Lady Hawks Archives - Page 2 of 4

Celebrating athletic accomplishment

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News; photos courtesy Heritage H.S.

Tulalip Heritage High School faculty and coaches honored their Fall and Winter sports participants with a joint celebration and banquet-style potluck on Wednesday, March 29 in the Heritage Commons.

With friends and family in attendance, the players took center stage and received recognition for their dedication to practice, constant improvement and teamwork during the sports season.

Bringing cheer and halftime entertainment to every home and playoff game were the Heritage cheerleaders. They always kept a positive attitude, smiles on their faces, and were determined to keep the home crowds upbeat.

The Hawks football team was short on eligible players this past season, but that didn’t stop them from showing up come game day and leaving their all on the field. After a narrow 2-point loss in their opening game, the football program showed out the very next game for a 51-26 victory in front of the home crowd.

Lady Hawks volleyball had another productive season under coach Tina Brown. The girls opened the season with five straight victories on their way to a 9-6 regular season record and a trip to the postseason. At the 1B District playoffs, they dropped their first match before bouncing back with back-to-back Ws and earning a trip to Tri-Districts.

Coaches Marlin and Cyrus “Bubba” Fryberg made the best of a rebuilding year for their boys basketball program. With so many new faces on the team there was a steep learning curve. The Hawks opened the season 1-6, but soon after found their identity and went 7-5 down the stretch to clinch a playoff spot. In the postseason, the boys played their best basketball and defeated two teams with better records to earn a Tri-District berth.

The Lady Hawks basketball program achieved the most this year. The girls carried a stellar record all season long on their way to battling for the NW1B regular season crown. Led by their Big 3 (Aliya Jones, Keryn Parks, and Deandra Grant), they finished the regular season 16-3. With two decisive victories to open the playoffs, the Lady Hawks matched up with inner-league foe Cedar Park Christian for the third time in the NW1B championship game. Back and forth for nearly the whole game, Cedar Park pulled away in the final minutes. It was a heartbreaking game for the Lady Hawks, but they bounced back admirably to win two more games at Tri-Districts and clinched consecutive trips to Regionals.

Coach Bubba Fryberg was recognized as Coach of the Year in the Northwest 1B League, while three of his players (Aliya, Keryn, and Deandra) were named to the All-League 1^st Team. Additionally, Aliya earned All-State recognition with an honorable mention by the Associated Press.

Lady Hawks fall to Neah Bay rally, 38-42

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

After taking 2^nd at the District 1B Tournament, the Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks (19-4) won their opening game in the Tri-District Tournament with a 40-27 win over Mt. Rainier Lutheran. In the 2^nd round they journeyed to Port Angeles High School to take on the Neah Bay Red Devils (18-3). Tulalip and Neah Bay were evenly matched on paper. The Lady Hawks came into the game ranked No. 13 in the WIAA’s RPI, while Neah Bay was ranked No. 10.

They were pretty evenly matched on the court, too. In the 1^st quarter, both teams were slow to get their offenses going and were notched up at 7-7 after eight minutes of play.

In the 2^nd quarter, guards Myrna Redleaf and Keryn Parks got going and put their team ahead. Myrna connected on two 3-pointers and Keyrn hit two jumpers. Thanks to forwards Deandra Grant and Cyena Fryberg the Lady Hawks were winning the rebound battle and not allowing second chance opportunities for the Red Devils. Entering halftime Tulalip led 20-14.

Starting the 2^nd half, Keryn found Deandra in the post for an easy bucket that gave them a 22-14 lead. From that point the Red Devils adjusted their game plan and started crashing the boards with extra effort. The Lady Hawks rebounding edge slipped away, and they got outscored 6-11 the rest of the quarter.

Leading 28-25 with only the 4^th quarter to play, the Lady Hawks went to their main stays for offense. Keryn hit a base line floater and Deandra powered her way for back-to-back buckets in the post. With 4:43 remaining, leading 34-31, Deandra picked up her 5^th foul on a very questionable blocking call. She led the team with 13 points when she fouled out.

Tulalip would struggle to find offense down the stretch without Deandra, while the Red Devils rallied with an 11-4 run of their own. In the super close game free-throws were a determining factor. On the game, Tulalip shot 7-22 from the charity stripe (and 0-5 in the 4^th quarter), while the Red Devils shot 13-24 on free-throws (10-17 in the 4^th quarter). The Lady Hawks battled valiantly, but just weren’t able to score in the clutch. They lost 38-42.

