Category: Sports
Lady Hawks edge Mt. Vernon Christian for District 1B title
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks (19-0) finished the regular undefeated and earned the top seed in the District 1B girls basketball tournament. They traveled to Mt. Vernon Christian to take on the local Hurricanes (13-8) on Friday, February 5.
For the Lady Hawks, this would be their first game against stiffer competition. During the regular season the Lady Hawks completely destroyed team after team within their league. In fact, they averaged 61 points on offense while holding their opponents to only 29 points, giving the Lady Hawks an average margin of victory a whopping 32 points. That’s a very impressive margin for any team, but now that the District and Tri-District tournaments are here, they bring much better teams and a level of competition we haven’t seen all season.
In the 1st half, it was just as expected in terms of increased competition. The Hurricanes gave the Lady Hawks everything they could handle and then some. The Lady Hawks, not used to be being pressed, struggled to get the ball up court at times. To adjust, coach Fryberg had Adiya run point and bring the ball up herself. That worked as she was able to dribble through the Hurricanes defense and initiated the offense. Adiya scored 9 points in the half and assisted on both baskets scored by Cyena and Desirae.
On defense, the Lady Hawks seemed to be a step behind the Hurricanes and were called on a lot of passes for blocking or contact. This put Aliya, Cyena, and Adiya all in foul trouble in the early going, which further hindered their routinely potent offense. At half time the Lady Hawks were in the unfamiliar position of trailing 13-18.
Coming out of half time, the Lady Hawks regrouped and found their groove. They sped up the tempo and played like we are accustomed to seeing on both sides of the ball. They won the 3rd quarter 17-4 and take a 30-22 lead into the final quarter.
Midway through the 4th quarter the Lady Hawks led 37-30 and looked like they would run away with the victory, but the Hurricanes had other ideas. The pressure defense put on by the Hurricanes, like in the 1st half, made it very difficult for the Lady Hawks to run their typical offense and forced a couple critical turnovers. Then with 1:51 left in the game, the Hurricanes hit a 3-pointer to cap off an 8-0 run and take a 38-37 lead. All the pressure was on the Lady Hawks.
With 1:10 to go, coach Fryberg called a timeout and drew up a play. Whatever it was worked, as Adiya took all the attention from three Hurricanes players, the ball ended up in the hands of Aliya with an open lane and she scored a running left hander. The Lady Hawks now led 39-38 with under a minute to go. The defense did the rest, as the Hurricanes were unable to get a quality shot off and the Lady Hawks secured their win to claim the District 1B title. With the victory the Lady Hawks now enter the Tri-District tournament as a #1 seed.
Contact Micheal Rios: mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
Robert’s 35 points not enough in 57-67 loss
Photo/Micheal Rios
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The Hawks (13-8) traveled to Lummi High School on Saturday, February 6, to take on the Mt. Vernon Christian Hurricanes (10-11) in a second round game of the District 1B boys basketball tournament.
Unfortunately, it only took three minutes of game time to see the Hawks were in deep trouble. With 4:50 remaining in the 1st quarter, seniors Willy Enick and Robert Miles collided at mid-court. Both players were attempting to pick off a long outlet pass and had their eyes on the ball, which led them running full speed into each other. Both players fell to the floor and the unintentional collision led to Willy suffering a laceration to his lip. Unable to get the bleeding under control, Willy was helped off the court, taken to get stitches, and unable to return to the game.
Without Willy, the bulk of the Hawks offense and playmaking went onto Rob’s shoulders. It took a while for Rob to find his offense, as he started the game shooting 1-7 from the field. In the final two minutes of the 1st half he was able to score a quick 9 points, giving him 13 at halftime with his team trailing 24-31.
In the 2nd half, the Hawks gave a good fight, but their lack of interior size and rebounding gave the Hurricanes many offensive rebounds and extra possessions. Rob continued to do what he could on offense, even putting on a one man show by scoring 22 points in the 2nd half. Josh Iukes chipped in 7 points down the stretch, but it wasn’t enough to overcome all the point blank shots and layups the Hurricanes continued to get.
