The Ferndale girls and boys basketball teams ended their regular seasons the way they hope to start their postseasons — with dominating wins at home on Friday night, Feb. 7.
In the opening game of the doubleheader, the Ferndale girls first stole the spotlight on senior night and then stole almost everything else in shutting down Mount Baker, 56-23.
The Golden Eagles wrapped up their regular season with a record of 10-9 overall and 8-6 in the Northwest Conference. They figure to be a top-eight seed in the Class 3A district playoffs and should earn a first-round, loser-out home game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.
Mount Baker fell to 6-12 overall and 2-12 in the NWC. The Mounties finish their regular season at Mount Vernon on Saturday and regardless of the outcome will be the fourth seed in the 1A district playoffs. They will host Blaine on Monday at 5:15 p.m. in a loser-out play-in game.
Check out the previews for all the district playoffs at WhatcomHoops.com on Monday.
In the second game of Friday’s doubleheader, the Ferndale boys started slow, but once the Golden Eagles’ offense got rolling, they rolled over Mount Baker, 77-55.
With the win, Ferndale finished the regular season 10-9 overall and 8-6 in conference play. And like their girls, the Ferndale boys should be in the top eight seeds in the 3A district playoffs and earn a first-round, loser-out home game on Thursday at 7 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.
The Mounties, meanwhile, gets an early wakeup call and will play Mount Vernon on Saturday at 11 a.m. in their regular-season finale. After Friday’s loss, Mount Baker is 8-10 overall and 3-10 in the NWC and will be the fourth seed in the 1A district playoffs. The Mounties will host Blaine on Monday at 7 p.m. in a loser-out play-in game.
The Ferndale bench celebrates senior Olivia Smetana’s 3-pointer.
Ferndale Girls Steal Big Win From Mounties, 56-23
The Ferndale girls won for the fifth time in their last seven games by unleashing their quick-handed defense on the short-handed Mounties, holding Mount Baker to its third lowest point total of the season.
“Last Friday was the last time we were together,” Ferndale coach Terri Yost said of the week-long layoff because of the weather. “But I thought we played well. We do what we do best. You give 100 percent effort and 32 minutes of intense ball pressure.”
Providing the most pressure was sophomore Brooklyn Larrabee, who despite her constant smile was a nightmare for any Mountie with the ball. She had 11 steals, including nine in the first half when she helped the Golden Eagles turned a tie game into an 18-point lead, and caused another four turnovers.
The 5-foot-7 guard, who didn’t even turn out as a freshman, was still grinning after the game. “I’m always excited to go out there and give it my all,” she said. “I know I’m going to play my game, which is defense first.” And offense? She just shrugged, ignoring the fact that she also had 13 points Friday night.
Leading the Golden Eagles in scoring was junior Jilly Fox with 16 points. Junior Abby White and sophomore Kayla Lee had 9 points each with Lee making one of Ferndale’s two 3-pointers. The biggest cheer on senior night happened when senior Olivia Smetana made Ferndale’s other 3-pointer late in the third quarter.
A big reason Mount Baker struggled against Ferndale’s trapping defense was because the Mounties were again without two injured starters — freshman point guard Rian Harkness and 6-foot-2 sophomore center Rebeca Soares, one of the NWC’s best players.
“We started OK and we finished OK, but we’ve only been getting two good quarters,” said Mount Baker coach Tiffany Ramirez. “And without Harkness and Rebeca, we struggled. Rebeca is the anchor that holds them together.”
Junior Reace Brown led Mount Baker with 10 points, and the team’s lone senior, Faith Wilson, had 6 points, but the Mounties only managed eight points in the middle two quarters and trailed by 29 points going into the fourth period.
“They’re a good defensive team,” Ramirez said of the Golden Eagles, “but we got after it in the fourth quarter. It’s nice for us to see that we can do it against them.”
As for the upcoming playoffs, the Smiling Assassin was excited to play in her first postseason game.
“Our team is doing great,” said Larrabee. And are the Golden Eagles ready for the playoffs? “Very ready,” she said — with a smile, of course.
Ferndale 56, Mount Baker 23
Mount Baker 8 6 2 7—23
Ferndale 13 19 13 11—56
Mount Baker: Reeves 2, Brown 10, Wilson 6, Powell 1, Abitia 4, George, Frierott, Johnson.
Ferndale: Smetana 3, Larrabee 13, Gilday, Fox 16, Dawson, Washington 6, Jefferson, Vargas, Lee 9, White 9.
The Mounties had a hard time stopping Ferndale’s Jonah Brillowsky.
Ferndale Boys Warm Up, Burn Baker, 77-55
Despite not playing or practicing for four days this week because of snow cancellations, the Ferndale boys played one of their most complete games of the year in thumping the Mounties.
“Maybe we should take four days off more often,” joked Ferndale coach Luke DuChesne. “We told them our playoffs start now and waited to see how they would respond. When we play like that, we’re a good team.”
It took a while for both teams to warm up — the Golden Eagles led, 13-10, after the first quarter — but while the Mounties stayed cold in the second and third quarters, Ferndale put up 42 points and stretched their lead to 21 points.
Providing much of Ferndale’s offense were the Golden Eagles’ two big guns — senior Jonah Brillowsky and junior Mantaj Singh. Brillowsky had a team-high 19 points, including a pair of 3s, and Singh was dominate inside, scoring 12 of his 18 points in the second half.
“Jonah is playing like a senior should; he’s our leader,” said DuChesne. “And Mantaj is a beast among men. We challenged him … and he took it to heart.”
It was far from a two-man show, however, as seven other Golden Eagles got in the scoring column. Senior Tommy Mack came off the bench to score 12 points, senior Hunter Wills had 7 points, and junior Cooper Vincent and senior Tushraj Grewal had 6 points each.
The Mount Baker offense, meanwhile, didn’t get untracked until the Mounties put up a 21-point fourth quarter, but by then they were looking at a 20-point deficit.
“We played at the start and at the end,” said Mount Baker coach Tony Clark. “But we gave up too many second-chance points. They’re quite big … there’s not too many 1A schools that are that big.”
With a front line averaging 6-foot-5, the Golden Eagles did dominate the boards, but the Mounties kept within striking distance until late in the third quarter when Singh hit two putbacks and a free throw, and Brillowsky and Mack hit back-to-back 3s to stretch the Ferndale lead to 19.
Mount Baker senior Darius Gilstrap did his best to keep the game close. The 6-foot-2 wing had a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds, with 14 of his points and two of his three 3-pointers coming in the second half.
“Darius played awesome,” said Clark. “His motor never stops and guys feed off his energy.”
Senior Luke Coles continued his stellar play by battling inside against the taller Golden Eagles and finishing with 10 points. Senior Luke Smith had 7 points but no other Mountie had more than four points.
The Golden Eagles now have six more days before hosting their playoff game, and they are looking forward to continuing their hot play.
“This was a great game heading into district,” said Brillowsky, one of five Ferndale seniors who have been waiting for their chance. “We’re looking to make a run (in the playoffs), and we have the guys to do it.”
Ferndale 77, Mount Baker 55
Mount Baker 10 12 12 21—55
Ferndale 13 20 22 22—77
Mount Baker: L. Smith 7, Gilstrap 21, Bailey 2, G. Smith 1, Lukes 10, Abitia 3, Hill 2, Craven 2, Reardon 4, Ross 3, Scott.
Ferndale: Singh 18, Brillowsky 19, Wills 7, Vincent 6, Thomas 2, Terry 2, Mack 12, Grewal 6, Dhillon 5.
