They announced it as a “Manning Family reunion,” but the Bellingham girls basketball team’s game with visiting Edmonds-Woodway was much more fun for the southern relatives on Monday afternoon, Dec. 22.
Senior Avery Manning, assistant coach Jason Manning, and their Bayhawks lost, 66-33, to the Warriors and head coach Quinn Manning and assistant Matt Manning. That would be Avery’s Aunt Quinn and Uncle Matt.
“I really enjoy playing against my aunt’s team,” said Avery, who also had her grandmother and a couple of cousins in attendance. “It was exciting to have more people come to see me.”
And when they gather together for Christmas later, will there be any trash talking? “They’ll probably complain about the refs,” Avery said with a laugh. “And I’ll tell them, ‘You won!’ But I got my first and-one of the season.”
Avery’s three-point play gave Bellingham an early 5-2 lead, but that would be the Bayhawks’ high point against the Class 3A Warriors, who have now won eight of nine games. Edmonds-Woodway used its strength and athleticism to run off the next 16 points and would not relinquish its double-digit lead.
“This is the first time all year that we got outhustled,” said first-year coach Drew McFall, whose Bayhawks fell to 4-3 with the non-league loss. “If we don’t play hard enough, that stuff will happen. But we can learn from it. It’s a good opportunity to get better.”
With two-thirds of the season still to go, Bellingham only needs two more wins to match its best record in the past five seasons. But Edmonds-Woodway’s remarkably young lineup — the Warriors started four freshmen — wouldn’t let the Bayhawks get any momentum on Monday, especially on offense.
With their two leading scorers — junior Merritt Jensen and senior Mary Lockhart — double- and triple-teamed inside, Bellingham only managed 13 points by halftime.
A 15-point third quarter helped cut a big Edmonds-Woodway lead down to 12 with two minutes left in the period but the Warriors then scored eight straight to push the margin back to 20.
Leading Bellingham’s offensive charge was 5-foot-4 guard Lucy Holland, the left-hander with the longer ponytail of the two Holland twins. She hit all six of her free throws in the second quarter — Bellingham’s eight points in the period were all on free throws — and then made two of the Bayhawks’ five 3-pointers for a team-high 12 points.
Jensen managed 7 points — six coming in the big third period — despite being the focus of the Warriors’ defensive attention, and while Lockhart battled inside with the physical Warriors for 8 rebounds and sophomore Elise Holland directed the offense, no other Bayhawk managed more than three points.
Bellingham is off until next Monday afternoon, when the Bayhawks take on another big school, Class 4A Federal Way, in the first of their three games in the Trojan Storm Winter Classic at Meridian. But McFall made it clear that the non-league games during the holidays were not just for fun.
“I want to win games,” he said. “We want to show we’re not an easy team to beat. These are opportunities to get more wins.”
Edmonds-Woodway was led by the 20 points of freshman Zaniyah Jones. The Warriors’ second-leading scorer was senior Finley Wichers with 13 points, and if that name sounds familiar — speaking of family reunions — Finley is the niece of Nooksack Valley girls coach Shane Wichers, whose family was also in attendance.
Edmonds-Woodway 66, Bellingham 33
Edmonds-Woodway 16 14 18 18—66
Bellingham 5 8 15 5—33
Edmonds-Woodway: Kost 6, Hanson 3, Jones 20, Beckstrom, Wichers 13, Rothmier 3, Gill, Miller, Brennan 2, Leckie, Franks 11, Johnson 5, Wartelle, Faber, Rincon 3.
Bellingham: E. Holland 3, Ask 3, Manning 3, Borchert 2, L. Holland 12, Rogers, Lockhart 3, Jensen 7, Ferrier, Ashlock.