When the game ended, Rob led all scorers with a season best 35 points, but the Hawks would take the loss 57-67. The Hawks have a few games off before their play-in game to the Tri-District Tournament and the hope is Willy will be able to play in that game. The Hawks need all the playmaking they can get in order to advance and keep their season alive.
Contact Micheal Rios: mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
Willy’s 34 points lead Hawks to blowout victory, 76-55
Photo/Micheal Rios
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The Tulalip Heritage Hawks basketball team finished the regular season with a 12-8 overall record, 11-4 within the league. That was good enough for the Hawks to qualify as a #2 seed in the 2016 District 1B boys basketball tournament. Their opening round opponent was the Shoreline Christian Chargers. The game was played on Friday, February 5, at Shoreline High School.
In the 1st quarter, both teams went bucket-for-bucket almost the entire quarter before the Hawks closed out on a small run that gave them a 21-17 lead.
The 2nd quarter saw seniors Willy Enick and Robert Miles play a very effect two-man game, leading to high percentage shots for the Hawks. The Hawks played a near flawless 1st half, only committing four turnovers, and took advantage of their quality shots to take a 40-30 halftime lead.
At halftime the Hawks coaching staff commended the boys on their overall effort and commitment to playing smart basketball. The only bit of constructive criticism was the team wasn’t boxing out and that if they focused on that the Hawks would take the game easily.
Starting the 3rd quarter, the Hawks focused in on their team rebounding and boxing out. It made a huge difference as they were able to limit the amount of Charger possessions and push the tempo, the way the Hawks like it. Willy continued his impressive shooting, as he caught fire to the tune of making five shots in a row before finally missing on a long 3-point attempt. In the end, Willy led all scorers with 34 points and a season high 10 assists, while Robert had 17 points and 12 rebounds to secure a first round victory, 76-55.
Contact Micheal Rios: mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
Lady Hawks finish regular season undefeated
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks basketball team was 16-0 with three regular season games remaining on our last check-in. Let’s recap those final three games.
On Tuesday, January 26, the girls traveled to Eastsound, WA to take on the Orcas Christian Saints. The Lady Hawks made quick work of the one-win Saints, winning 65-22.
Then on Friday, January 29, we welcomed the Grace Academy Eagles to our gym. It was a game the Lady Hawks had been preparing for, as the 2nd place Grace Academy are the only team in the Northwest 1B league who have given us a competitive game all season. This game also had significant meaning for senior Adiya Jones, as there were several college scouts and coaches in attendance to watch her performance versus a competitive program.
In the 1st quarter, the Lady Hawks came out primed for another blowout. They pounded the ball in the post and were able to convert on several shots at the rim, while making it very difficult for the Eagles to get quality shots up. At the end of the quarter the Lady Hawks led 18-8. But then the game tightened up. The Eagles went on an 8-0 to start the 2nd quarter, cutting the Lady Hawks lead to only 2 points, 18-16. Coach Bubba Fryberg called a timeout to get his team refocused on the game plan. From that point, the game turned into a typical Lady Hawks beat down.
A 15-4 run to close the 2nd quarter gave the Lady Hawks a 33-20 halftime lead. The entire 2nd half saw the Lady Hawks turn loose on offense and go to a whole new level defensively. It seemed liked nearly every Grace Academy pass was either stolen or deflected, to the point the Eagles looked completely out of sorts on offense. The Lady Hawks led 55-26 going into the 4th quarter. What was once only a 2 point game midway through the 2nd quarter turned into a 71-30 blowout victory for the 1st place Lady Hawks.
Adiya Jones, fully aware of the college scouts and coaches in the building, upped her game and had a game for the ages. She had a career high 18 steals, which is very impressive in its own right, but it gets even better. Adiya finished with her first ever quadruple-double stat line of 22 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, and 18 steals. For those who follow the NBA, there have been only five players in league history to ever achieve the super rare quadruple-double, the latest one being achieved by David Robinson back in 1994.