Keryn wound up leading the team in scoring with 14 points, Deandra had 13 points, and Myrna scored 7 points.

Tulalip bounces back with dominant 62-22 W

The Lady Hawks (19-5) once again traveled to Mt. Vernon Christian, this time to take on the Northwest Yeshiva 613s (15-10) out of Mercer Island. It was a loser-out game in the 3^rd round of the Tri-District Tournament.

Tulalip’s offense once again started out slow, but the defense was very active limiting the 613s to only contested jumpers. Forward Deandra Grant anchored the offense in the 1^st quarter with 6 of the team’s 8 points.

The same trend continued in the 2^nd quarter, with the Lady Hawks leading 8-3, they continued to feed Deandra in the post and she continued to feast. With 3:02 remaining in the 1^st half, Tulalip lead extended to 16-6 while Deandra had 12 of those 16 points.

At halftime the girls led 21-11 and had the dictated the game on the both ends thus far.

In the 2^nd half, guard Aliya Jones got hot and helped turn the game into a total blowout. Aliya scored 14 points down the stretch, while her team outscored the 613s 41-11 over the 3^rd and 4^th quarters. Deandra’s 21 points and Aliya’s 20 points led all scorers and were big factors in their team earning a 40 point victory, 62-22.

The win gave the Lady Hawks back-to-back 20 win season, secured them a spot to Regionals and meant they were only one win shy of consecutive trips to State.

Successful season comes to an end for the Lady Hawks

On Saturday, February 25, the Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks (20-5) played a Regional non-conference playoff game versus the Clallam Bay Bruins (15-5) at Jackson High School in Mill Creek. The terms were simple: win and earn your spot in State, or lose and go home.

During practice earlier in the week, center Cyena Fryberg fractured her foot and was relegated to a walking boot, leaving the Lady Hawks shorthanded on bigs.

In the 1^st quarter, Tulalip got lots of point blank shot attempts. However, they weren’t converting. They only scored 3 points five minutes into the game, but luckily the Bruins were having their own difficulties scoring as well. The game was tied 3-3 with a little over two minutes to go in the opening quarter. The Lady Hawks failed to rotate on defense to defend the slashing Bruins players and gave up 8 quick points. Two Aliya Jones free-throws and a bucket from Deandra made the game 7-11.

Guard Keryn Parks hit a 3-pointer to open the 2^nd quarter and get her team with 1 point, 10-11. Trading baskets the Lady Hawks took their only lead of the game 14-13 midway through the quarter. Unfortunately, turnovers became costly for the Tulalip girls as several bad passes led to easy transition points for the Bruins. The Bruins went on a 16-4 run to close the half, leaving the Lady Hawks trailing 18-29.

In the 2^nd half, the Lady Hawks continued to turn the ball over, which ultimately spelled their doom. It’s incredibly difficult to win a game when you have nearly as many turnovers as shot attempts. To their credit, the Lady Hawks did a nice job of forcing a good amount of turnovers, too, except they weren’t turning those turnovers into points like the Bruins were.

Down 28-42 to start the 4^th quarter, the Lady Hawks did their best to keep attacking and got the opportunity to shoot lots of free-throws down the stretch. In fact, Tulalip shot 18 free-throws in the game’s final minutes, but only converted 6 of them.

The girls managed to outscore the Bruins 13-10 in the 4^th quarter, but it wasn’t enough as they would fall 40-52. The L marked the end of the season for the Lady Hawks. Keryn led all scorers with 15 points, Aliya scored 9 points, and Deandra added 8 points.

All in all, it was a very successful and entertaining season for the Lady Hawks and their fans. There were several riveting games that game down to the final few possessions, key players developed before our eyes, and a lengthy postseason run provided many memories for seniors Aliya, Myrna, and Cyena who are set to graduate this June.

Lady Hawks soar over Cedar Park Christian, 41-23

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

The (6-2) Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks hosted the (10-0) Cedar Park Christian Lions at Francy J. Sheldon gymnasium on Friday, January 6. The game was a match-up of the #1 and #2 teams in the Northwest 1B League standings. It would be a battle of contrasting styles, the Lions stifling defense vs. the Lady Hawks soaring offense.

