A 61-54 Bi-District Tournament defeat to the Mount Vernon Christian Hurricanes last Thursday wasn’t a total loss for the La Conner High School Braves girls’ basketball team.

Despite the setback, during which the Braves mounted a spirited comeback bid from an early double-digit deficit, La Conner (15-7) has qualified for the State Round of 16 playoff bracket as the second of three Bi-District 2B teams to advance.

“They played really hard,” La Conner head coach Danny Crosby said of his players immediately after the Feb. 19 contest at Mount Vernon Christian’s DeKok Court. “Their effort and resiliency was great, to stay in the game after being down by 14 (points). They kept fighting.”

A win over Mount Vernon Christian (19-2), the top-seeded Bi-District entry, would have improved La Conner’s position during the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) State bracket draw on Feb. 22.

Still, Crosby took heart with how the Braves battled back from being down 31-17 at halftime. They pulled to within 45-44 late in the third period on a pair of Mia Delage three-pointers, two free throws by Faith Jenkins, and a long trey from La Conner scoring leader Maeve McCormick.

“It takes a lot of energy to come back from being behind by 14,” Crosby stressed, “but with this group conditioning wasn’t an issue.”

The Hurricanes were on the verge of a blowout win when they went up 13-2 early in the game on strong three-point shooting by Grace Mounts and Alexa Brown, a trend that would re-emerge in the second half.

Employing an active zone defense, the Braves strung together repeated stops over the final five minutes of the first quarter and gradually clawed back into contention.

McCormick fueled a 10-0 Braves run that closed out the period. She knocked down the first of her three three-pointers on the night; hit back-to-back buckets inside the trey arc, one on a nice feed from Isabelle Villard; and drove for a layup from the foul line off a nifty inside pivot.

McCormick’s scoring deluge and a Faith Jenkins free throw cut the Mount Vernon Christian lead to 13-12.

The Hurricanes answered with an impressive 18-5 scoring spree in the second quarter. Mounts led the way with two transition scores and a contested floater in the lane.

Meanwhile, the Braves struggled in the second stanza, managing just a reverse layup by Villard, a short banker from Jenkins, and a McCormick charity toss.

Undaunted, La Conner chipped away at the 31-17 Hurricanes lead after the break.

McCormick and Jenkins opened the second half with successive three-pointers. Mounts, though, stemmed the tide with a long three-ball.

Two free throws by Shaniquah Casey, a Nora McCormick foul shot, and a coast-to-coast layup from Maeve McCormick trimmed the Mount Vernon Christian margin to 34-28.

Mounts provided the hosts with some separation, at 39-30, with yet another three-pointer.

Back came La Conner, however. Sophia Edwards hit Maeve McCormick for a short jumper in the lane. A subsequent Maeve McCormick free throw narrowed the Hurricanes lead to 39-33.

Delage’s two treys sandwiched a three-pointer by Mount Vernon Christian’s Emily Van Hofwegen, bringing the Braves to within 42-39. When Jenkins meshed two free throws, La Conner trailed just 42-41.

After Brown and Maeve McCormick traded three-pointers, Van Hofwegen hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game—a corner trey that beat the third quarter buzzer for a 48-44 Mount Vernon Christian lead.

The Hurricanes clinched matters with a 13-10 finish in the final period. La Conner got no closer than 54-50 on a Maeve McCormick three-point play.

Crosby tipped his hat to the Hurricanes.

“They hit some big shots,” he conceded, “but they were in a position where they had to.”

Mounts paced the victors with 22 points. Brown also finished in double-figures with 15.

Maeve McCormick meshed a game-high 27 points. Jenkins (14), Delage (6), Nora McCormick (3), Villard (2), and Casey (2) joined the Braves’ point parade as well.

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

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