After the blowout victory over Grace Academy, the Lady Hawks were 18-0 and only had one final regular season game remaining. On Monday, February 1, the Lady Hawks hosted the Highland Christian Knights. This game doubled as Senior Night for senior players Kaenishia Herrera, Adiya Jones, Michelle Iukes, and Desirae Williams. Cheered on by their families and friends, the Lady Hawks went on to win 52-23 and finish the regular season undefeated at 19-0.
Next up for the Lady Hawks is the District 1B basketball tournament, where they will be going in as the #1 overall seed.
Hawks End Regular Season on a Winning Streak
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
On Tuesday, January 26, the Heritage Hawks traveled to Eastsound, WA to play the league’s 1st place team, the Orcas Christian Saints. It was a big game for the Hawks, who were looking for a statement win after losing their previous two matchups vs. the Saints. It was a highly competitive game from the opening tip, but just like the last two matchups the game would slip away from Hawks down the stretch. Saints point guard and leading scorer Michael Harris continued to give the Hawks’ defense matchup problems and made timely plays for his team. The Hawks would lose 58-71 and fall to 0-3 vs. the league’s best team.
The Hawks bounced back in a big way when they hosted the winless Grace Academy Eagles on Friday, January 29. From the very beginning onlookers knew it was going to be a blowout, as the Hawks executed flawlessly on both ends of the court. At halftime the Hawks held their largest lead of the season, 46-2. In the 2nd half, with such a massive lead, the coaching staff pulled their starters and let the reserves get in a lengthy run. The Hawks finished the game with a 58-18 win. They were led by Josh Iukes and Samuel Fryberg in scoring, both had 13 points.
On Monday, February 1, the Hawks held their final regular season game at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasiums when they took on Providence Classical Christian. The Hawks had beaten Providence by at least 20 points in their previous two matchups. This would be no different. Willy Enick led all scorers with 18 points, as his Hawks won easily, 66-35.
After starting the season off with a 1-5 record, the Hawks finished the season strong by winning 11 of their final 14 games. Now, with a 12-8 overall record (11-4 in their league) the Hawks have earned a top 3 seed in the upcoming District 1B tournament.
Lady Hawks still undefeated, rise to #3 in AP’s state rankings
Photo/Micheal Rios
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
Here are the facts. The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks sit atop the Northwest 1B league with a 16-0 record (12-0 within their league). The Lady Hawks score an average of 60.2 points per game, while holding their opponents to an average of 30.7 points per game. They win their games by an average margin of 29.5 or basically 30 points per game. The starters usually don’t play into the 4th quarter of games because there is no reason to when the victory is all but assured. The Lady Hawks are dominant.
Because of their dominance this season, they’ve been climbing up the Associated Press’s Girls State Basketball Poll. In the latest edition of the weekly poll, the Lady Hawks are ranked #3 in the state for all 1B programs.
Over their last handful of games, opposing defenses have completely sold out to try and take senior stand out Adiya Jones out of games. In some instances, teams have doubled and even tripled teamed her off the ball. For those who don’t know, this means teams are choosing to leave one or two other Lady Hawks wide open so they can minimize Adiya’s scoring. This strategy employed by opposing teams has only helped to speed up the development of Adiya’s teammates. In particular, Aliya Jones and Keryn Parks have benefited from the open driving lanes and uncontested jumpers. As they continue to grow and develop, the Lady Hawks are able to get more and more creative with their offensive sets.
At their current rate, it’s a foregone conclusion the Lady Hawks will win their final three regular season games and go into the 1B District tournament as the #1 overall seed. Only one time this whole season have the Tulalip girls even been giving a competitive game (a 5 point victory at Neah Bay back on December 21). It’s likely they won’t see another competitive game until the Tri-District tournament. So what are the girls to do until then? Continue to practice to get better and remain dominant.
