MOUNT VERNON — Tulalip Heritage had just four players score in Thursday’s 44-36 1B tri-district semifinal victory over Neah Bay.
It was enough for the win and the first time under head coach Tina Brown that the Hawks advanced this far in the tri-district tournament.
“This is the first year that we have actually got over the hump,” Brown said. “We won our league. We won districts and now we are going to be playing for tri-districts. It’s a huge deal.”
Both teams came out slow offensively. The Hawks held a 6-5 lead after one quarter and extended it to 16-11 by halftime. The offensive output for both teams increased in the second half. With the Hawks leading, Neah Bay put full-court pressure on the Hawks in an effort to cause turnovers. At first it worked, but behind Katia Brown, Adiya Jones and Kanoa Enick, the Hawks settled down and made their free throws late to seal the game.
“We panic when we get pressed as you can see,” Brown said. “As soon as we get pressed they panic for a good minute or two and throw the ball away and turn it over. Other than that, we will take a timeout and calm them down and they all have to want the ball and not run away from the ball.”
And just as Brown said, the players relaxed and handled the pressure late in the game.
Brown and Jones finished the game with 14 points. Enick added nine, including three 3s.
“It’s an inside-out game,” Tulalip Heritage assistant coach Cyrus Fryburg said. “You get a Katia Brown and a Kanoa Enick, they can shoot the outside shot, and then they have a big as big as Adiya Jones and you have to defend the inside and you have to defend the out.”
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on twitter @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
At Mount Vernon Christian H.S.
Neah Bay 5 6 13 12 — 36 Tulalip Heritage 6 10 16 12 — 44
Neah Bay—Hailey Greene 4, Holly Greene 10, Kaela Tyler 3, Cierra Moss 9, Faye Chartraw 8, Blaire Hill 2. Tulalip Heritage—Katia Brown 14, Adiya Jones 14, Cassandra Jimicum 0, Justice Vela 5, Michelle Iukes 0, Kanoa Enick 11, Wendy Jimicum 0. 3-point goals—Holly Greene 2, Tyler 1, Enick 3. Records—Neah Bay 11-2 overall, Tulalip Heritage 20-2.
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