The regular season is winding down, and the Borderites are preparing for the winter sports postseason to kick off.
Borderite girls basketball celebrated Senior Night, but couldn’t find a win against a Northwest Conference rival, boys basketball couldn’t pull out a close win against Mt. Vernon, and the girls bowling team earned another 1A/2A district championship.
Blaine girls bowling finished off another fantastic regular season with a 1A/2A District Championship victory on January 28, and were honored as 1A Academic State Champions on February 3 according to the Blaine School District.
The Borderites – led by senior Ainslee Ellis who placed second among individual bowlers with a score of 652 – won the meet at Riverside Lanes in Ferndale with 2,694 points over four games.
Ellis, along with Thora Engen and Nevaeh Zaddack, led the Borderites on the day, and will head to the state championships on February 9-10 at Bowlero in Tukwila.
Blaine girls basketball couldn’t keep up with the Ferndale Golden Eagles on January 29, losing 66-29 on the road on January 29.
The 3A Ferndale team was pesky on defense, forcing multiple turnovers and not allowing Blaine’s offense to get into any sort of rhythm.
After the road loss, the Borderites celebrated Senior Night with its final home game of the season against Mt. Vernon on February 2.
Seniors Olivia Tanjuaquio, Mesa Puls, Aaliyah Bowman, Brietta Sandell and Beatrice Dickson were honored pregame for their years of hard work and dedication to Borderites basketball.
The Borderites were hurt by Mt. Vernon’s stellar 3-point shooting, especially in the first quarter, where Mt. Vernon made five consecutive 3-pointers to open up the game. The second quarter was more of the same, with the hosts jumping out to a 31-12 lead by halftime that wouldn’t be relinquished.
Bowman, in her final regular season home game, again led the Borderites in scoring with 14. Bowman scored 12 of those 14 in the second half, where Blaine stuck with Mt. Vernon until the final buzzer.
The next night, Blaine traveled to face Bellingham, losing in a hotly-contested game, 38-31.
Junior Kate Koreski led the scoring for Blaine, tallying 16 points along with seven steals.
Blaine’s final regular season game is scheduled for Thursday, February 5 at 5:40 p.m. against Sedro-Woolley (after press time).
With Blaine (4-16, 1-10 NWC) locked in as the fifth seed in the 1A Northwest Conference standings, the team is scheduled to play in the opening round of the District 1 1A postseason tournament on Wednesday, February 11. The game will be on the road against either Mt. Baker or Meridian, whichever team finishes the season with a worse conference record.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
Despite a strong start that temporarily silenced the raucous Ferndale student section, the Borderites couldn’t upset its 3A conference rivals on January 29, losing 74-53.
The Borderites ended the first quarter down just a single point, and kept hanging with the Golden Eagles throughout the first half.
But Ferndale’s full court press defense ended up breaking Blaine’s offensive flow, handing the Borderites a tough loss.
On February 2, the Borderites shot extremely well from the field and from beyond the 3-point arc, but couldn’t come back from a 21-13 third quarter against Mt. Vernon, and lost 54-42.
Senior guard Milo Dahl came off the bench and lit up the score sheet, hitting his first four field goal attempts and leading the team with 13 points on the night. Senior forward Landon Melton had eight points and a team-high five assists, and junior center Angus Dickson recorded nine rebounds and four blocked shots.
Blaine also shot well from the free-throw line, making eight shots on eight opportunities.
The pair of losses dropped the Borderites to a 4-16 (2-12 NWC) record. With just one regular season game remaining, Blaine will likely face Mt. Baker at home on February 11 at 7 p.m. in the opening round of the District 1 1A postseason tournament.
Stats provided by whatcompreps.com
