in the Feb. 29, 2012 issue

Big news that didn't make it to print:

State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, announced last night that the State Senate's proposed budget includes $750,000 in bond funding to go towards the first phase of La Conner's boardwalk.

The first phase of 2,700-foot-long boardwalk along the town’s waterfront will connect Gilkey Square with the Palmer’s Restaurant building.

Next: The State House of Representatives, will consider this plan before a final budget makes its way to the governor's desk to be signed. (Our Reps are Barbara Bailey, 360-786-7914, and Norma Smith, 360-678-3604.)

 Photo by Bill Stokes

Look at the monster that washed up with high tide – La Conner’s Public Works crew had to work on Sunday using a backhoe and a loader to pull this huge stump from under the gangway at the town’s public boat launch off Sherman Street. When the tide went out, the walkway was high in the air, and in danger of being damaged.

Photo by Adrian Sharpe

This is "Brush Pile" one of 7 new sculptures in the La Conner's new Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, which will open on Saturday with a guided tour by Mayor Ramon Hayes and some of the artists starting at 11 a.m.  This wood sculpture, depicting giant artist’s brushes and a pen is on display near La Conner Town Hall and the town parking lot. Created from logs by artist,  Stephen Rock, the sculpture was installed on Monday by Rock and his brothers, who are loggers.

Smelt Derby drew fish and fishers

Young anglers didn't leave disappointed on Saturday. There were actually smelt in the channel  for the Rotary Club's 47th Annual Smelt Derby. For years the schools of the little silver fish have been elsewhere during the fishing derby. Though there weren't buckets full of them, there were enough to keep the fishing interesting.

Photo by Don Coyote

This happy fisher is Ashleigh Mason of Bayview

Photo by Don Coyote

Sporting fashionable fishing attire is Abigail Adams of Burlington

Photo by Don Coyote

Smelt weren't having much fun, though. They were stapled to cedar shingles to be measured as the La Conner Sea Scouts did the judging.

Photo by Don Coyote

New artist co-op opens at Pier 7

Writer Adrian Sharpe has the story on the brainstorm of Lisa Judy, granddaughter of the La Conner’s Pier 7 buildings owner, Jerry Blades, to open an artist's co-op in the historic building. Artists can share expenses and have gallery as well as work space. Here fabric and tattoo artist Akasya VerSoy, with her fur buddies Boodah and Chyna, stand outside the new co-op with Lisa.

From the police blotter:

6:43 p.m.: Auto yelling – Often, people will yell out their window as they drive by, but a man on Morris Street in La Conner decided to give car hollering a new twist. Intoxicated, the man stood in the roadway yelling at the traffic.

or how about this one...

9:37 a.m.: Squatter – A complaint was lodged about an unwanted lodger on Maple Avenue and Hill Street in La Conner. Deputies responded to a tip that a tent was set up on private property. The owner of the humble abode told officers that he had moved to the location after being evicted, but has since found four walls to call home and will remove his pop-up. No charges were filed.

Find all this and so much more in today's La Conner Weekly News, on sale in the usual places and in the quarter-eating red news stands. Or stop by our office and have a piece of chocolate with your paper.

Braves Sports, Feb. 29, 2012

Photo by Karla Reynolds

Braves to battle Colfax in state tourney

By Bill Reynolds

La Conner High Basketball Team head coach Scott Novak believes you've got to play the best to be the best.

That's why he slated tough non-league games during the holiday break at Adna and Toutle Lake, where the Braves earned a hard-fought split four hours from home.

Novak's scheduling now seems brilliant, in hindsight.

La Conner, 22-2, makes a seven-hour trip this week to Spokane, where the Braves will face one of the state's top 2B players in Colfax star Brandon Gfeller.

Gfeller, a versatile 6-3 guard, leads Colfax against La Conner in tomorrow's first round of the 2012 State 2B Boys' Basketball Tournament, with tipoff at the Spokane Arena set for 3:45 p.m.

Gfeller scored 18 points, three above his season average, in Colfax's recent 76-38 Regional romp past Oroville.

He also grabbed six rebounds and dished off five assists for the Bulldogs, whose 13-3 league record was good enough for second place in the Bi-County loop.

Brady Ellis led Colfax, 19-5 overall, with 20 points, while three-point specialist Kyle Johnson hit three straight first period treys to help bury Oroville early.

