Tag: Lady Hawks

Lady Hawks basketball returns with home opener vs. Darrington

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

The Tulalip Heritage girls basketball team opened their 2019-2020 season with a home game on Saturday, December 7. They hosted the Darrington Loggers at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasium.

Last season the Lady Hawks finished with a lackluster (4-12) record. In the weeks leading up to this new season the coaching staff opted to focus on pace of play and defensive hustle as their areas for improvement. Assistant coach Jeff Monsegur said, “We spent a lot of time working on cardio, just running and more running, so that we can have a quicker tempo on offense and keep our defense up in the 2nd half of games.”

With a few weeks of hearty conditioning and practice reps the Lady Hawks were prepared to make their team debut with a renewed sense of vigor and upbeat energy.

In their opening game against Darrington, their girls showcased a quicker pace right out the gate. They took an 8-2 lead after back-to-back buckets by Krislyn Parks and a 3-pointer by Deachae Jones. Darrington fought back and tied the game at 12-12 early in the 2nd quarter before employing a full-court defense that stymied the Lady Hawks. At halftime the home team trailed 19-21.

The second half was a highly competitive affair with both teams routinely diving on the hardwood for loose balls and coming up with timely buckets. Darrington opted to double team Jacynta Myles, forcing the Lady Hawks guards to create for themselves. Led by the aggressive driving of Krislyn, who earned a whopping 14 free-throw attempts by drawing fouls, Tulalip stayed within a bucket or two the entire game. 

Down 36-37 with just over two minutes remaining, Darrington went back to their full-court defense and forced Tulalip to commit errant passes that led to three quick turnovers. Even so, with only seconds remaining, the girls had a chance to capture victory when Deachae shot a potential go-ahead 3-pointer. Unfortunately, her attempt fell just short and clanged off the rim for a miss. Tulalip 37, Darrington 41.

Krislyn led the Lady Hawks with 14 points, while Jacynta collected over 20 rebounds. 

“We did so much running over the past three weeks so we wouldn’t burn out in the 2nd half of games, like we did last season. All that running really showed tonight,” reflected Krislyn following the game. “We’ll continue to work on our team hustle and never giving up on any plays.”

“Even when we lost our lead we stayed positive and kept cheering each other on. That attitude really helped us stay in the game,” added Jacynta. And on her huge rebounding total? “Because of my height the team relies on me to get rebounds. I don’t want to let them down so I try to get every one that I can.”

Tulalip basketball is on the road for their next 3 games. They’ll return home on Thursday, December 19 for a matchup with Grace Academy. 

Lady Hawks basketball returns

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

The Tulalip Heritage girls’ basketball team returned for the 2018-2019 season with a bunch of new faces, both on the team and on the coaching staff. Marc Robinson is the new head coach, while Jeff Monsegur and Adiya Jones join him as assistant coaches. Only three girls from last year return; junior guard Deachae Jones, Tavionna Jones, and sophomore Krislyn Parks. They are joined by newcomers Jacynta Myles, Hazel Black-Tomahawk, and sophomore Anndraceia Sicade. 

Knowing a new team identity has yet to be crafted and several players need in-game experience to develop confidence, Lady Hawk players and coaching staff went into the season with realistic expectations. 

A home-opener played on Tuesday, November 27 versus Shoreline Christian gave Heritage spectators their first look at the new group. Krislyn put on a show, displaying her point-forward capabilities, while scoring a game-high 17 points. The rest of her teammates combined only managed 4 points however, as the home team lost 21-39.

Two days later, Tulalip hosted the Concrete Lions and quickly put their home-opening loss behind them. Veteran Deachae was out with injury, so the Lady Hawks had to play Iron-5 style, which they did valiantly. Krislyn’s again played as the primary ball handler, while managing to score 13 points. This time she got big contributions from her teammates. The freshman duo of Jacynta and Hazel both got hot from the floor at opportune times. Jacynta led all scorers with 17 points and Hazel chipped in 14 points. Tulalip earned their first W of the young season with a 48-31 victory.

“The biggest difference from our first game was that we played much better on defense by communicating with one another,” said Jacynta after the win. “We played as a team and didn’t let any bad plays get down.”

Next up, the Lady Hawks travelled to Lopez Island and faced off against an undefeated Lobos team. Nothing on offense was clicking, and the defense struggled to matchup against a Lopez starting unit that moved the ball really well. Tulalip was on the wrong end of a lopsided score, 20-48.

