La Conner girls win Summer State opener; MVC falls
Jun. 24—MOUNT VERNON — The La Conner High School girls' basketball team doubled up its opponent at Summer State, an eight-team tournament featuring some of the top small-school teams in the state.
Sarah Cook scored 24 points, Ellie Marble scored 13 and Rachel Cram added 11 as the Braves beat Toledo 65-30 on Wednesday at Mount Vernon Christian School.
"Even though we led by 17 at halftime, we needed to be more fundamentally sound on defense," La Conner coach Scott Novak said. "The girls did a good job tightening up the defense in the second half."
The Braves (13-1) will play Wahkiakum at 6 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals. Wahkiakum defeated Kettle Falls 63-31 on Wednesday.
Tri-Cities Prep Jaguars 51,
Mount Vernon Christian Hurricanes 34
MOUNT VERNON — Emma Droog scored 15 points for Mount Vernon Christian (11-3), but the higher-seeded Tri-Cities squad beat the Hurricanes in the opening round of the tournament.
"We were not ready for the length or pressure and missed from close range early on to dig into a 12-point hole. We prepped for the press but could not simulate the length and speed," Hurricanes coach Jeff Droog said. "That feeling-out period was costly in score and energy. We made some nice adjustments at the half which led to an even second half with a 10-point deficit until the final minute of play."
Jeff Droog said Kylee Russell had a solid game defending Tri-Cities Prep star — and Oregon State soccer recruit — McKenna Martinez.
He said Martinez got many of her game-high 18 points in transition.
Mount Vernon Christian will play Onalaska at 4 p.m. Thursday in the eight-team tournament. Onalaska fell 74-24 to Warden in a first-round game Wednesday.
— Reporter Trevor Pyle: 360-416-2156, tpyle@skagitpublishing.com, Twitter: @goskagit, Facebook.com/bytrevorpyle
