Varsity basketball headed to districts

by Cienna Richardson

Orcas High School

The girls’ varsity basketball team played Granite Falls on Jan, 13 and La Conner on Jan. 23, losing 15-48 and 50-25.

“Well for Granite Falls I’d say we really had to work on our turnovers, that’s kinda what got us, and for La Conner I’d say we could win next time but they’re definitely a tough team,” said sophomore starter Charlotte Winter Lamphere.

On Jan. 26, the girls played Concrete, which resulted in a 46-35 win. The Player of the Game was given to sophomore starter Sofia Mahony-Jauregui who scored 17 points.

“Everyone did such a good job against concrete, the last time we played we lost by a lot but we won this time! I’m proud of everyone that just kept fighting all through the game. Concrete is a good team for us to play since we are so young but I love them all and happy we worked so well together,” said Mahony-Jauregui.

Lamphere hit two three-pointers during the game.

“We played very good defense and kept it up till the last quarter,” said sophomore starter Abril Perez Dominguez. “There were shots that didn’t go in for us but we also had amazing shots! concrete is a very physical team but we managed to get around them and pull through and do what we know best. We all pushed through all four quarters and the team did great overall.”

The boys’ varsity basketball team also played Granite Falls on Jan. 13 and La Conner on Jan. 23, losing 59-77 and 69-77. They came back strong against Concrete, with a winning score of 78-39. Senior starter Jefferson Freeman got Player of The Game with 24 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals.

“I’m super happy with our game last night. I had a big game but it’s a team sport so credit goes to everyone. We played some really good basketball and I got rewarded. It was really good to finally get a win for all the effort we’ve been putting in and I love that momentum going into the Friday Harbor game,” said Freeman.

Sam Sutton, Forest Frausto, Remy Lago, and Tim Malo all scored three-pointers.

“It was great to see the team play well together no matter who was on the floor and bring home the win against Concrete after a few tough losses. I know this energy will carry on to get the final regular season win against Friday harbor on Tuesday,” said Frausto, a junior.

Both teams are heading to the district playoffs. The girls go on Feb. 1 and the boys are playing on either Feb. 1 or 3. Boys stand at 7-10 and girls at 4-12. The boys are 4th in the league and the girls are 6th.

“I love the playoffs! I love how the underdog teams can upset the higher-ranked teams! It’s always fun to see that,” said Ed Lago, boys varsity coach. “We have a very good team. We need to cut our turnover numbers to less than 10 per game. We have a lot to work on still. But I do feel we are at the cusp of jelling together as a team. We have some talented players and they are peaking at the right time of the season.”

Haley Winchell, girls varsity coach, says the team is “completely different” than at the start of the season.

“I’m excited to both face some different teams and get a rematch against some teams we played earlier in the season. The girls have developed immensely as individual athletes this year. Our defense is fierce and solid in many ways. If we are able to lean into each other as a team and connect what we are able to do physically with what we want to do mentally our offense might just come together!” she said.

Special thanks to Isaac Figueroa for all the player and game information.