Entering the game, the undefeated Lions were averaging a healthy 51 points per game while holding their opponents to a measly 18 point per game. The Lady Hawks have given up a few more buckets per game, but they entered the contest having the best scoring offense in the league at 53 points per game.

In the opening quarter, both teams came out tentative and struggled to score. In fact, midway thru the quarter both teams had failed to score a single point. The seal was finally broke when Cedar Park made a shot five minutes into the game to take a 2-0 lead. A couple free-throws later Tulalip trailed 0-4 before breaking through with a pair of Deandra Grant free-throws.

Entering the 2^nd quarter the score was 2-6. The Lady Hawks were having a very difficult time scoring against the Lions defense, but at the same time they were doing an admirable job keeping the Lions offense in check. The 2^nd quarter was a coming out party for the Lady Hawks, as they shook off their earlier jitters and reverted back to the high scoring team that they are. The Lady Hawks made a conscious effort to get high quality outside jumpers against the Lions 2-3 zone. Finding their spots, Tulalip went on a timely 14-2 run to take a 16-8 lead. At half-time the home team led 18-12.

Early in the 3^rd quarter, guard Aliya Jones picked up her 4^th foul and was forced to the bench. Shortly after, forward Cyena Fryberg picked up her 4^th foul as well and had to sit. Playing without two starters due to foul trouble would usually spell doom, but the Lady Hawks were getting key contributions from their bench and were determined to get the W. Following a Claudia Parker 3-pointer, Tulalip maintained a 23-18 lead going into the 4^th quarter.

The Lady Hawks couldn’t miss in the game’s final quarter. Baskets by Deandra, Myrna, and Deachae Jones gave Tulalip their largest lead of the game, 33-20. Deandra’s aggressive mindset and relentless attacks to the rim eventually led to Cedar Park’s best player fouling out with five minutes remaining. From that moment it was a wrap. The Lady Hawks continued to make their shots and closed the game on an impressive 18-5 run, earning a 41-23 victory.

With the win, the Lady Hawks handed the Lions their first L of the season, but most importantly proved that in the face of some adversity (e.g. a slow start and foul trouble) the girls could pull through. It was a complete team victory with scoring coming from every position. Deandra led Tulalip with 12 points, Keryn had 7, Aliya and Claudia both added 6, and Myrna scored 5.

Tulalip improves to a perfect (4-0) within league play and (7-2) overall on the season. Clearly, the Lady Hawks are now the cream of the crop within the Northwest 1B League.

Lady Hawks rise to #2 in standings

Lady Hawks host the (2-4) Eagles from Grace Academy on Tuesday, January 3.

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

Last we checked in the Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks had just dismantled Summit Sierra, 71-0, in front of their home crowd. The win gave them their third 50+ point blowout victory on the young season. Yet, the question still remains: How good are the Tulalip girls really? Yes, they had those three dominant wins, but each came against out of league opponents made up of freshman and sophomores. They had a 36 point win over inner league Orcas Christian, but Orcas has lost big in every game. Only once this season have the Lady Hawks played a quality opponent, in Tacoma Baptist, and in that game it was the Lady Hawks getting blown out, 23-63. So the question remains.

On Tuesday, December 27, the (4-1) Lady Hawks traveled to the Puyallup Reservation to take on the (1-4) Warriors of Chief Leschi. The game started off with both teams trading baskets to the tune of an 8-8 tie midway thru the opening quarter. Aliya accounted for all 8 points, scoring six and having an assist to Myrna. Things quickly went south from there. Tulalip couldn’t buy a bucket against the full-court press and Chief Leschi was running their offense to perfection. Leschi finished the quarter on a 15-0 run, leaving Tulalip trailing 8-21.

In the 2^nd quarter, Aliya tried to rally her team by making back-to-back 3-pointers. Claudia Parker also scored a 3-pointer and Myrna added a 2-point basket of her own. That was the only offense the Lady Hawks could muster, long jumpers, because the Chief Leschi defense prevented the girls from getting to the rim, while forcing many turnovers that they turned into lay-ups on the other side. Going into halftime Tulalip trailed 21-39.

The 2^nd was much more of the same. Chief Leschi’s defense was just too good and kept the Lady Hawks from finding any offensive rhythm. Even worse, it’s safe to say the Lady Hawks committed twice as many turnovers as they had field goal attempts. With so many turnovers it would be improbable to make a comeback. Led by Aliya’s 17 points, Tulalip lost the game 44-66.

