Sehome overcame a slow start to win its opening-round game in the Class 2A District 1/2 girls basketball tournament, but Bellingham and Blaine found the going tougher and fell in loser-out games Wednesday, Feb. 12.
The Mariners defeated Northwest Conference rival Sedro-Woolley, 42-35, to advance into the quarterfinals and the double-elimination portion of the district tournament. Sehome will face Archbishop Murphy in Everett on Friday at 7 p.m.
Both the Red Raiders and Borderites were eliminated by higher-ranked teams Wednesday. Bellingham lost to Anacortes for the second time this season, 55-36, and the Borderites came up short against Cedarcrest, 64-24.
Whatcom County’s other entry in the district tournament, top-seed Lynden, goes into action Friday, hosting a quarterfinal contest against Anacortes at 7 p.m.
Mariners Finish Strong, Move Into Quarterfinals
It was a team effort for fifth-seed Sehome (14-7), which overcame a dismal four-point first quarter to eliminate 12th-seed Sedro-Woolley (5-16).
“We had a tough time putting the ball in the hoop,” said Sehome coach Anye Turner of the Mariners’ first-half struggles. “We had a better second half and were able to pull out the win.”
Leading the way offensively were junior guard Kaylee Wilson and sophomore wing Ava Lunny, who finished with 11 points each. Junior post Aspen Garrison added 7 points and sophomore guard Ava Collins had 6.
Things didn’t look good when Garrison, the team’s leading scorer, went out with a sprained ankle in the third period. There is no word yet how serious the injury is.
But Wilson and the two Ava’s picked up the slack on offense, and senior post Mikayla Wefer and senior wing Jessica Melvin were big on defense, helping hold the Cubs to only one field goal in the final period.
“Aspen went down in the third so we had to have everyone step up,” said Turner. “It was a team effort.”
The Mariners’ quarterfinal opponent, fourth-seed Archbishop Murphy, comes into the tournament 12-8.
Sehome 42, Sedro-Woolley 35
Sedro-Woolley 8 7 13 7—35
Sehome 4 12 14 12—42
Sedro-Woolley: Virata 2, Gahan 7, Jutte, Rutherford 4, Hynds 11, Friend 2, Peterson 9.
Sehome: Kaylee Wilson 11, Ava Lunny 11, Ava Collins 6, Frannie Fleming 2, Jessica Melvin 3, Mikayla Wefer 2, Aspen Garrison 7.
Borderites Can’t Keep Up With Cedarcrest
Turnovers and foul trouble did in Blaine (5-16), which came into the tournament as the 10th seed. After keeping within six of seventh-seed Cedarcrest (15-6) after one quarter, 19-13, the Borderites could only score 11 points over the final three periods.
Sophomore guard Krystin Kamrath led Blaine with 9 points, but the team’s top scorer, sophomore post Hailey Pike, only managed 5 points before fouling out.
“I want to thank the seniors for always coming with a great attitude and giving maximum effort,” said Blaine coach Ryan Pike of Cayla Bullard, Taylyn DePauw and Emma Mulryan.
“I told them that’s hard to do when things aren’t going right, and it shows that they have great character. Pushing through the hard stuff will get you far in life.”
Cedarcrest 64, Blaine 24
Blaine 13 4 4 3—24
Cedarcrest 19 13 16 16—64
Blaine: Kathryn McKinney, Hailey Pike 5, Cayla Bullard 3, Ethne Cooper 3, Taylyn DePauw 4, Emma Mulryan, Krystin Kamrath 9, Shaelyn Shields, Emery Snow, Celise Stowe, Madelyn Jakubauskas.
Cedarcrest: Katharine Townley 19, Sidra Griffin 4, Holly Williams 1, Madelyn Davidson 3, Ava LaPorte 2, Jaylin Yowell 11, Grace McKenzie 6, Ava Erhardt 4, Melanie Cammarano 4, Helena Van Ess 5, Rose Carlson 5.
Red Raiders’ Season Comes To End Against Seahawks
Bellingham (11-10) was only down by seven points and within striking distance going into the fourth quarter, but Anacortes (8-13) put together a 22-point final period to eliminate the Red Raiders from the tournament.
Only four Red Raiders got into the scoring column with sophomore guard Mazy Wright leading the way with 15 points. Junior forward Alexa Mee added 11 points, senior forward Amya Cook had 6 and junior guard Adi McKay had 4.
The Red Raiders had won three of their final four regular-season games to finished tied for ninth in the Northwest Conference with Anacortes, but the Seahawks earned the eighth-seed and home-court advantage by virtue of a three-point victory in December over the ninth-seeded Raiders.
Anacortes 55, Bellingham 36
Bellingham 7 11 8 10—36
Anacortes 11 9 13 22—55
Bellingham: Mazy Wright 15, Kristina Jovag, Ellie Wolverton, Kaycee French, Adi McKay 4, Amya Cook 6, Alexa Mee 11, Halle Jacobsen, Olivia Johnson.
CLASS 2A DISTRICT 1/2
Wednesday, Feb. 12
Cedarcrest 66, Blaine 24 (loser out)
Sehome 42, Sedro-Woolley 35 (loser out)
Anacortes 55, Bellingham 36 (loser out)
Sammamish 65, Mountlake Terrace 44 (loser out)
Friday, Feb. 14
#6 Sammamish at #3 Liberty, 7 p.m.
#7 Cedarcrest at #2 Burlington-Edison, 7 p.m.
#5 Sehome at #4 Archbishop Murphy, 7 p.m.
#8 Anacortes at #1 Lynden, 7 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 17
Semifinal at Mount Vernon HS
Semifinal at Mount Vernon HS
Consolation game at Mount Vernon Christian HS (loser out)
Consolation game at Mount Vernon Christian HS (loser out)
Wednesday, Feb. 19
Consolation game at Mount Vernon HS (loser out)
Consolation game at Mount Vernon HS (loser out)
Friday, Feb. 21
Consolation final at Mount Vernon HS (winner third, to regionals; loser out)
Championship final at Mount Vernon HS (winner first, loser second; both to regionals)