Contact Micheal Rios, mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
Heritage Hawks, from 1-5 to 10-7, eyeing District playoffs
Photo/Micheal Rios
By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
Back on Monday, December 27, the Heritage Hawks were coming off an 18 point loss to the hands of Neah Bay. The loss dropped them to 1-5 on the season and near the bottom of the Northwest 1B league standings, only one win better than winless Grace Academy. The outlook was bleak, as the Hawks had graduated four of their senior starters from last season, and this present team resembled nothing near the squad that went to the Tri-District tournament last February.
Fast forward a month and nearly everything has changed. The wins came in waves; first a was a four-game win streak with victories over Lummi, Rainer Christian, Lopez Island, and Lummi a second time. The momentum was stopped cold on Monday, January 11, with a lopsided home defeat to the then undefeated Orcas Christian. In that loss, the Hawks scored a meager 33 points, which the lowest a Tulalip team has scored in over five years. However, the Hawks didn’t allow the sting of that loss to linger as they quickly got back to their winning ways.
First up was an away game vs. Grace Academy on Wednesday, January 13. The Hawks made quick work of Grace, who remains winless on the season, by running away with the game early. The final score was 58-22.
Next up was another away game, as the Hawks traveled to Redmond to take on Providence Classical Christian. The Hawks took a large lead early, but had a defensive letdown in the 2nd quarter, allowing Providence to cut into their lead. At half time the Hawks led by only 4 points, 26-22. After reengaging defensibly, the Hawks were able to force turnover after turnover and convert easy transition buckets. Josh Iukes scored 14 points, Willy Enick had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Robert Miles had his first triple-double of the season with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. The Hawks won 61-40.
The third game of their road trip was against Lopez Island on Tuesday, January 19. After trailing 11-12 going in the 2nd quarter, the Hawks were struggling to find their offensive rhythm. That is until Josh Iukes took the reins and had his best game of the season by far. Josh finished the game scoring a game high and season high 27 points, but most importantly led his team to a 50-37 victory.
Photo/Micheal Rios
After going 3-0 on their road trip, the Hawks came back home on Thursday, January 21, to host Providence Classical Christian. There would be no defensive letdowns this time around vs. Providence, as the Hawks took a 16-6 1st quarter lead that turned into a 35-17 lead at halftime. The Hawks would go onto to win 64-38, stretching their winning streak to four games. Robert Miles led all scorers with 20 points, while Willy Enick and Josh Iukes both chipped in 15 points.
For the second time this season the Hawks were riding a four-game winning streak into a big time matchup. This time around it was against Lummi Nation, played at home on Friday, January 22. After winning their first two games vs. Lummi the Hawks were confident they could win again, but were a little on edge as Lummi had just beaten the previously undefeated Orcas Christian only days earlier.
The game started out competitive. The Hawks trailed 7-11 after the 1st quarter, and with only two minutes to go to halftime it was a three-point game, 14-17. To this point the Hawks had pretty much matched Lummi in terms of effort and hustle. Both teams defensive was making it difficult to find easy shots. Then Lummi went on a run. They closed the half on a 2-7 run, leaving the Hawks trailing 16-24 at halftime. It would only get worse from there. The Hawks weren’t able to keep up their defense and weren’t able to run their offensive sets in the 3rd quarter. Tulalip got outscored 13-33 in the quarter and trailed 29-55 going into the final eight minutes. Unable to mount any kind of comeback the Hawks lost 54-78, ending their four-game win streak.
Fortunately, the Hawks had a game the very next day vs. Lopez Island, so they didn’t have to dwell too long on their loss to Lummi. The Hawks hosted the Lobos on Saturday, January 23, and made short work of the visitors in a 46-30 victory.
So after a very disappointing 1-5 start to the season, the Hawks have bounced back to go 9-2 over their last eleven games. Currently sitting at 10-7 (9-3 within their league), the Hawks are in 2nd place in the standings with only three regular season games to go before the District playoffs. The Hawks have proven that they are clearly one of the best teams in the league, along with Orcas Christian and Lummi. The question is, are they able to contend against either when they face off at Districts? We’ll find out soon enough, as the District tournament starts on Friday, February 5.