Novak considers Johnson, a 5-11 guard who averages 13 points per game, a consistent deep threat.

Colfax, which placed fifth at last year's State tourney, also returns 6-3 lunch bucket forward Justin Berarducci, who regularly scores 11 points per outing.

"He's a skilled, hard-nosed player," Novak says of Berarducci, who pretty much symbolizes head coach Reece Jenkin's Colfax roster.

Many, including Novak, compare Colfax's style to that of La Conner's.

"They're very similar to us," he said Sunday, following the WIAA tourney draw, "in that they are very guard oriented."

The Braves' three primary perimeter shooters – Landy James, Spencer Novak, and Mike Wilbur – all scored in double figures during La Conner's Regional triumph Friday over Mossyrock.

From the Braves' perspective, there should be few surprises at this year's tourney.

The field includes both Adna and Toutle Lake, whom La Conner played during the regular season, and Northwest Christian, winners of five of the past six State crowns.

Photo by Melissa Reynolds

Tradition trumps new State format; Braves enter elite eight

By Bill Reynolds

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

When the La Conner Braves in 1947 earned the first of their more than three dozen State Tournament berths, they featured a high scoring frontliner named Landy James.

Fast forward to 2012 and La Conner is again going to State and again will be led by Landy James – this time the namesake grandson of the iconic Hall of Fame coach for whom the Braves' gym is named.

The current James scored a game-high 22 points, including four straight perimeter treys, as La Conner, 22-2, advanced with a 67-60 Regional comeback win Friday in Mount Vernon over Mossyrock.

One thing that has changed is tomorrow's state tourney format.

An eight-team bracket has replaced the former four-day, 16-team tournament.

The Braves qualified for this year's elite eight by downing a club whose top player ironically bears the name of another storied La Conner hoops family.

Mossyrock's Riley Alvord recorded an impressive double-double – 14 points, 11 rebounds – including an offensive putback that gave the Vikings a seemingly safe 23-12 lead midway through the second period.

"Alvord is probably the best player in District Four," Braves' head coach Scott Novak acknowledged, "and Mossyrock is a really great team."

But, as things turned out, Mossyrock was not quite good enough to best a refocused La Conner squad coming off its poorest outing of the campaign, a double-digit Bi-District title loss to Bear Creek.

After a quiet opening frame, James helped trigger a 21-13 second quarter La Conner run that allowed the Braves to lead Mossyrock by four,  29-25, at the break

James hit three treys during the spurt, which was triggered by back-to-back acrobatic driving bank shots by La Conner point guard Mike Wilbur.

Wilbur, another third generation Braves' standout, was nothing short of sensational. He joined James in double-figure scoring, finishing with 19 tallies, and dished off three assists.

One of those was a pinpoint Wilbur pass to Sean Hulbert for the bucket that enabled La Conner to reclaim the first half lead at 24-23. 

Backcourt partner Spencer Novak added 17 points for the victors, including three treys---two coming in the decisive second half.

The Braves, who were stymied a week earlier by Bear Creek's length and double-teams out of an active two-three zone, rebounded with perhaps their finest outside shooting effort of the year.

La Conner drained 11 of 16 shots from beyond the three-point arc.

That allowed the shorter Braves to yield post-ups down low to Mossyrock, which found itself on the short end of three-for-two exchanges while trying to make up a deficit that reached 10 points (52-42) when Wilbur hit his last trey early in the final stanza.

As has become a recent pattern, Bobby Poulton, Sean Hulbert, and Jared Fohn emerged as unsung heroes for La Conner.

Poulton scored seven points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

He also erased Mossyrock's initial 2-0 lead, countering an Alvord jumper with a three-pointer that set the tone for La Conner's hot shooting the entire night.

"Bobby definitely does the blue collar work for us," said coach Novak, who also praised the work of Hulbert and Fohn inside against Mossyrock's bigger frontline. "We were undersized against Mossyrock, but our guys really battled."

The Braves also helped themselves at the charity stripe, converting 12 of 15 foul shots.

That was another factor helping La Conner offset Mossyrock's 35-24 edge on the boards.

But the number that ultimately mattered most Friday night was 39 – the amount of times in school history the Braves have now been part of the state tourney field.

Photo by Melissa Reynolds

Pe Ell pulls plug on Lady Braves' season

By Bill Reynolds

You couldn't blame the La Conner High Girls Basketball Team for being in a foul mood Saturday night.