Returning to their home court in front of a large audience, Tulalip hosted Lummi Nation on Saturday, December 8. In the first half, the Lady Hawks jumped out to an early 13-5 lead behind a series of 3-point buckets. Lummi adjusted their defense and full court pressed Tulalip, who were once again playing with only one primary ball handler in Krislyn. Against the press defense that forced the ball out of Krislyn’s hands, the Lady Hawks were thrown completely out of their game. As a team, the Lady Hawks turned the ball over 32 times, which led to easy transition buckets for Lummi. That difference would be too much to overcome as the girls lost 32-42, dropping to (1-3) on the season.

“We will continue to work hard at getting our players to feel more comfortable on the basketball court,” explained assistant coach Adiya of the team’s biggest area for improvement. “We have players who are very shy on and off the court, so working with them and helping them find their comfort zone is a work in progress. We knew coming in it would be a slow start for us, but after more practice and a few more games we’ll be better.”

Lady Hawks on four match win streak, ready for playoffs

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks have found their groove at the perfect time. After consecutive victories over Muckleshoot, Orcas Christian and Fellowship Christian, the Lady Hawks volleyball team was riding a wave of winning momentum into their final regular season game played on Monday, October 22, versus the Lummi Blackhawks.

It was “Senior Night” for 12thgraders Yesenia Araiza and Nancy Enick. Prior to the match, family and friends of both players took to the court with balloons and flowers to recognize the occasion.

“My family shows a lot of support all the time, but it still felt really great sharing that moment with them,” said Nancy.

“I felt sad at first realizing this would be my last home game here,” added Yesenia. “Having so many fans come out to support us made the night special and got me excited to play.”

With emotions running high and the bleachers full of cheering Tulalip fans, the Lady Hawks took to the court. In the opening game Nancy served her team to a 5-0 lead. Lummi battled back eventually tying the game at 14-14, but the home team wouldn’t be denied. Tulalip went on an 8-0 run to take a 22-14 lead and closed out the game 25-16.

In the 2ndgame, Lummi jumped out to a 6-3 lead. Freshman Jacynta Myles served up several aces to give the Lady Hawks a 12-7 lead. It would be a back forth game for several points, but the home team would close it out strong, winning 25-20.

Team captain Deachae Jones displayed her solid serving abilities in the 3rdgame. Behind her, Tulalip jumped out to an overwhelming 13-4 lead. Lummi was unable to muster a counter attack, yielding the final game 25-14 and giving Tulalip yet another win in straight sets.

Deachae spoke for her squad following the “Senior Night” victory by saying, “We’re looking forward to playing in Districts because every game we’re having fun and continue to improve.”

Now, riding a four match win streak, the Lady Hawks (8-6) are primed for a quality showing in the upcoming District playoffs. They’ve been seeded #6 in the playoff bracket and will be hitting the road to play games on October 24thand

Season comes to an end for Lady Hawks

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

For the third straight year, the Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks basketball team (17-6) made it out of Districts and into the Tri-District Tournament. After losing an opening round game to Clallam Bay, 55-63, the Tulalip girls packed up and traveled to Evergreen Lutheran H.S. in Tacoma. There they would matchup with the Rainier Christian Mustangs in a loser-out game played on Thursday, February 15.

In the 1st quarter, the Lady Hawks took some time getting adjusted to the Mustang defense. Not scoring as they are accustomed to, they still managed to keep the game close by playing top-notch defense of their own. Midway through the quarter it was a tie score, 5-5, before the Mustangs went on a 6-0 run to take an 11-5 lead.

During the 2nd quarter, the Lady Hawks made a concentrated effort to get the ball inside and play through their forwards, Deandra Grant and Krislyn Parks. They both responded by making some buckets in a crowded painted area. Midway through the 2nd quarter, the game was again tied, this time 11-11. A pair of Krislyn free-throws would be the only remaining points for the Lady Hawks in the 1st half, who trailed 13-16 at halftime.

The 2nd half was one to forget as the Lady Hawks just weren’t able to solve the Mustangs defense. Tulalip scored only 9 points the entire 2nd half and saw their season come to an end with a 22-38 loss. Deandra and Krislyn each scored 9 points to lead their team.

Following the loss, the Lady Hawks remained upbeat and proud of all that they had accomplished during the season. After starting 0-3 on the year, they bounced back going a perfect 12-0 in league play, and were only a couple buckets shy of taking 1st place at the District Tournament.

Senior standouts, Keryn Parks and Deanda, ran a lethal two-man game all season that resulted in each of them routinely having big games. Up until the Tri-District Tournament they hadn’t seen a team have the size and athleticism to slow them down. The two captains took a moment to speak on the achievements made this season and how the team had grown.

