La Conner High School Braves girls’ basketball coach Danny Crosby was a bit on edge before his team’s tipoff at Coupeville last Friday.
Crosby was anxious about the Braves facing a Coupeville squad amped up by a large crowd on hand as part of the hosts’ Senior Night festivities.
“I was kind of worried coming into this game,” Crosby conceded afterward.
Crosby needn’t have worried. La Conner pushed its won-loss mark to 11-5 with a convincing 57-29 triumph, the Braves’ sixth NW2B/1B win in seven starts.
The double-digit victory was seen as a springboard going into La Conner’s Feb. 3 regular season finale at home opposite Mount Vernon Christian, winners of 13 of 15 contests and undefeated in six league contests.
“That was our goal,” Crosby, eyeing La Conner’s pending date with Mount Vernon Christian, said of the Braves’ impressive performance at Coupeville.
While the home crowd’s attention was focused on Coupeville’s seniors, it was La Conner’s 12th-graders who ultimately stole the limelight.
Braves’ seniors Maeve McCormick and Isabelle Villard combined for 15 points as a balanced La Conner attacked early, bolting to an insurmountable 37-7 halftime lead.
“I really like my seniors,” Crosby said.
Maeve McCormick finished with 11 points, one of seven La Conner players to reach the scoring column. Villard had four points and was perfect on two free throw attempts.
Freshman Faith Jenkins paced the victors with 12 points. She, like Maeve McCormick, did all her scoring in the first half.
Sophomore Nora McCormick, Maeve’s younger sister, also scored in double figures with 10 points.
Freshmen Sophia Edwards and Mia Delage netted nine points apiece. Edwards drained a long three-pointer in the first quarter while Delage drained three treys.
Sophomore Reese Bird rounded out La Conner’s scoring with two points on a bucket after the break.
Arianna Cunningham led six Coupeville scorers with 10 points.
The Braves, meanwhile, are assured a berth to the six-team double-elimination Bi-District bracket set for Feb. 12-19 with locations yet to be announced.
On the boys’ side of Friday’s action, Coupeville’s Cam Glover (22) and Chase Anderson (20) combined for 42 points as the home team defeated the undersized Braves by a 66-36 margin.
Anderson was especially effective driving in traffic to the hoop. Glover was able to score on post ups over shorter La Conner defenders.
The Braves, forced to score from the outside, hung tough with Coupeville before suffering cold streaks in the second and fourth periods.
Sophomore Keaton Bailey scored 14 points, seven in each half, to lead the Braves. Bailey was able to split defenders on occasion to rise up and hit contested floaters.
Junior Kaleb Otis, who had meshed seven three-pointers in La Conner’s 68-50 home setback to Orcas Island on Jan. 27, knocked down two more against Coupeville and finished with eight points.
Seniors Brent Bobb and Hadden Zimmerman added seven points each for the Braves. Bobb buried two three-pointers and Zimmerman chipped in another three-ball.
The good news for the Braves is that despite going winless in NW2B/1B play they will be part of the seven-team double-elimination Bi-District tourney starting Feb. 12 at a site to be determined.
Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