First, they learned technical difficulties had nixed the previously scheduled webcast of their Regional Tournament contest five hours away in Longview.

Then, once the game got under way, La Conner couldn't seem to catch a break.

The Lady Braves were forced into 13 turnovers and earned just one trip to the free throw line in a tough, physical 45-31 elimination loss to Pe Ell, abruptly ending upset-minded La Conner's season with a fine 17-8 mark.

Pe Ell had come into the game having lost 48-46 to Adna (22-2), a club coached by La Conner alum Jeff Beasley and 48-40 victors over La Conner in a late December non-league test at James Gym.

La Conner was hopeful Saturday the Adna game had taken something out of the Lady Trojans.

It hadn't.

Pe Ell played aggressively on the defensive end, and a loosely called game worked in its favor.

The Lady Trojans held La Conner to 14 of 43 – 32 percent – shooting from the floor, and just three of 16 from beyond the three-point arc.

Katie McKnight, who led the Lady Braves with nine points, was one La Conner player who managed to break free of Pe Ell's defensive vise.

McKnight hit four of seven field goal attempts and meshed one of La Conner's three outside treys. 

Aubrey Stewart added eight points and 10 rebounds to continue her string of solid post-season outings for the Lady Braves.

Nikki Finley (5), Anna Cook (4), Kelley McClung (3), and Priscilla Ponce-Venegas (2) also landed in the La Conner scoring column.

Finley and McClung each drained three-pointers for the Lady Braves, while the versatile Ponce-Venegas was awarded the team's one and only foul shot attempt on the night.

Ponce-Venegas, McKnight, and Cook also dished off assists for La Conner – not an easy task as Pe Ell defenders were able to quickly seal off passing lanes.

Lady Braves' head coach Scott Novak, who had hoped to take two La Conner teams to State this week, consoled players and fans afterward.

Among those was his daughter, Katie, a freshman shooting guard among the deep nucleus of players returning next year for La Conner.

Coach Novak could, however, take solace in knowing the Braves' boys team had secured a State berth tomorrow, Thursday, at 3:45 p.m. in Spokane opposite the Colfax Bulldogs.

As for the La Conner girls, Novak knew beforehand their potential route to Spokane would be much tougher – and longer.

Both figuratively and literally.

"We knew going in," he conceded last week, "that it wasn't going to be an easy road as far as getting to State."

As a third seed to Regionals, the Lady Braves were sent Saturday to Longview. That meant the team had to bus Friday night, immediately after the boys' Regional win in Mount Vernon over Mossyrock, to the Centralia-Chehalis area in an attempt to cut down Saturday's travel time.

In the end, though, La Conner fans preferred focusing on how far the team had come since November in terms of its development.

The Lady Braves finished a surprising second in Northwest 1A/2B standings to Friday Harbor before enjoying its two-week playoff run.  

Breaking News!

Green light for La Conner boardwalk!

Official word came from Olympia last night:

Haugen announces proposed funding for major district projects

            OLYMPIA – The Senate’s proposed capital budget funds a number of projects of major importance to the 10^th Legislative District, Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen said today.

“These projects will improve our communities and at the same time provide jobs that are dearly in demand,” Haugen said. “They not only promise a better future for our community, they will provide real jobs and wages that our residents and our communities need today in these difficult economic times.”

One project preserves and opens to the public a 60-acre property owned by Seattle Pacific University on Whidbey Island...

...Another key project in the proposed budget provides for the first phase of a project to transform the La Conner waterfront with a 2,780-foot-long boardwalk that travels over existing structures, on uplands and across new areas over the water.

“This is a 30-year dream that wouldn’t have been possible without the work of Sen. Haugen, and it’s finally going to be realized,” said La Conner Mayor Ramon Hayes. “I’m at a loss for words almost. La Conner has been talking about the boardwalk for 30 years.”

“The commitment that Sen. Haugen has had over the years to the district and the Town of La Conner is just amazing,” Hayes said. “She has been a friend of La Conner, and we appreciate it.”

Hayes said the project will create family-wage paying jobs and boost tourism and the level of economic activity exponentially. “The folks of the town of La Conner also benefit in a huge way, gaining waterfront access, but this is first and foremost about jobs and economic activity.”