The Lady Hawks had no other choice but to shake off the loss and get focused on their next opponent as they played the very next day. On Wednesday, December 18, they traveled to Lummi Nation to play the (2-0) Blackhawks. It was the perfect remedy to get over their loss the previous day. Tulalip made quick work of Lummi, winning the game 51-28. They were led by a huge game from Deandra Grant who had 20 points.

After back-to-back road games, the (5-2) Lady Hawks returned home to host the (2-4) Eagles from Grace Academy on Tuesday, January 3. The game couldn’t have started off better for the home team. Tulalip was very active on the defensive end, crashing for rebounds and contesting nearly every shot. Then on the offensive side, the girls were running their offensive sets and getting the looks they wanted. All of this led to the Lady Hawks dominating the 1^st half and having a 28-8 lead at halftime.

In the 2^nd half, the offense sputtered by shooting a few air-balls and not making the same crisp passes like they did in the previous quarters. The errant passes led to Grace getting multiple transition lay-ups, but it wasn’t enough to cut into their 20-point deficit. Tulalip led 38-17 going into the final quarter.

Deandra Grant got rolling in the 4^th quarter, having her way in the post and leaving Grace players with no other option but to foul her. Tulalip guards looked for Deandra to get into good post position before feeding her the ball. She scored three buckets and got lots of free-throw attempts in the final eight minutes. That was more than enough, as the Lady Hawks won 46-25. Aliya led all scorers with 14 points, Deandra finished with 12 points, and Keryn added 8 points.

The win puts the Lady Hawks at (6-2) on the season and in firm possession of the 2^nd seed in league standings. The question of just how good are these Lady Hawks will be better answered on Friday when they host undefeated Cedar Park Christian. At (10-0), Cedar Park looks to be the Lady Hawks only competition for capturing the league title. They play at 5:00 p.m. this Friday, the 6^th, at Heritage High School.

Lady Hawks set school records in 74-6 rout of Chargers

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

Led by All-State talent Adiya Jones, last season’s Lady Hawks team went a perfect (19-0) in the regular season, winning those games with an astoundingly high 30-point average margin of victory, and made it all the way to the State tournament. That team finished with a (23-3) overall record as they rewrote the Heritage history books.

Fast forward nine months and the Lady Hawks are looking to replicate that same level of success in the upcoming season. Gone now are Adiya, Michelle Iukes, Desirae Williams, and Kaenishia Herrera who all graduated, but remaining are talented seniors Aliya Jones, Myrna Redleaf, and Cyena Fryberg. Along with stand-out junior Keryn Parks and a bunch of new faces who intend on being key contributors, the expectations remain high for the Lady Hawks basketball program.

On Monday, November 28, the Lady Hawks returned to action as they hosted the Marysville Getchell Chargers c-team in the 2016-2017 season opener. It’s worth noting two Tulalip tribal members play on the Chargers c-team, freshman Jasmin McLean and sophomore Kecia Zackuse.

From the opening tip it was obvious that it wasn’t a question of if the Lady Hawks would win, it was only a question of by how much. The Chargers c-team is comprised of all freshman and sophomore players who are still learning to play the game, while the Lady Hawks have players with years of experience and are coming off a State run.

It couldn’t have been gone any better as the Lady Hawks opened up the game hitting their first six shots and taking a 12-0 lead before the Chargers called a timeout. Following the timeout, the home team continued to hit shots and execute their offense, while playing stifling defense. At the end of the 1^st quarter Tulalip led 24-0.

In the 2^nd quarter, the game continued to be all Lady Hawks. In fact, Tulalip led 48-0 at one point before the Chargers made their first basket of the game with only nine seconds to go in the half. At halftime the Lady Hawks were up 48-2.

With the victory already well secured, Keryn got the home crowd going with a one-woman scoring demonstration to open the 3^rd quarter. In what seemed like only a matter of seconds, she scored back-to-back-to-back-to-back buckets giving her team a 57-2 lead. After hitting the bench for a quick breather, the hot-handed Keryn returned to score two more buckets, making it six straight shots without a miss for her.

Going into the 4^th quarter, Tulalip led 61-2. Even in a blowout of this nature there is valuable experience to be had. All the new faces on the Lady Hawks were able to get a lot of run and get familiar with running the team sets in real game action.

