La Conner girls’ basketball team beats bigger schools 2 of 3

The La Conner High girls’ basketball team earned an A for effort in its close home loss to Burlington-Edison last Tuesday, June 8.

The Lady Braves received an A for results when they soundly defeated Lynden in another highly anticipated non-league hoop matchup, again at Landy James Gym two nights later.

Together, the hard-fought, highly competitive games proved that 2B La Conner could more than hold its own against top 2A foes from the vaunted Northwest Conference.

Burlington-Edison (7-3) edged La Conner 65-61 despite a stellar effort from the hosts, who placed second at the 2020 state 2B Girls’ Hardwood Classic and were ready to show they can compete on an equal level with programs from schools boasting significantly higher enrollments.

La Conner point guard Juna Swanson scored a game-high 18 points, dished off seven assists and grabbed four rebounds. Ellie Marble delivered 16 points and nine boards.

La Conner’s Sarah Cook recorded a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Josie Harper added 11 points and five caroms for the Lady Braves.

Sydney Reisner led the victors with 16 points. Miranda Maskell and Emma Smith both chipped in 13 points. Gabriella MacKenzie collected a team-high 12 rebounds to go with eight points.

Forty-eight hours later it was La Conner’s turn to celebrate, handing Lynden a 74-58 defeat in a physical clash many felt rivaled a state tournament atmosphere.

“Against Burlington-Edison, it was a matter of us adjusting to playing at a quicker pace against a team from a bigger school,” said La Conner High head coach Scott Novak. “By the time we played Lynden, we had pretty well settled in.”

Especially in the second half, when La Conner went on a 45-26 tear.

The Lady Braves fought back from an early 10-0 deficit, eventually taking the lead for good on a Rachel Cram perimeter trey midway through the third quarter, part of a key 9-0 La Conner run.

Novak pointed to La Conner’s offensive balance as a decisive factor.

Four players – Swanson, Marble, Cook and Harper – scored 15 points each. Cram had 14.

“It’s really amazing to have that kind of scoring balance,” Novak told the Weekly News afterward.

Just as amazing was that all of Marble’s points came from the free throw line, where she missed just four attempts.

Swanson and Cook buried two treys apiece while Harper and Cram each drained a three-pointer.

The first of Cook’s two trifectas couldn’t have been better timed. It was a swish from beyond the top of the key that broke La Conner’s scoring drought four minutes into the game. She trimmed the Lynden edge to 12-6 moments later. She scored inside off a nice feed from Marble, drew a foul and meshed the ensuing free throw.

The Lady Braves gradually cut into Lynden’s lead throughout the rest of the first half, pulling to within 32-29 at intermission on a Swanson three-pointer.

La Conner took control in the third frame, outscoring Lynden 20-7. The Lady Braves scored both off their transition game and half-court offense, repeatedly hitting backdoor cutters for layups from the high post.

La Conner went up 46-38 late in the third period on a Cram layup and Marble charity toss, but at that point things got tense. Cook, while battling for a rebound, was flung hard to the floor, landing with a thud and requiring help up from assistant coach and physical therapist Lynette Cram.

Fortunately, it was Cook’s elbow and not her head that hit the floor and she was able to return to the game early in the fourth quarter.

If anything, the incident involving Cook – which, strangely enough, was ruled a held ball and not a foul – seemed to further motivate La Conner. Ditto a hard foul moments later on Marble as she attempted a desperation three-pointer at the third quarter buzzer.

Marble knocked down all three foul shots and then La Conner closed with a 25-point final stanza.

The Lady Braves went up double digits (62-51) on a Harper three-pointer with 3:12 to play.

Cram iced the verdict with six consecutive free throws in the last 90 seconds.

Novak was pleased with how well his players overcame early adversity to win for the ninth time in 10 starts this spring, taking down a 2A power in the process.

“It’s the mark of a great team,” he said, “to be able to battle back and win by a comfortable margin.”

3A Ferndale beaten, too

Saturday was to have been an open date for the girls’ basketball team after 2A Anacortes bowed out of a non-league clash at Landy James Gym due to COVID-19 issues.

But La Conner head coach Scott Novak was able to schedule a replacement in 3A Northwest Conference Ferndale – a school with an even larger enrollment than Anacortes.

And as was the case when La Conner defeated 2A Lynden earlier in the week, the 2B Lady Braves proved bigger is not necessarily better.

They improved to 11-1 on the spring campaign with a convincing 69-53 victory.

Josie Harper paced the victors with 20 points, including a perfect eight-for-eight night at the foul stripe.

“We spread the floor for her a lot because she had mismatches,” Novak said of Harper.

Three other players joined Harper in double digit scoring. Sarah Cook had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. She also dished off five assists. Ellie Marble and Juna Swanson finished with 11 points each for the hosts.

Avery Sloniker added seven points, all in the final stanza. Rachel Cram tallied all six of her points before the break and turned in an exceptional defensive effort, holding top Ferndale scorer Jamie Johnson scoreless.

The team was 15 of 17 from the free throw line.

After starting slow, they built a 27-16 first half lead. They finished fast, with a 27-22 fourth quarter spurt.

“It was a good game, a good challenge for us,” Novak said afterward. “They are a pretty good team, one of the top five or six in that (Northwest 21/3A) league.”

Novak said Ferndale’s physical, hard-nosed style posed problems early on.

“It’s hard to get a rhythm against a team like that,” he said. “But once we found our rhythm we were alright.”

La Conner closed regular season play at Meridian Monday and at home with Mount Vernon Christian late Tuesday.

Novak said the team will immediately transition into summer ball, participating in the Girls 1B/2B State Summer Invitational Tournament in Mount Vernon starting June 23. The Lady Braves are seeded third.