Lady Hawks move to 11-0 after lopsided victory
by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The Lady Hawks (10-0) made short work of the Orcas Christian Saints (1-4) in a home game played on Monday, January 11. Coming into the game, the Lady Hawks were riding a 10 game win streak and remained unbeaten, while the Saints were just hoping they’d have five girls to play. Due to injuries the Saints only dressed five girls, but one had so much tape around a sprained ankle it looked like a cast.
From the opening moments of the game observers could tell it was only a matter of how much the Lady Hawks would win by. The Saints only had one player who could handle the ball and find some clean shots against the Lady Hawks stingy defense. Meanwhile, the home team fielded five starters who were all able to find quality shots and, a lot of time, wide open looks after a couple quick dribbles.
The Lady Hawks led 19-1 after the 1st quarter and pushed that lead to 35-6 at halftime. If that’s not dominant enough, the Lady Hawks starters went on a 20-0 run to open the 3rd quarter that hardly took more than five minutes of game time. Up 55-6, with the result clearly not in doubt, coach Bubba Fryberg took the starters out for the remainder of the game. In the end, 9 out of 10 Lady Hawks’ players scored in the game as they earned their eleventh win of the season, 63-10.
Adiya Jones finished with a game high 22points, while Aliya Jones scored 15points, and Keryn Parks chipped in 10points.
On their road to perfection, the Lady Hawks have beaten teams by an average margin of 31 points per game and have only won a single game by less than 15 points, which was a five point victory over Neah Bay on December 21.
The Lady Hawks next home game is Friday, January 22, when they host their rivals, the Lummi Blackhawks.
Hawks offense turns stagnant in 33-65 loss
Micheal Rios, Tulalip News
The Tulalip Heritage basketball team (5-5) hosted the Saints from Orcas Christian (6-0) at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasium on Monday, January 11. After the 1-5 start to the season, the Hawks had returned to their winning ways and were on a 4-game win streak that propelled them into 2nd place in their Northwest 1B league. The only team above them in the standings? The undefeated Orcas Christian team.
These teams previously played on December 10. It was a highly contested match that saw the Hawks lose a late lead as the referees took over the game and sent Orcas to the free throw line time and time again. The Hawks would lose the game 52-61.
Coming into the rematch the Hawks were confident they would avenge their previous loss and continue their win streak. Orcas Christian had other plans however. The 1st quarter yielded the worst offense output from the Hawks all season, just 5 points, as they trailed 5-12 going into the 2nd quarter. Whether it was due to the 2-3 zone Orcas applied that clogged the paint and forced the Hawks to keep the ball on the perimeter, or the Hawks missing close, albeit contested, shots at the rim, the Hawks just were unable to get into a groove offensively.
In the 2nd quarter, senior forward Willy Enick did away with the game plan and found his own offense through isolation plays and some timely shooting. Willy scored 8points in the quarter and had 10 of the team’s 17 points at halftime.
Trailing 17-27 entering the 3rd quarter, the Hawks looked to rebound quickly by putting more defense pressure on the Orcas points guard, Michael Harris. Unfortunately, that game plan didn’t come to fruition as Harris repeatedly was able to cut through the Hawks defense and either score a layup or find an open teammate for a quality look from 3-point territory. The Hawks would be outscored 6-27 in the quarter, making the score 23-54 going into the final quarter.
The Hawks would go on to lose the game 33-67, snapping their win streak. The 33 points was the lowest offensive output on the season. Willy led all Hawks scorers with 17 points.
Now, with a 5-6 record, the Hawks remain in 2nd place in their league but know they have work to do. They have to clean up the offense and defense if they want to have a good showing at the District Tournament next month, where they’ll likely face this same Orcas Christian team who has beaten them twice now.
The Hawks next home game is Friday, January 22, vs. the Lummi Blackhawks.