Even after four days without practice due to snow, the Lummi Nation girls and boys basketball teams were in first-place form as they swept Tulalip Heritage at Marysville on Friday, Jan. 17.
Both the Blackhawks teams jumped out to big leads and then hung on in the fourth quarter in their first-place showdowns for the Northwest 1B League leads. The Lummi Nation girls won, 40-32, and the boys were victorious, 56-50.
For all the Northwest 1B League scores and standings, visit www.nwbathletics.com.
Girls
Lummi Nation 40, Tulalip Heritage 32
The Lady Blackhawks (8-5 overall, 7-1 in league) held the Hawks (6-6, 5-2) to 10 points in the first half and held a seemingly comfortable 34-21 lead to start the fourth quarter.
But Tulalip Heritage scored on a lay up and three-point play to close within seven before Lummi Nation could close out the win.
Junior guard Rian Green kept the Blackhawks in the game with four fourth-quarter points, including a big 3-pointer with about a minute and a half to go to seal the game for the Blackhawks.
Green led the team with 10 points, fellow junior Alayla Solomon had 8 points, and freshmen Raven Solomon and Aliesha Solomon added 8 and 7 points, respectively. But it was the team’s defense that made the difference, said coach Michael Wade.
“We jumped to an early lead behind great pressure defense from Aliesha Solomon, and we were able to get good looks in transition as a result,” said Wade, whose team now has swept the two-game series with their tribal rivals this season.
“And Alayla Solomon came up huge for us with six steals. I’m incredibly proud of how our team battled tonight.”
Boys
Lummi Nation 56, Tulalip Heritage 50
The Blackhawks (11-2, 8-0) faced a similar fight after Tulalip Heritage (7-3, 6-2) scraped its way back from a 13-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to close within three with less than a minute to go.
But the rally came up short thanks in part to Lummi Nation junior guard William Hetland, who scored 11 of the team’s 16 fourth-quarter points on three 3-pointers and two foul shots.
“I was just trying to make my baskets, be in rhythm,” said Hetland, who finished with 13 points. “I shot a lot and missed a lot, but I made them when it counted.”
Sophomore Duncan Toby led the Blackhawks with 17 points, sophomore Tyran Lane had 12, and senior Caleb Revey added 10.
“We gutted it out,” said coach Jerome Toby. “Not being able to practice because of the weather kind of showed tonight, but give Tulalip credit. They brought effort. They brought energy. We got out of here with a tough win.”
The Lummi Nation boys take on Taholah at home in a non-league game on Saturday, Jan. 18. The girls are next in action in a Northwest 1B League doubleheader with the boys at Orcas Christian on Wednesday, Jan. 22.