In contrast to the state’s operating budget, which uses tax revenues to fund the operation of state government, the capital budget uses bonds to pay for physical improvements to buildings, facilities and public lands.

in the Feb. 22, 2012 issue

Photo by Adrian Sharpe

Touching myth in stone and spirit

By Adrian Sharpe

Sculptor and La Conner resident, Tracy Powell has carved out a reputation for creating exquisite stone and wood sculptures. Inspired by mythology, Powell has created one-of-a-kind pieces that represent the universal themes of nature and spirituality.

 “I look for the universal things we all share,” said Powell when describing how he picks a myth to be embodied and etched into wood or rock. 

Photo by Kirsten Morse

Guerrilla Art -- A tree on the "dog beach" north of Pearle Jensen Road is turning into a sculpture, thanks to the sea and the creative hands of many passers by.

Moore Clark property to be artist housing?

     It doesn't seem too likely right now.
     But a concept to turn the 3-acre Moore Clark property in La Conner into an art center will be unveiled Saturday in a public meeting at the Garden Club from 1 to 3 p.m.
     Vetting the concept in public is part of the feasibility study for the development of low-income artist housing the town is working on with the non-profit group Artspace, which specializes in such developments.
     Read all about it in today's paper.

Saving up for the next dredging crisis

By the time the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers finally agreed to pony up $2.3 million to dredge the Swinomish Channel, a group of local people were already scrambling to come up with the money fund the dredging on their own.

In all, pledges totaling $650,000 came in from entities who stand the most to lose should silt accumulation in the channel make the waterway impossible for boaters to navigate. Even though the feds are stepping up this year, the money already pledged locally won’t necessarily go to other purposes.  The Port of Skagit has already determined that the $400,000 it pledged will go into maintenance fund for future dredging. 

Smelt Derby on Saturday

Starting at 8 a.m. with pancake breakfast at Maple Hall

Fishing derby with great prizes

Raffle with more great prizes, including $750 cash

Final raffle drawing around 3 p.m.

Hot dogs, hot drinks in the Bank of America parking lot

From the Police blotter:
9:57 a.m.: Burglary – A guest at a La Conner lodging establishment reported that earrings had been stolen from her room. She told deputies she had placed the earrings in a glass of water when she left the room. Upon her return, the glass and earrings were gone. The cleaning staff insisted they had not removed a glass of water with earrings in it, so the woman was going to go through her luggage just to make sure she hadn’t misplaced the earrings. Really!


Read Damski today -- The intrepid Zookeeper will probably have town in an uproar by tomorrow regardless of anyone's views on gay marriage.
And read Mickey's Nuggets for a surprising take on what is not considered underwear in Norway.
Jim's back this week, too, with shocking news: his birthplace was not preserved as an historical monument.

Read it all in today's paper. On sale in the usual spots or coming to a mailbox near you! 466-3315 to start delivery.

Braves Sports, Feb. 22, 2012

Photo by Amylynn Richards

Braves’ wrestlers compete at state

By Amylynn Richards

Among the 12 wrestlers from the NW 1B/2B league representing Skagit County at the WIAA State Championship, also known as the Mat Classic XXIV, five were from La Conner.

La Conner sent five wrestlers: Senior Nathan Parker, 285 pounds, junior William Zeimantz, 285 pounds, senior Cameron Wischhusen, 182 pounds,  Dalton Zavala, 160 pounds, and Jimmy Garcia, 138lbs.  Amber Drye and Todd Hoagland attended as alternates.  Darrington sent four wrestlers; Concrete sent three.

Wischhusen, Zavala and Garcia were the only wrestlers in the Braves’ league to make it past the second round; however all were eliminated in round three.

Zavala struggled to gain the upper hand during his match against Jon Walling of Kittitas, but took firm control in the final seconds of the match. “Five more seconds and he would have won that match,” said Coach Barry Harper, “If Dalton had time to hold him down for a 3-point near fall, he’d have won.”

Wischhusen and Garcia’s opponents,  Jon Walling of Kittitas and Levi Seylor of  Roosevelt Lake respectively went on to win third in their weight class.

The W.I.A.A. Mat Classic was comprised of six simultaneous wrestling tournaments : Girls; 1B/2B; 1A; 2A; 3A; and 4A.  Twenty-four mats were organized into six units; the W.I.A.A. estimates that approximately 1,400 athletes across fourteen possible weight-classes competed.  Of those athletes, 36 were in the  1B/2B league classification .

