Playing at a fast and furious tempo resulted in a virtuoso performance for the La Conner High School girls’ basketball team in its home debut on Saturday.
Fueled by a relentless trapping defense that generated repeated scores in transition, the host Braves routed the 1A South Whidbey Falcons 68-25 at Landy James Gym.
La Conner, which had won 54-21 at 1A Blaine on Dec. 2, continued to hit on all cylinders when facing South Whidbey. The Braves, whose constant pressure forced costly Falcon turnovers, bolted to an early 16-0 lead and never looked back.
“We wanted to speed up the game and make them play at a pace they didn’t want,” first-year La Conner head coach Danny Crosby said afterward.
Freshman Faith Jenkins scored 16 points to lead three La Conner players in double figures.
Seniors Maeve McCormick and Isabelle Villard finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively, for the victors. McCormick scored 11 of her points in the first quarter when La Conner built a commanding 21-1 advantage.
Nora McCormick and Sophia Edwards, each of whom knocked down a perimeter trey, added seven points apiece for the Braves.
Kiana Jenkins contributed six points to the La Conner attack. Mia Delage added five tallies, including a three-pointer. Reese Bird had two points, and Finley Hancock drained a free throw to round out the Braves’ scoring.
“I thought our players did an excellent job,” Crosby said. “They showed a lot of growth.
“We were able to rotate a lot of players into the game tonight and we’re building team chemistry,” he said.
Ali Young paced South Whidbey with 13 points, nine of which — including a deep trey — came in the second period. Even so, La Conner was able to extend its lead to 42-13 at halftime.
The final minutes were played with a running clock as La Conner’s lead reached 40 points, putting a mercy rule into effect.
Meanwhile, the short-handed La Conner High boys’ team found itself on the opposite side of the scoreboard at South Whidbey Saturday night. Playing minus point guard Keaton Bailey and post Nathan Bailey, the Braves fell 68-17 on the Falcons’ court.
Jimbo Bobb led La Conner with seven points.
Levi Dixon (13), Ryan Ferguson (12), and Will Wright (11) each scored in double digits for South Whidbey.
La Conner kept the score close in the boys’ junior varsity contest, dropping a hard-fought 51-49 decision. Ryan Reynolds hit three treys and meshed 15 points for the Braves jayvees. Landon Stevens (9), Jaylen Pedroza (7), Kason Williams (7), Isaac Cladoosby (7), and Angus Poprycz (4) also joined the La Conner point parade.
The La Conner boys’ and girls’ teams enter NW2B/1B action with upcoming trips on Dec. 12 to Friday Harbor and on Dec. 16 to Orcas Island.
The Braves girls’ varsity has a 5:30 p.m. tipoff at Friday Harbor. They meet Orcas at 4 p.m.
The La Conner boys’ varsity is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start at Friday Harbor and a 5:30 p.m. matchup at Orcas.
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