“The beginning of the season was weird because we went through three different coaches, from Bubba to Tina then switching to Tempest. The changes were drastic and we really didn’t play well together at the start,” reflected senior forward, Deandra Grant. “Towards the middle of the season we starting working well together and our game plan finally clicked. Then by the end of the regular season we really got to connect with each other and that showed in our play. Overall, we improved so much as a team from where we started and we did pretty well in the playoffs.

“My favorite moment of the season came in our last game. Even though it was a playoff loss, while we were losing we still kept our spirits up and showed heart. We didn’t want the season to end and if we lost we knew we were giving it our all.”

Senior guard, Keryn Parks, added, “I felt we grew a lot as a team, especially towards the end and in the playoffs. Yes, we took three losses to end our season, but during that time we came together as a team and worked on our mental game. We did thought exercises and talked about our mindsets in order to become stronger mentally.

“Our three coaches, Tina, Katia, and Tempest did a really good job coaching us all throughout the season. I give props to Tina for pushing us to perform in the classroom and on the basketball court. She wants to see us succeed at school as students, and that really means a lot to us. I appreciate Tempest coming in and, for not knowing any of us girls, she built us up individually. She worked with us one-on-one and showed us how to be better players. Throughout the entire season as a coaching staff they pushed us to do better every single game, in practice, and in the classroom.”

Lady Hawks firing on all cylinders to start postseason

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks basketball team finished the regular season with a (15-4) overall record, including a perfect (12-0) in league play. Going undefeated against league opponents earned them the #1 seed in the NW1B District playoffs.

Tulalip started the postseason by hosting the Lions from Cedar Park Christian in an opening round game played on February 1. It was obvious from the onset that Tulalip was the much more talented and all-around better team as they took a 5-0 lead, extending it to 13-0, before the Lions finally got on the board right before the end of the 1st quarter. After the first eight minutes of play Heritage led 15-3.

During the entire 1st half, senior guard Keryn Parks put the offense on her back by routinely attacking the basket, finishing through contact, and scoring bucket after bucket. In fact, Keryn scored an impressive 18 points in the first half, outscoring a Cedar Park team who only managed 7 points through the first two quarters.

In the 2nd half, forwards Deandra Grant and Krislyn Parks controlled the game by exploiting the smaller Cedar Park team in the paint. The Lady Hawks played through Deandra and Krislyn who were able to get quality looks from point-blank range.

It was a dominant performance from the Lady Hawks as they won 62-20. They were led in scoring by Keryn’s 26 points, while Deandra added 11 points and 18 rebounds, and Krislyn had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Two days later, Tulalip travelled to Lummi High School to play Grace Academy in a 2nd round playoff game. The 3-ball was falling early on with guards Georgie Randall and Loralei Eli knocking down multiple shots from deep. At the end of the 1st quarter, the Lady Hawks led 15-10.

In the 2nd quarter, the Lady Hawks were hit foul calls left and right, none bigger than Keryn getting her 3rd personal foul in the early going. Due to that foul trouble Keryn hit the bench and in her absence the team stepped up admirably. From that point on the team’s defense locked in and didn’t allow Grace Academy any easy looks. Meanwhile, the coaching staff adjusted their offense to run everything through Deandra in the post.

With Keryn on the bench, Deandra shouldered the offensive burden with ease. She was often double and even triple teamed, but it didn’t matter. She was just too big and too strong. Deandra scored 18 points from the 2nd quarter on. Combine her scoring with a Tulalip defense that was locked in, they held Grace to only 5 points in the 2nd quarter and then an astounding 1 point in the 3rd quarter, and Heritage ran away with a 60-34 victory.

Deadra led all players in scoring with 20 points, including double digits rebounds and blocks, while Georgie and Keryn both chipped in 11 points.

The 2-0 start to the postseason gives the Lady Hawks a berth in the NW1B Championship game where they will play Mt. Vernon Christian tonight at 5:00 p.m. at Lummi High School.

Lady Hawks bounce back with 4 straight Ws

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks started their season (0-3), with each loss coming to a class 2B school. However, since then they have played 1B schools within their league and have reeled off four consecutive victories.

Victories against Orcas Christian 56-23, Marysville-Getchell JV 52-17, Lummi Nation 64-35, and Lopez 56-42 have propelled the Lady Hawks to (4-3) and atop the NW1B standings. Now, they are playing with a renewed sense of purpose led behind the stellar post-play of Deandra Grant and all-around game of Keryn Parks.

