Lady Braves get 2B All-State basketball recognition

La Conner fans know how good their high school girls basketball team is.

The evidence is in the selection of La Conner players to the Scoreboard Live 2B All-Hardwood Classic Team and the annual 1B/2B Senior All-State Game in Seattle last Saturday.

Junior Ellie Marble and senior Sarah Cook were named last week to the popular sports website’s Hardwood Classic second unit All-tourney team after having helped lead the Lady Braves (23-2 overall) to a fourth-place finish in Spokane earlier this month.

Cook, in addition, joined Juna Swanson in a March 19 matchup at King’s High School coordinated by the Washington State Girls Basketball Coaches Association.

In the senior 1B/2B All-State pairing, Swanson and Cook picked up where they left off at season’s end. Fans at the game saw Swanson dish off assists to Cook, who finished as one of the 2B team’s top scorers.

In Spokane, Cook had scored 50 points in three contests, including a game-high 25 in La Conner’s 69-61 win over Lake Roosevelt. She added 18 points in a 67-52 Lady Braves trophy day defeat of Raymond.

Cook was then selected for a post-game interview by the NFHS broadcast team that livestreamed the contest.

The commentators alluded to Cook’s abilities as well as the fourth quarter back-to-back perimeter treys she hit to fuel La Conner’s strong finish.

Marble, meanwhile, was La Conner’s leading scorer in Spokane, netting 17, 18, and 19 points in successive games.

Her 17 points and eight rebounds in La Conner’s 61-48 quarterfinal setback to Warden drew raves from NFHS broadcasters. They referred to the 6’-0” post’s ability to “out-athlete everyone” and ranked her as “one of the best after contact scorers” they had seen in the tournament.

Marble recorded double-doubles against Lake Roosevelt and Raymond as La Conner swept its final two games at the Spokane Arena.

La Conner head coach Scott Novak wasn’t surprised that Marble and Cook were on the Scoreboard Live All-State tourney radar.

“Their selections to the All-Tournament team were well deserved,” Novak told the Weekly News on Saturday.

“Ellie had great stats throughout, and Sarah had really, really good games against Lake Roosevelt and Raymond.”