Girls Wrestling
The Blaine girls wrestling team held its annual Blaine Blizzard tournament in the Borderite gymnasium on January 13. With temperatures across Whatcom County dipping into the single digits, it was apt that the weekend’s premier wrestling competition was dubbed “Blizzard.”
For the hosting Borderite girls wrestling program, it was a chance to show the home crowd what this team has been working toward since the schedule started in early December. Five out of eight Blaine wrestlers finished on the podium in the final home match of the season.
After a solid home showing against Sehome and Meridian on January 10 in the bag, the Borderites faced a 23-team field with standout days from wrestlers Makenna Lausier, London Fletcher, Claire Hume and captains Analicea Ordonez and Lucy Dahl.
Lausier won first place in the 100-pound weight class with a win by fall over Oak Harbor’s Julia Gonzalez. Senior captain Dahl also placed first in her weight division. Hume placed second, and Ordonez and Fletcher each placed third. For junior London Fletcher, it was her first ever podium finish.
“Sometimes home meets can be a challenge – a bit of a letdown,” head coach Damon Higgins said of his team’s performances in Blaine. “But they stepped up. They absolutely rose to the challenge. We put five people on the podium and we wrestled eight.”
The Borderites will now play out the final events of the season, first traveling to Lynden on Thursday, January 18. Girls wrestling will then travel to Othello – weather permitting – for the Lady Husky invitational, a two-day wrestling event on Friday, January 19 and Saturday, January 20.
Selections for sub-regional and regional tournaments that seed the state tournament will be announced early February, Higgins said.
Boys Basketball
The past week for the Borderites (4-11, 2-8 NWC) showed the gulf in talent between the few powerhouse teams at the top of the Northwest Conference standings, and those fighting for a final spot in district playoffs. The Borderites are stuck somewhere in between.
The week began with a 79-27 loss to a hosting Lynden Lions team that ranks at the tip-top of the conference standings (12-3, 10-0 NWC) and looks poised to make yet another deep state playoff run.
Lynden held Blaine to single-digit points in three of four quarters, and Blaine’s 27 points by the end of regulation were the lowest offensive output by the Borderites this season. But the Borderites were going up against a lights out Lynden defense that has allowed an average of just 35.1 points per game against NWC opponents this year, allowing conference opponents more than 40 points in just two games this season.
Offensive producers like Josiah Weeda and Noah Tavis scored 11 and 10 points respectively, with Tavis contributing nine rebounds and four assists on the night.
Not discouraged, the Borderites bounced right back the next game with a convincing 62-44 win over 1A basement-dwellers Mt. Baker (3-12, 1-9 NWC).
If the season ended today, the Borderites would earn the #4 seed and rematch against Mt. Baker in the first round of 1A District 1 playoffs. With just five games remaining in the regular season, the Borderites have a chance to leapfrog third-seed Nooksack Valley (8-6, 4-6 NWC) and earn a first-round bye, but expect district playoff rankings to stay relatively stable until playoffs begin in February.
The Borderites are scheduled to travel to face Burlington-Edison (7-8, 3-6 NWC 2A) on Friday, January 19 at 7:15 p.m. Blaine’s next home game is set for Monday, January 22 at 7:15 p.m. against Mt. Vernon (12-2, 8-1 NWC 3A).
Stats courtesy WhatcomHoops.com
Girls Basketball
Blaine girls basketball (7-8, 3-7 NWC) continues to scrap its way toward a .500 record, and – similar to the boys team – bounced back from a blowout loss to Lynden with a win against Mount Baker.
The Borderites were drubbed 61-17 at home by a scary-good Lynden Lions (14-1, 8-1 NWC) team that currently sits at third place in the NWC standings. The 44-point margin of victory wasn’t even close to Lynden’s largest blowout win so far this year – the Lions beat Sedro-Woolley 81-15 on December 22.
But the Borderites brushed off the loss and immediately went to work against Mount Baker (3-12, 0-8 NWC), winning a close one, 54-47 in Deming on January 15.
The Borderites didn’t own a lead until a Deja Dube 3-pointer put them up with just under two minutes in the first half, but Blaine’s defense seemed to solidify in the third quarter, allowing just seven points to the hosting Mountaineers, and leading the Borderites to a much-needed win.
Jordyn Vezzetti, yet again, led the Borderites on the offensive side with 21 points, while sisters Deja and Teia Dube combined for 21 points of their own (12 from senior Deja, 9 from freshman Teia).
Both teams seem to match up well with each other this season, and the two could face off again in the 1A District Playoffs that begin February 5.
With just five games left in the regular season, the Borderites are now the #3-seed for 1A playoffs. 1A juggernauts Nooksack Valley (15-1, 11-0 NWC) and Lynden Christian (10-5, 7-2 NWC) stand in the Borderites’ path to a state playoff bid, so hope for an upset win (or two) along the way.
Stats courtesy WhatcomHoops.com
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