La Conner girl hoopsters play in Phoenix

An abnormally dry summer here didn’t stop the Pacific Northwest Rain from descending on the Valley of the Sun.

The Rain, an area girls’ travel team, took top honors in their high school age division of the recent 2021 Summer Sizzle basketball tournament in Phoenix.

Five La Conner High players – Juna Swanson, Rachel Cram, Sarah Cook, Ellie Marble and Josie Harper – were members of the tourney title winners, coached by former Mount Vernon High standout Tyler Amaya, who played collegiately at Gonzaga and Western Washington University before playing overseas professionally.

The Rain went undefeated in four tourney matchups, said parent Dustin Swanson, among a sizeable La Conner entourage that made the July 30-Aug. 1 trip.

The Skagit Valley-based team, part of a 16-entry bracket representing much of the western United States, included players from this area’s larger enrollment schools.

“All of them come from really good basketball programs,” said Swanson, who helped develop the team’s roster, “and the neat thing is they say they love playing with the La Conner girls.”

Despite several team members having played against one another during the high school season, the Rain players benefitted from great camaraderie at the tournament, said Swanson.

“The great thing about this group,” he said, “is their unselfishness. “They have great chemistry and really enjoyed their pool time and playing games together.

“It seemed like every game,” Swanson added, “that someone different would step up and make a big contribution.”

La Conner High girls’ basketball coach Scott Novak wasn’t surprised that his team’s players represented the Rain well.

“I’m very proud of them,” Novak told the Weekly News. “It takes a lot of determination for them to go as far they have. They’re not good for no reason. They put the time in.”

The La Conner High girls’ team placed second in the 2020 state 2B Hardwood Classic. They were also runners-up in the summer state 2B tournament in Mount Vernon in June.

The Phoenix tournament can’t help but pay dividends for the La Conner players going forward, said parent Lynette Cram.

“It was great when all five La Conner players were on the floor at the same time,” she said. “All the parents got a kick out of that.

“When that happened,” said Cram, “they were able to run plays out of our (La Conner) offensive sets. In AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) ball, they aren’t used to a lot of structure because you have players from different schools playing on the same team, so we were able to get some easy baskets.”

Swanson said Rain players took pride in representing “our northwest corner of Washington state,” their visit made possible in large part through local sponsors Balance Point Physical Therapy and Christianson’s Nursery.

“They showed a lot of pride in our area,” he said, “and they all played fantastic basketball.”

And in the end the Rain reigned supreme in the Desert Southwest.