The winter sports season marches on, and playoff seeding is slowly coming into focus.
This past week, Blaine boys basketball struggled against Northwest Conference rivals, girls basketball couldn’t start a winning streak on the road, boys wrestling dropped a tough battle against rival Mt. Baker, and a few girls wrestlers made it deep in the Lady Knights Invitational tournament.
Blaine boys basketball faced a tough trio of opponents over the past week, losing three games to extend the team’s losing streak to seven games.
On January 22, the Borderites headed on the road to face a high-powered Lynden team, losing 77-34.
The first-place 2A Northwest Conference team played like it, with Lynden holding Blaine to just two points through the first quarter. Blaine’s guards still had a productive night, with senior point guard Kai Kerwin finishing with eight points and six assists, and senior shooting guard Daniel Banks leading the team with nine points.
Against non-conference opponent Orcas Island on January 24, the Borderites took the game down to the wire. Despite falling to a 61-41 deficit to begin the fourth quarter, the Borderites sparked a comeback, outscoring Orcas Island 22-13 in the final period.
But it wasn’t enough, as the hosts did just enough to preserve the win. Three Borderites, senior forward Landon Melton, junior forward Peyton Bouma and Banks, each scored 10 points.
Hosting against Lakewood on Senior Night on January 27, Blaine couldn’t keep up with the 3-pointers from Lakewood.
Lakewood jumped out to a 19-4 lead after the end of the first quarter thanks to a few forced turnovers and plenty of made 3-pointers. By the end of the night, Lakewood forced 22 turnovers and made 12 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.
The loss dropped Blaine to a 4-14 (2-10 NWC) record with three games remaining in the regular season schedule.
Blaine’s next game is scheduled for Thursday, January 29 at 7:15 p.m. (after press time) at Ferndale. The Borderites then travel to face Mt. Vernon on Monday, February 2 at 7:15 p.m.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
Blaine girls basketball played just one game over the past week, a 68-35 loss to Lakewood on January 27.
Despite strong offensive performances from junior forward Kate Koreski – team-high 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting – and senior forward Aaliyah Bowman – 10-point, 11-rebound double-double – the Borderites couldn’t hang with Lakewood after a lopsided second quarter.
The Borderites were pestering Lakewood in the first quarter, and headed into the second period with just a four-point deficit. But Lakewood went on a 22-4 run to end the first half, and Blaine couldn’t mount a second half comeback.
Freshman forward Hailey Kruse had a solid performance, scoring seven points and collecting 10 rebounds. Senior guard Brietta Sandell nabbed three steals and junior guard Marcella Bring tallied four assists.
The loss dropped the Borderites to a 4-13 (1-8 NWC) record with just four games remaining in the regular season.
Blaine will play Thursday, January 29 at Ferndale, tipoff at 5:45 p.m. (after press time), then celebrate Senior Night with a Monday, February 2 home game against Mt. Vernon, tipoff at 6 p.m.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
Blaine boys wrestling travelled to face Northwest Conference rivals Mt. Baker for a classic team duel on January 22, with the Borderites narrowly losing 46-34.
Cole Voigt earned a win over Henry Brown by a 14-2 major decision. Vinnie Saia followed that up with a win by fall over Elijah Knutsen in just 55 seconds.
Aidyn Hancock defeated Isaac DeKriek by fall in a time of 4:12, but that would be Blaine’s last individual win of the duel, with Mt. Baker winning the next six matchups.
Blaine would get six points in the final round thanks to a heavyweight forfeit against Avery Hicks, but Blaine ultimately couldn’t overcome the losses from the 144- to 215-pound divisions.
Blaine will compete in the King of the Valley tournament at Nooksack Valley on Saturday, January 31 at 10 a.m., facing off against Northwest Conference rivals Sehome and Nooksack Valley.
Results provided by trackwrestling.com
Blaine girls wrestling had a good day on the mat at the Lady Knights Invitational in Arlington on January 24.
While no Borderite earned an outright first place finish in their respective weight class, multiple Blaine athletes showed great effort.
Lyah Sandell won three consolation rounds after falling out of the fifth-place match. She beat two wrestlers by fall and one by forfeit.
Kiera O’Reilly made it to the semifinal round in her weight division, but lost by fall before forfeiting the third-place match. O’Reilly won three matches on the day: two by fall and one by major decision.
Taylor Estes earned a third-place finish in her weight class, defeating Borderite teammate Kieley Galloway by fall in 2:18.
Blaine will participate in the Lady Hawk Invitational on January 31 at Mountlake Terrace.
Results provided by trackwrestling.com