 “There is nowhere else in the country that has a state tournament that large,” says Coach Harper, “it’s pretty impressive; nothing else like it, that’s for sure.”

The Braves, now in their 9^th year competing in wrestling, did much better than expected competing against the region two athletes; the 2B league state-wide is divided into two regions. The Braves won the region one championship with a team score of 129. In region two, Warden won with 271 points, Reardon with 175 and Kittitas finished third with 139.

By the end of day one, La Conner was in 20th place, Concrete in 29^th, and Darrington in 31^st, by tournament end the Braves finished 24^th, Concrete 29^th; and Darrington 31^st.

“Our boys did really well,” said Coach Harper, “it’s a tough tournament. Those eastern Washington schools, for whatever reason, are really good, solid, tough wrestlers.” The Braves “gave everything they had, and I’m proud of them. We learned a lot…we’ll go into next season targeting on that state tournament.” 

Coach Harper wants elementary age athletes to consider wrestling with the Burlington Yellow Jackets, “I want to point a lot of La Conner kids that way – get them started early and get their skills developed. “ Harper has worked with the club in the past and is “impressed with how well the kids do that go there.”

Other Skagit County news of note: Burlington Mayor and Burlington-Edison coach Ed Bruntz was inducted to the Washington State Wrestlers Coaches Hall of Fame.

 Photo by Melissa Reynolds

Lady Braves become true road warriors

By Bill Reynolds

The La Conner High Lady Braves will travel five hours Saturday to see if a longer trip to Spokane is in their near future.

The Lady Braves tip off Saturday, Feb. 25 at 4 p.m. in Regional hoop action at Mark Morris High School in Longview after having won two of three Bi-District clashes this past week.

La Conner, 17-7,  sandwiched convincing wins over Crosspoint and league rival Concrete around a 42-37 setback to highly-regarded Bear Creek to clinch a No. 3 Regional seed.

The Longview berth was secured with a 50-28 weekend triumph at Chief Leschi over Crosspoint, a club La Conner had edged in its Bi-District opener.

The Lady Braves, who held a slim five-point lead at intermission, sealed the verdict with a 32-15 run over the final two periods.

"It was a great team effort," La Conner head coach Scott Novak said afterward. "We knew going in that it wasn't going to be an easy road as far as getting to State, but it's doable."

Katie McKnight paced a balanced Braves attack in the Crosspoint game.

McKnight scored a game-high 14 points, all but two coming in the decisive second half.

She also grabbed a pair of rebounds and matched teammate Nikki Finley with an outside trey.

Priscilla Ponce-Venegas, who hit La Conner's first two buckets, finished with eight points.

Kelley McClung, who filled the stat sheet with a fine all-around game, chipped in seven points.

McKnight, Ponce-Venegas, and McClung each drained outside treys for the victors.

Emily Anderson (6), Aubrey Stewart (5), Anna Cook (5), Finley (3), and Alyssa McCormick (2) rounded out La Conner's scoring.

The Lady Braves broke open what had been a close game with a 10-0 spurt to close the third period.

La Conner built momentum going into Saturday with a fine 42-20 defeat of Skagit County foe Concrete.

Due to the pre-determined nature of Bi-District brackets, the two Skagit teams found themselves squaring off at the Leschi arena, in Puyallup.

The travel seemed to impose a greater toll on Concrete.

The Lady Braves, who bolted to an early 8-0 lead, were even more dominant opening the second half.

La Conner went on a 17-2 rampage in the third frame, with Ponce-Venegas scoring every way imaginable.

She hit a driving scoop shot, converted a transition layup off a nice feed from Stewart, and hit a pair of mid-range jumpers – the second of which came as the third quarter buzzer sounded.

Ponce-Venegas led the Braves with a dozen tallies while also grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing off four assists.

Finley chipped in nine points, including a perimeter trey.

Cook (8), Stewart (4), McKnight (3), Carly Anderson (2), Emily Anderson (2), and McCormick (2) also reached the scoring column for La Conner.

Novak was pleased with how his club responded to a potential losers-out scenario, coming off a tough 42-37 mid-week Bi-District loss to Bear Creek.

"We battled hard," he said. "I was proud of how well the girls responded. We had our backs against the wall, and did a great job.

