For the La Conner Braves to reach the State Round of 12 in Spokane next month, they’ll first have to survive a road trip south to Thurston County.

The Braves, 15-7 and Bi-District 2B girls’ runners-up to Mount Vernon Christian, have drawn a Feb. 28 loser-out regional match with the Raymond-South Bend Ravens at Tumwater High School. Tipoff for the high-stakes clash is set for 6 p.m.

La Conner is the No. 13 seed in the 16-team State field. Raymond-South Bend, seeded 12th, has been designated as the home team for this Saturday’s pairing.

The winner between La Conner and Raymond-South Bend will face either Reardan or Cle-Elum-Roslyn in a 12:15 p.m. March 4 elimination contest at the Spokane Arena. Reardan is the No. 4 seed and Cle-Elum-Roslyn is seeded fifth.

In Raymond-South Bend, La Conner must contend with a team that has posted an 18-7 won-loss record this season. The Ravens are led by senior guard Kassie Koski, who scores at a 13.6 points per game clip, and senior post Ava Baugher, who pulls down 10 rebounds per contest.

La Conner counters with an uptempo attack paced by senior guard Maeve McCormick, who reached the 1,000-point career scoring mark this year.

Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.