2A/3A Girls District: Ferndale Advances, Bellingham Ousted

With their season on the line, the Ferndale girls basketball team did what it does best. And thanks to their frenetic defense, the Golden Eagles’ season will go on.

Ferndale shut down visiting Shorewood, 33-23, in a Class 3A District 1 loser-out, first-round playoff game on Wednesday, Feb. 8. With the win, the Golden Eagles advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament starting Friday.

In a Class 2A loser-out, first-round contest, the Bellingham girls got off to a terrible start and never recovered as they lost, 42-29, to visiting Cedarcrest on Wednesday.

NEXT UP: The Class 1B tournaments continue on Thursday and the 2A boys open their district play. The Lummi Nation girls play for third place at 4:30 p.m. and the boys play for the district championship at 8 p.m. Both games are at Mount Vernon Christian. In 2A action, Squalicum hosts Sedro-Woolley and Bellingham is at Archbishop Murphy in 7 p.m. loser-out contests. Check out Whatcom Hoops for all the action.

Class 3A

Ferndale 33, Shorewood 23

“We told them we need to do the things we do well,” said Ferndale coach Terri Yost, whose team improved to 12-9. “And if you don’t play good defense in our league, you don’t win.”

And Ferndale certainly plays good defense. Despite a starting lineup that averages barely 5-foot-6, the seventh-seeded Golden Eagles out rebounded the taller Stormrays and used their quickness to hold 10th-seed Shorewood to its lowest point total of the season.

“We’re pretty scrappy,” said senior guard Ashley Lang, who is one of the scrappiest. “We got the energy from the crowd. We came out on fire.”

She meant defensively, of course, because offensively … well, there wasn’t much fire for either team as the Stormrays, who finished the season 10-11, showed they could play some pretty good defense, too.

Lang led the Golden Eagles with 10 points, senior Madisyn Butenschoen had 9 points, and junior Maleah Singson had 7 points, but Ferndale still tied its record for lowest point total of the season.

But it didn’t matter as the Golden Eagles never let Shorewood hit more than two field goals in any quarter. And when the game was on the line in the final four minutes with Ferndale holding a tenuous 27-23 lead, the Golden Eagles didn’t just shut down the Stormrays … they shut them out.

Lang hit four free throws in the final 2:30 and Butenschoen put in a rebound and that was all the Golden Eagles needed to advance.

“It’s pretty surreal,” said Butenschoen of winning a playoff game with fellow seniors Lang, Ellie Ochoa, and Cailyn Kessen. “We’ve been looking forward to this. Now we get to play Stanwood in our comeback game.”

The Golden Eagles head down to Stanwood for a rematch with the second-seeded Spartans, who beat Ferndale earlier this season, 68-57. Friday’s quarterfinal game starts at 7 p.m.

“We played really good basketball tonight,” said Yost. “We had amazing energy, and we really wanted it. It was fun seeing them get a good win.”

And they’re not done, at least according to Lang.

“We get to play them again,” she said of Stanwood. “And we’re ready for it.”

Ferndale 33, Shorewood 23

Shorewood 4 7 7 5—23

Ferndale 6 8 10 9—33

Shorewood: Brandenstein 7, Glasser, K. Spadafora, Te 2, Peijs, Evans, 7 Gettmann 6,V. Spadafora, Trull, Emanuel 1.

Ferndale: Kessen 1, Fox 2, Ochoa, Mad. Butenschoen 9, Lang 10, Mal. Butenschoen 3, Singson 7, White 1.

DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT

Wednesday, Feb. 8

First round

#6 Snohomish 50, #11 Oak Harbor 27 (loser out)

#7 Ferndale 33, #10 Shorewood 23 (loser out)

#5 Meadowdale 43, #12 Shorecrest 27 (loser out)

#9 Monroe 56, #8 Mountlake Terrace 51 (loser out)

Friday, Feb. 10

Quarterfinals

Snohomish (14-7) at #3 Everett (14-6), 7 p.m.

Ferndale (12-9) at #2 Stanwood (17-3), 7 p.m.

Meadowdale (16-5) at #4 Lynnwood (14-5), 7 p.m.

Monroe (14-7) at #1 Arlington (17-2), 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 14

Consolation games

Quarterfinal losers, 7 p.m. (loser out)

Semifinals

At Marysville-Pilchuck

Quarterfinal winners, 5 p.m.

Quarterfinal winners, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 16

Consolation semifinals

At Everett Community College

Semifinal loser vs. consolation game winner, 5 p.m. (winner third, to state regionals)

Semifinal loser vs. consolation game winner, 7 p.m. (winner third, to state regionals)

Saturday, Feb. 18

At Everett Community College

Consolation final

Consolation semifinal losers, 2 p.m. (winner fifth, to state regional, loser out

Championship game

Semifinal winners, 6 p.m. (winner first, loser second, both to state regionals)

Class 2A

Cedarcrest 42, Bellingham 29

Eighth-seed Bellingham only managed two points in the opening quarter and could never make up the 14-point deficit.

“We picked a bad day to lay an egg,” said Bayhawks coach James Wolverton, whose team ended the year 5-16. “It ended up being a bad matchup for us.”

Wolverton praised the play of freshman Malia Hanks, who led the Bayhawks with 11 points. Junior Genevieve Blum had 6 points, and freshman Lilyauna Jude and senior Ellie Wolverton added 5 points each.

“We had two great practices and we really connected as a team this week,” said coach Wolverton. “So I’m disappointed. It’s hard to be done coaching this team and my daughter.”

Ninth-seeded Cedarcrest (4-17) moves on to the double-elimination portion of the district tournament and will visit top-seeded Lynden (17-4) on Friday at 7 p.m.

Cedarcrest 42, Bellingham 29

Cedarcrest 16 7 8 11—42

Bellingham 2 13 10 4—29

Cedarcrest: Rose 2, Mills 11, Gellner 6, Dice 11, Rogers 6, Plecher, Anderson 4.

Bellingham: Jude 5, Manning, Wolverton 5, Blum 6, Hanks 11, Lockhart 2, Hall, Hudson 1.

DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT

Play-in games

Wednesday, Feb. 8

#7 Lakewood 63, #10 Sedro-Woolley 20 (loser out)

#9 Cedarcrest 42, #8 Bellingham 29 (loser out)

First round

Friday, Feb. 10