Assistant Coach, Tempest Dawson attributes the team’s turnaround to “a lot of individual work that has helped our team’s growth because our girls needed to build on the fundamentals. We’ve also been doing a lot of work on our fast breaks, transitioning into our offense quickly.”

The uptick in offense has definitely been on display. The Lady Hawks only averaged 36 points over their first three contests, but have been averaging 57 points per game during their four-game winning streak. A large part of that increase in buckets has been senior center Deandra raising her level of play. She’s become a powerhouse in the paint scoring 20+ points over the last four games.

“I knew we had to step up our game and I’ve been focused on playing my best because we could take the number one spot in our league,” beamed Deandra following the team’s win over Lopez, in which she scored 29 points. “This [winning streak] lets the other teams in our league know that we’re going to be pretty hard to beat down the stretch.”

Season comes to an end for Lady Hawks

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks volleyball team started off the season with a disappointing (0-3) record, largely due to a whole new cohort of players, including several who had never played organized volleyball before. The coaching staff of Tina Brown, Katia Brown, and Aliya Jones reviewed lots of game film and implemented a series of new practicing techniques to teach their new players the fundamentals of team volleyball. Over the course of the season, the practices paid off as the Lady Hawks found the winning way, taking four of their next six matches.

After a humbling loss to Providence Classical Christian, the girls bounced back in a big way, again finding their rhythm on the court and finishing the regular season with four straight victories. The winning streak moved Heritage into a tie for 4th in the Northwest 1B League with an (8-6) record, and earned them a berth in the postseason tournament.

Over the course of the two-day 1B District playoffs, the Lady Hawks played four competitive matches vs. top quality opponents. First up was against Providence Classical Christian, which for the third time this season got the better of Heritage. In their following match Tulalip made quick work of Cedar Park Christian, beating them 3 games to 1.

Arlington Christian was the next challenge. In a match that was by far the most competitive of the season for the Lady Hawks, with each game coming down to the wire and every single point being consequence, the girls gave a valiant effort and fell just short of victory.

The letdown of the previous match carried over in what would be the final match of the season, a matchup with Shoreline Christian. The match was tightly played, with the Lady Hawks having a lead in every game, but not able to finish strong. Tulalip showed high spirits by continuing to play hard each and every point, even when the outlook was grim.

Following the tournament, Lady Hawk senior captain, Keryn Parks, shared her thoughts as she reflected on the season.

“During our season, we all tried are best and hardest to reach our goals as a team. We improved tremendously, worked better as a team, and built stronger relationships as a family,” said Keryn. “We grew so much. For myself, being a senior and playing on this team since my sophomore year, I knew the game pretty well and was more than willing to help my teammates, and encourage my teammates on just how great each of them are.

“Winning five of our last six regular season games was awesome. We really wanted to go far in the playoffs, but everything happens for a reason. We played so hard every game, and we played with so much heart. It hurts that our season is over, but I’m so blessed to have a team I’ll forever consider my family!”

Bump, Set, Spike… it’s Senior Night

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News 

The Francy J. Sheldon gymnasium was packed full of family and friends as the Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks (5-6) hosted the Orcas Christian Saints (5-3) on Tuesday, October 17. This game doubled as Senior Night, so the evening’s contest meant a little something extra for the eight seniors on the team.

Prior to the volleyball match, there was a ceremony to honor the Lady Hawks seniors. Kimberly Smoley, Jessica Damita, Nissie Jones, Rosealynne Williams, Keryn Parks, Shaunte Moses, Eddie Reeves, and Deandra Grant were all given a bouquet of roses from Principal Shelly Lacy before greeting their families on the court for a photograph opportunity.

In the match’s 1st game, both teams were playing with lots of energy and communicating effectively. Heritage jumped out to an early 8-4 lead, but the Saints fought back and tied it up at 18-18. The Lady Hawks trailed for the first time at 20-22, but after a timeout they regrouped and earned victory in a hard fought 28-26 opening game.

The 2nd game started out competitive, tied 7-7, before the Lady Hawks found their groove and took a 17-10 lead. Heritage did a great job all match of setting up senior captains, Keryn and Deandra, for point-earning spikes, and won the game 25-16.

The 3rd game ended up being the most lopsided as the Lady Hawks dominated at the net with several key blocks and spikes that took the fight out of the Saints. Seniors on the team got plenty of reps down the stretch and celebrated with a 25-9 win, taking the match W 3 games to 0.

