark into their NW2B clash at Shoreline Christian late Tuesday.

Senior guard Nakiya Edwards scored 13 points, all but five coming in the crucial second half, to lead La Conner past MVC.

Justine Benson was also in double figures for the victors, finishing with 10 points.

It turned out that points were hard to come by much of the night.

“We struggled a bit to get into our offensive sets,” Novak conceded. “Finally, in the second half, “we put the ball in Nakiya’s hands, and she got some big baskets for us.”

Two of the biggest were perimeter treys that Edwards hit after halftime, when La Conner trailed 12-11.

Mount Vernon Christian enjoyed a significant size advantage, and the three-pointers by Edwards helped force the Lady Hurricanes to extend their defense.

Still, La Conner had trouble from the floor throughout, managing only 14 of 44 field goal attempts. The Lady Braves were just four of 21 from behind the trey arc.

But the hosts hit shots when they needed them the most.

Nakesha Edwards and Matty Lagerwey, each of whom entered the final stanza scoreless, hit important buckets down the stretch.

Mount Vernon Christian’s height and length allowed the visitors to contest most shots and play a deliberate, pound-the-ball inside style on offense.

“They have some good size,” Novak said of MVC. “They got most of their points in the paint.”

MVC forward Emilia Lam, a 6’-0” junior and daughter of Braves product Jamie Lam, posed matchup issues for La Conner.

She tallied nine points, six after the break.

“We lost her a couple times defensively,” said Novak, “and she made us pay.”

Victoria Heino, another 6’-0” forward, led the Lady Hurricanes with 12 points.

La Conner’s Ashley Watkins did yeoman work inside against the taller Lady Hurricanes, tallying six points while grabbing 10 rebounds.

In addition to her clutch scoring, Edwards ignited the Lady Braves attack with a team-best five assists.

Lagerwey, a defensive standout, helped negate MVC’s size edge with four steals that jump-started La Conner’s transition game.

La Conner faces a couple more tall orders this week. The Lady Braves visit NW2B league rival Friday Harbor tomorrow, Thursday, before facing non-league foe South Whidbey on Saturday in a 7 p.m. tipoff at Landy James Gym.