It took the Nooksack Valley girls basketball team three quarters to adapt, but once the Pioneers did it was enough to propel them past Burlington-Edison, 51-45, in a Northwest Conference game Thursday, Jan. 8.
“Good teams have to be adaptable and adjust, and we want to be a good team,” said Nooksack Valley coach Shane Wichers, whose squad improved to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play. “You just have to hang around and take advantage.”
For the first three periods the Pioneers were far from a good team. Mostly due to shooting that was colder than the n’easters coming down the valley, it looked like Tuesday’s 23-point loss to Sehome was carrying over against a Burlington squad that until this week was winless in the NWC.
After scoring just four points in the third quarter, Nooksack Valley trailed the scrappy Tigers, 29-27. But then came the fourth quarter … and Payton Bartl to the rescue.
With Nooksack down by three with two and a half minutes remaining, she hit a 3-pointer. Then she got a steal and fed fellow senior Grace DeHoog, who was fouled on a fastbreak. DeHoog made the first free throw but missed the second only to have Bartl rebound the miss and turn it into a three-point play.
When Burlington fought back to within two with just under a minute to go, the Tigers were forced to foul and, unfortunately for them, they fouled Bartl. Again and again. And she made her free throws … again and again.
She was one of two with 50 seconds to go, two of two with 30 seconds to go, two of two with 25 seconds to go, and two of two with nine seconds to go to ice the game. Add it up and the southpaw guard was 11 of 12 from the line for the game, nine of 10 in the fourth quarter, and seven of eight in the final 50 seconds.
“I just have to get in my routine and make it,” said Bartl after admitting she’s shot “a lot” of free throws in the Nooksack gym in her four-year career. “It wasn’t our best shooting game … but we picked it up at the end, got in a groove, and it gave us momentum.”
A big reason was the adjustment Wichers and his coaching staff made in the fourth quarter when they moved all-league post DeHoog from down low where she normally dominates to the free throw line.
“They were quadrupling Grace so we moved her to the high post to open up the lane,” said Wichers of the successful late-game strategy. “Better late than never.”
The move allowed Bartl to drive to the hoop and eventually finish with 20 points, 16 of them in the final period. She also had 4 assists and 3 steals. And despite being smothered by the shorter Tigers, DeHoog would finish with 15 points and 16 rebounds.
While there weren’t a lot of offensive stars for the Pioneers — especially when you shoot 23 percent for the game and miss 24 of your 28 3-point attempts — they did get quality minutes from others.
Junior Raegan Burke continued her solid play with 8 points and 6 rebounds, and sophomores Natileah Harmon (4 rebounds) and Lisette Flores (5 points and 3 assists) came off the bench to shine.
For Wichers, the victory was more important than just another addition to the win column, especially after Tuesday’s debacle at Sehome. “This was a big one,” he said of Thursday’s comeback. “We told them Tuesday’s game is over, and we just have to move on. We weathered it (Thursday) and didn’t freak out.”
Bartl agreed: “We’re still trying to find our groove, and we still need improving. But we’re gritty and know how to work hard. We’re getting there.”
The Pioneers will be tested again on Friday, when they visit King’s, last year’s Class 1A state runner-up. They return to NWC action on Monday, when they travel to Meridian. Burlington-Edison, which dropped to 3-8 overall and 1-4 in the NWC, hosts Oak Harbor next Tuesday.
Nooksack Valley 51, Burlington-Edison 45
Burlington-Edison 10 8 11 16—45
Nooksack Valley 13 10 4 24—51
Burlington-Edison: Lowell, Montiel 7, Weynands 13, Ray 4, Wyman, Smith 13, Rawlins, Lam 8.
Nooksack Valley: Flores 5, Bartl 20, Swaffield 2, Biondolillo, Harmon, Van Liew 1, Burke 8, DeHoog 15.