"I thought Nikki (Finley) did a great job running the team," he added, "and Aubrey (Stewart) was all over the floor."

Stewart, in fact, had hit a clutch jumper and free throw down the stretch to give La Conner a 31-30 lead in its earlier upset bid against Bear Creek.

But the Lady Grizzlies finished with a 12-6 run – most of those points coming at the charity stripe – to secure the victory.

Stewart scored eight points before fouling out. McKnight also tallied eight points to tie for team-high scoring honors.

Finley (7), Emily Anderson (6), Ponce-Venegas (4), McClung (2), and McCormick (2) likewise landed on the Braves point parade.

Ponce-Venegas saw only limited duty in the Bear Creek game due having sustained a concussion in the earlier Crosspoint clash.

But she and her La Conner teammates were definitely at full strength when the bracket shifted to Chief Leschi.

And the La Conner road warriors will need to be so again when they drive farther down I-5 to Longview.

Photo by Melissa Reynolds

Grizzlies edge Braves for Bi-District title

By Bill Reynolds

For one night, at least, Bear Creek was top banana among Northwest Bi-District boys' hoop teams.

And, unfortunately for La Conner fans, it wasn't limited to the guy dressed in garish yellow sitting in the Grizzlies' student section Saturday at Chief Leschi Gym.

Bear Creek, with its long and imposing front line, wore down La Conner, 21-2, in the second half to claim a 48-36 victory and Bi-District title, sending the Grizzlies to Mount Vernon Friday night as a No. 1 Regional seed.

The Braves, who suffered their first setback in nearly two months, also play 6 p.m.  Friday at Regionals in Mount Vernon, having garnered a Bi-District runner-up berth.

Bear Creek, which enjoyed a significant size advantage, broke open a tight contest with an 11-1 fourth period run marked by putbacks off the offensive glass and easy looks in the paint.

The Grizzlies also contained La Conner scoring leader Landy James, often double-teaming him along the baseline and at the elbow with a tight two-three zone.

After scoring the game's first bucket on an acrobatic alley-oop, James had very few good looks. He finished with nine points, about half his normal total.

Bear Creek defenders repeatedly swarmed to James like bees to honey.

It was imagery, however, quite opposite the sour and even tasteless chants of "air ball" from the Bear Creek crowd each time James touched the ball.

Spencer Novak led La Conner with 14 points, 11 coming during a third period flurry in which the Braves briefly tied the score at 35-35 on a rare four-point play.

Trailing 35-31 with a minute left in the frame, Novak meshed a deep trey and drew a foul on the play. His ensuing free throw knotted the count.

But that would be La Conner's high water mark.

The Braves would manage just a single tally – a Bobby Poulton charity toss – over the final nine minutes.

La Conner head coach Scott Novak took the glass-half-filled approach immediately following the game.

"The guys are a little down right now," he acknowledged. "They're stunned. But I reminded them that the last time they lost a game – at Adna over Christmas Break – they came back with one of their best games of the year and beat a really good Toutle Lake team."

Poulton was among the bright spots Saturday for La Conner.

He scored six points, grabbed nine rebounds, and tallied two assists.

"I thought Bobby played a real fine game," said Novak, "and Sean (Hulbert) did a good job battling their post."

Mike Wilbur (5) and Hulbert (2), who missed some time after being elbowed in the face on a non-call, rounded out La Conner's scoring.

The points were far more plentiful earlier in the week when the Braves routed Shoreline Christian 57-31 in their Bi-District opener.

James led eight La Conner scorers with 20 points.

The Braves spotted Shoreline an early 2-0 lead, then went on a quick 17-2 run capped by an old school three-point play by James.

The La Conner lead swelled to 35-12 at the break, allowing Novak to substitute freely.

Hulbert joined James in double digits for the Braves, scoring 10 points, doing most his damage in the lane.

Wilbur (8), Jared Fohn (6), Novak (5), Wil James (3), Poulton (3), and Cameron Sherman (2) contributed to a balanced La Conner attack.

La Conner shot over 50 per cent, 24 of 53, from the floor, and forced Shoreline Christian to commit 19 turnovers.

The Braves also enjoyed a 25-21 edge in rebounding.

That's the level of productivity La Conner hopes to reclaim Friday in Mount Vernon – and thus avoid slipping on any more banana peels.