When the final game buzzer sounded, Tulalip had won their season opener 74-6. In the process they set team records with the 68-point margin of victory and a team total 34 turnovers forced, including a record breaking 31 steals.

Keryn led all players with 19-points and 7-assists. Adding to the awesome game notes was every Lady Hawk player scoring at least 4-points. Not a bad way to start the season.

The Lady Hawks next home game is Wednesday, December 7, when they host Chief Kitsap Academy. Tipoff at 5:00 p.m.

Lady Hawks fall to 3rd in standings

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

The Tulalip Heritage Hawks volleyball program’s scorching hot (5-0) start seems like a distant memory after losing four of their past five matches. Their latest loss came at home when they hosted the (4-5) Arlington Christian Knights on Wednesday, October 12.

Game 1 was a lackluster effort from the Lady Hawks. They went through the motions of playing, but the effort wasn’t there and they dropped the opening game 16-25. During intermission, they tried to talk strategy and came to the conclusion they just weren’t pumped up to play. During game 2, the home team fell behind 3-9 before putting together a few rallies and got the score to 14-15. The crowd got into it and the Lady Hawks looked to be getting their groove back. The Lady Hawks played as a team with energy and grinded out a 27-25 win.

Their momentum continued in the 3^rd game, as they took a 9-3 lead and extended it to a 20-14 lead before the Knights called a time-out. Following the timeout the Knights took momentum back and left the home team reeling. After being up 20-14, the Lady Hawks were unable to close out the game and lost 23-25. They were unable to muster a comeback and dropped game 4, resulting in a 1 game to 3 match defeat.

With the loss the Lady Hawks are now (6-4) and find themselves in 3^rd place in NW 1B standings. They have work to do and it will start in practice to rebuild their team chemistry. The next two games are against the winless Skykomish and Lummi Nation teams. Hopefully the girls can right the ship, get those Ws, and figure out how to sustain their energy for a full match in order to clinch a spot in the postseason tournament.

Lady Hawks volleyball returns with emphatic victory

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks volleyball program took leaps forward last year by winning five regular season matches and winning two clutch postseason matches before losing a nail-biter to Shoreline Christian, ending their season with a 7-11 final record. This season’s Lady Hawks team returns seven players from last year, and with another off season of development under their belt the Heritage program looks to take another successful leap forward.

On Thursday, September 8, the Lady Hawks hosted the Grace Academy Eagles in what doubled as the season and home opening game. Last season, our Lady Hawks got walloped 0-3 in both match-ups with the Eagles, so a good showing would be a nice confidence booster and proof positive the program is developing in the right direction.

From the opening serve it was obvious the Lady Hawks came to play. The first game was a highly contested battle, with each team going on a series of runs. Up 23-22, the Lady Hawks tightened up the defense and scored on back-to-back points to take the opening game 25-22.

The near even play continued in the second game, until miscommunication crept in on the Lady Hawks part leading to them trailing 17-23. Digging deep, they went on a 6-1 run to make it a one point game, 23-24. The momentum was halted moments later with a bad serve that gave Grace the game 23-25.

Tied at one game each, the Lady Hawks opened up a 7-5 advantage to start the third game. However, Grace took control and the home team trailed 10-18. Heritage was unable to get back in the game, going on to lose 17-25.

Down one game to two, and with Grace only needing to win one more game to take the match, the odds weren’t looking good for Heritage. But these Lady Hawks were determined to take the momentum back. They took a very quick 6-1 advantage in the fourth game and never looked back. Winning the fourth game 25-15 tied up the match at two games apiece, forcing a match deciding fifth game.

In the fifth and final game, the Lady Hawks opened up trailing 0-2 before buckling down and scoring at will. Determined to end their match losing streak to Grace, the Lady Hawks went on a 15-3 run to clinch the game 15-6 and take the match victory 3-2 in front of a very spirited home crowd.

The Lady Hawks hit the road for their next two matches against Lopez and Arlington Christian before coming back home to host Skykomish on Tuesday, September 20.

Memorable season comes to an end for Lady Hawks

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

On Friday, March 4, the Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks (23-2) played a loser-out game in the State tournament held at Spokane Arena. Their opponent was the Warriors from Almira-Coulee-Hartline.

In the 1^st quarter, Adiya Jones came out very aggressive and scored on three of her first four shots. Tied at 6-6, the Warriors started double teaming Adiya as much as possible, which put the clamps on the Lady Hawks offense. The Warriors finished the quarter on a 12-2 run to take an 18-8 lead over Tulalip.

