Lady Braves complete perfect league run

They made fast work of the NW2B girls’ hoop schedule.

But unfinished business awaits the La Conner High Lady Braves.

Such as a very likely turnaround rematch with Friday Harbor, the conference foe whom La Conner edged 33-27 in its regular season finale at Landy James Gym Friday night.

The Lady Braves are poised to face the winner between Friday Harbor and Seattle Lutheran in their District Tournament opener here on Feb. 10.

Since the Lady Wolverines defeated Seattle Lutheran by a lopsided margin earlier this season, it’s fairly certain La Conner and Friday Harbor will meet again.

And, perhaps, again after that as well.

“Last year,” reminds Lady Braves head coach Scott Novak, “we played Friday Harbor five times, four of those in a two-week stretch at the end of the year.”

Novak, however, prefers taking things one game at a time. With at least a brief moment or two to savor the most recent game — that being La Conner’s gritty six-point win over Friday Harbor that allowed the Lady Braves to finish the regular campaign with an 18-2 ledger.

La Conner won all 12 of its league contests, including a two-game sweep of the Lady Wolverines.

The second game, despite its home venue, was especially tough.

“It turned into a real physical game,” Novak explained. “We had a difficult time getting into our offensive sets. That’s something we need to work on this week.”

La Conner started well enough, bolting to a 10-point lead. Friday Harbor, though, managed to stay within striking distance.

“We just couldn’t shake them,” said Novak. “Both teams played really solid defense so it was tough to get any kind of separation.”

La Conner, however, enjoyed a handful of key advantages.

One was clutch free throw shooting. Lady Braves post Ashley Watkins, who led all scorers with 13 points, was seven-of-nine from the foul stripe. More important, she missed just one of seven free throw attempts in the second half.

Timely three-point shooting also helped. Senior guard Nakiya Edwards delivered a pair of treys.

Add to that the all-around strong play of frosh frontliner Justine Benson, who tallied a dozen points while filling the stat sheet.

“Basically,” Novak said, “we made the plays we had to.”

No Friday Harbor player finished in double-figures.

The visitors instead spread their scoring among six players.

“If we play them again,” cautioned Novak, “it will be a very tough game. Friday Harbor has lost several really close games this year. Their record (6-6 in league) doesn’t indicate just how good they are.”

La Conner’s record, on the other hand, assures that everyone it faces in post-season will bring its ‘A’ game.

The Lady Braves, meanwhile, are hopeful many red-letter days await them in the weeks ahead.