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A pair of double-digit wins over league rivals last week clinched a No. 1 bi-district tournament seed for the La Conner High School girls’ basketball team.
La Conner (14-7 overall; 7-1 in league) closed out the regular season, defeating Coupeville 46-30 Feb. 6 at Landy James Gym and winning 41-29 at Friday Harbor on Saturday.
With the wins, the Lady Braves secured the top seed to the bi-district tournament, which opened last night at home opposite Northwest Christian of Lacey.
La Conner moves on to the second round Thursday in Coupeville against either Auburn Adventist or Friday Harbor.
The winners of Tuesday’s La Conner-NWC and Auburn Adventist-Friday Harbor matchups tip off Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. Tuesday night’s losers meet at 5:15 p.m.
The four teams are vying for two berths to the regional round of the state tourney.
La Conner coach Joe Harper anticipated facing Friday Harbor in Coupeville.
“Chances are pretty good that we’ll see Friday Harbor again on Thursday,” Harper told the Weekly News. “Beating a team three times in a year is very tough and they will be ready.”
Should the teams be paired, La Conner fans can hope for a replay of last Friday’s game when the Lady Braves applied full-court pressure throughout that forced multiple turnovers and led to repeated scores in transition.
La Conner guards Shaniquah Casey and Maeve McCormick were prime beneficiaries of Friday Harbor miscues.
Casey led all scorers with a game-high 17 points. McCormick finished with 15 for the victors.
Casey and McCormick combined for the first 10 points as the visitors jumped out to a 12-3 first quarter lead and never looked back.
Casey recorded the contest’s first basket with a nifty floater in the paint. McCormick made it 4-0 on a drive to the iron.
After Friday Harbor’s Vera Schoultz answered with a short jumper, McCormick scored in transition and with a perimeter trey and Casey meshed a free throw for a quick 10-2 La Conner advantage.
A putback and runout by McCormick and two free throws by Kim Williams gave La Conner a 24-12 edge at intermission.
Casey gave La Conner its largest lead of the night, 33-14, when she buried a third period charity toss after drawing a foul on a breakaway layup.
Harper employed his entire roster in preparation for the tournament.
“We were able to get everyone in and all played aa minimum of two quarters,” he said afterward. “It’s important for us to rest key players when we can as we move into the bi-district playoffs this week.”
Harper was pleased as well with the junior varsity’s 34-10 victory at Friday Harbor.
“There’s been a really huge improvement for that group,” said Harper. “Coaches Scottie Miller and Sheena Jones have done a fantastic job this year.”
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