With the win the Lady Hawks record moved to (6-6) and assures them a spot in the upcoming District Tournament that starts on Wednesday, October 25. Time and location to be determined after Heritage wraps up their final two regular season games.

Lady Hawks soar to back-to-back victories

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

The (0-3) Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawk volleyball team has had a rough start to the season, with several first time players still adjusting to the high school game. With each additional rep, practice, and game the girls grow more familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses, while team chemistry continues to develop.

Assistant Coaches Katia Brown and Aliya Jones, both Heritage graduates, have been working diligently with their players to build a strong foundation with a back to the basics approach.

“We’ve been focusing on communicating better, passing to the setter and getting our serves over the net,” says Aliya.

“As a team, we’ve been watching videos on passing technique and then critiquing ourselves based on those videos,” adds Katia. “The videos have helped us develop better footwork that leads to better passing.”

Everything the Lady Hawks have been working on was on full display in a home matchup with Cedar Park Christian on September 21. The communication, passing, and getting the ball over the net was all much improved. Heritage won the 1st game 25-15, 2nd game 25-9, and finished strong in the 3rd game 25-17 to earn their first W on the young season.

Just days later the Lady Hawks hosted the Skykomish Rockets on September 26. The momentum from their first victory continued into this game. Aces were aplenty as nearly every Lady Hawk took their turn serving up points. After winning the 1st game 25-13, the Lady Hawks dominated the 2nd game 25-6.

Going into the 3rd game, Coach Tina Brown seized the opportunity to substitute all the back-ups into the game. Having a completely new line-up in provided much needed experience and in-game reps. This Lady Hawk line-up didn’t disappoint either. They passed well and served up Aces, too. At one point they went up 15-1 before clinching the deciding game 25-16, taking the match 3 games to 0.

After back-to-back victories, upping their overall record to (2-3), the coaching staff is delighted to see practice paying off with better communication and a much improved service game.

“We’ve been working so much on serving and passing in practice and it really showed in our last two matches,” says Katia.

The Lady Hawks look to get more Ws and stay in the playoff hunt with 1/3 of the season now played. The next home game is Thursday, October 5 vs. Grace Academy.

Lady Hawks season opener

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

After finding unprecedented success on the volleyball court last year, a season that saw Heritage make it all the way to Tri-Districts, the Lady Hawks opened up a brand new season with a home game versus the Providence Classical Christian Highlanders. The game was played on Monday, September 11, at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasium.

The foundation of this year’s team include senior captains Keryn Parks and Deandra Grant. The Lady Hawks graduated six seniors from last year’s team, which included three starters. In their place comes a new batch of young, eager to play student-athletes.

“We have lots of new faces to our Lady Hawk program. For some of the girls this will be their first-ever volleyball match,” says Coach Tina Brown. “Fortunately, we have two senior leaders in Keryn and Deandra who can remain positive and help teach their teammates during the games. There’s a learning curve for us as a team, but we’ll only get better as we gain more experience playing together.”

It was a tough opening matchup for the new look Lady Hawks, as the PCC Highlanders only lost one regular season game last season and returned the majority of their players.

In the 1st game, the Lady Hawks struggled to get any momentum going while the Highlanders weren’t missing a beat. The Highlanders took the opening game 25-11.

The Lady Hawks played much better in the 2nd game. After trailing 0-5 to start, the girls got their game going on both sides of the net, going on long rallies and hustling to every ball. The service game got going as well with several Lady Hawks coming up with aces. They battled back to get within four points, 19-23, before the Highlanders called a timeout. Both teams traded points leading to the Lady Hawks dropping a competitive 2nd game 21-25.

The 3rd and final game saw the Lady Hawks go down 3-9 early before once again battling back behind timely aces and solid defense to get within three points, 10-13. The Highlanders were just too good on this day though and won the game 25-19 and the match 3-0.

Following the game, Coach Tina said she was very proud of her players for playing as competitively as they did versus a top tier opponent. She continued, “There were stretches during the final two games where we played them even, nearly point for point. However, the mistakes we made during the match are the same we’ve been making in practice. They are little mistakes, but they add up when they keep happening. So we’ll look to fix them and continue working on getting better at practice.”

Keryn added, “It’s a whole new group of girls compared to last year and we’re still getting used to playing with one another and learning each other’s strengths. In the 2nd and 3rd games the score showed we got really close. I think we’ve gotten way better through practice and it showed today on the court.”

Up next for the Lady Hawks is another home game versus Arlington Christian before hitting the road to play at Shoreline Christians. Heritage then returns home to play rival Cedar Park on Thursday, September 21.