Lady Braves ace 2 league road hoops tests

The La Conner High School girls’ basketball team saved its best for last at Coupeville.

Entering the fourth quarter deadlocked, the Lady Braves finished with an 18-4 spurt that secured a 46-32 NW2B/1B triumph Jan. 16, extending their winning streak over the hosts to 11 games dating to 2018.

Coupled with a 51-25 road victory over Darrington Jan. 19, the team is unbeaten (5-0) in conference play before last night’s clash with Orcas Island.

For La Conner, the road trip to Coupeville was Valentine’s Day a month early.

With head coach Joe Harper under the weather and at home watching the game online, assistant Roger Valentine – who formerly guided teams at Skagit Valley College and Mount Vernon High School – handled coaching duties.

La Conner bolted to an 11-0 lead before foul trouble allowed Coupeville to remain within striking distance.

The home team forged a 19-19 tie at halftime. The score remained tied, at 28-28, after three quarters.

That’s when La Conner, despite the foul woes, amped up its defensive pressure.

“We really clamped down defensively in the fourth quarter, getting some key steals and transition buckets to finally pull away,” Harper said.

Shaniquah Casey filled the stat sheet for the victors. The sophomore guard scored eight points, dished off a half dozen assists and recorded four steals.

Eighth grader Nora McCormick also came up big. She scored 12 points, seven in the decisive fourth quarter and grabbed eight rebounds while collecting three steals.

Kiana Jenkins and Jacqui Lam, also eighth graders, were key factors in the paint. Jenkins reeled in 10 rebounds and Lam blocked three shots.

Coupeville fell to 5-8 overall and 1-3 in league standings.

“Hats off to Coupeville in this one,” said Harper. “They challenged us throughout and made us really work for the buckets we were able to get.”

La Conner also defeated Coupeville 56-22 in the night’s junior varsity matchup, the team topping the 50-point mark for the third straight game.

At Darrington, La Conner crashed the boards hard and – as against Coupeville – scored early and often in transition.

Maeve McCormick led with 23 points and 13 rebounds.

“Maeve is having a great year all around,” Harper told the Weekly News. “Her scoring is consistent and she leads the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Very happy to see her growth in both ability and confidence.”

Harper was able to employ his entire roster against Darrington.

“Everyone played on the night,” he noted, “and we came away with the win, so it was a good night.”

At Friday’s game with the Northwest School at a halftime ceremony a banner honoring the undefeated 1968 La Conner High football team will be revealed.

Between now and then, La Conner (10-5 overall) will look to boost its free throw percentage and ability to finish fast breaks.

“If we can improve in these areas and also reduce our fouling,” said Harper, “I think we can be a pretty strong team come February.”