In the 2^nd quarter, the Lady Hawks went on a 10-4 run sparked by Aliya Jones connecting on a 3-pointer and a long two, then Adiya added a couple free-throws and a 3-pointer of her own. Trailing by only 4 points, 18-22, the Lady Hawks put enough pressure on the Warriors that they called a timeout. Following the timeout, the Warriors again adjusted their defense to pick up Aliya at half-court and pressured her to give up the ball. The Warriors adjustment worked as the Lady Hawks were unable to get their offense going to close the half and were trailing 22-30 at the intermission.

The Warriors ability to disrupt the Lady Hawks offense by forcing turnovers, corralling seemingly every rebound, and using their own size and athleticism to score on the Tulalip defense proved to be too much to overcome. The Lady Hawks lost the game 43-64, ending their season.

Adiya finished her last high school game again filling the box score with 27 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 6 blocks. Even more impressive, Adiya scored or assisted on 37 of the teams 43 points. Aliya added 9 points, Keryn 5 points, and Desirae 2 points.

This season was a tremendous success for the Lady Hawks. After a season to forget last year, in which the team went 2-18, the program added the talents of Aliya, Keryn and all-state selection Adiya. With a renewed vigor the Lady Hawks power housed through their regular season schedule going undefeated and winning by a whopping 30 points per game. They won their league, finished 2^nd at Tri-Districts, and were one of only eight teams to play for the State title.

Senior players Adiya Jones, Michelle Iukes, Desirae Williams, Kaenishia Herrera, and Geri Iukes will be graduating this spring.

Shown below, Adiya Jones and Keryn Parks were recipients of the Hardwood Classic sportsmanship award for their play at State.

Contact Michael Rios, mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

Lady Hawks stunned in State quarterfinals

by Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks (23-1) were one of only eight teams in the entire state to have the opportunity to play in the 2016 WIAA 1B State Girls basketball tournament. The state tournament took place March 3 – March 5 at Spokane Arena.

After finishing their regular season undefeated and easily winning their district playoffs, the Lady Hawks saw their quality of opponent get better and better with every game. First it was in the Tri-District tournament where they played one good team after another before suffering their first loss of the season in the championship round. Then at Regionals they trailed early on before stepping up the defense and securing their bid to State with a win.

Now at State, the Lady Hawks found themselves among eight of the best teams in Washington. At this level every team had the stifling defense and explosive offense that the Lady Hawks showcased all season.

Their quarterfinal opponent was the #2 ranked Knights from Sunnyside Christian. The Knights lost in the State championship game last season and were undefeated to this point. By far this would be the highest quality opponent the Lady Hawks had faced all year.

In the 1^st quarter, the Lady Hawks were slow getting their offense going and trailed 0-8 minutes in. The Knights featured three girls 5’10 or taller, so they were sure to keep two of them around Adiya at all times. Adiya struggled with her shot against the stifling defense put on by the Knights, shooting 2-8 in the opening quarter. The score was 5-16 when the Lady Hawks got some good ball movement going that resulted in consecutive 3-point buckets by Keryn, Michelle, and Keryn again. At the end of the 1^st quarter they were very much in the game, trailing 14-20.

Both teams struggled to score any points early in the 2^nd quarter as both defenses tightened up, contesting all shots. The score was still 14-20 midway through the 2^nd until Adiya sank two free-throws. Seeing the ball go in the net got Adiya going and she added five more points for her team before being called for her 3^rd foul and forced to sit. With Adiya on the bench, the Lady Hawks were unable to get any more offense going and trailed 21-30 at halftime.

In the 2^nd half, some quick whistles against the Lady Hawks led to many Knight free-throws, and unfortunately Adiya fouled out with 2:05 remaining in the 3^rd quarter with her team trailing 24-41.

Things continued to get worse as Lady Hawk turnovers and fouls made it impossible to mount any kind of a comeback. When the final game-buzzer sounded the Lady Hawks lost 31-65.

As a team, the Lady Hawks shot 10-43. Adiya finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds, Keryn added 9 points, Aliya and Michelle both had 3 points.

It’s always easy to complain about officiating, and yes the free-throw shooting was lopsided in the Knights favor, but it was also easy to see that Sunnyside Christian was the better team. With their speed and size they made it extremely difficult for Adiya to get in her usual offensive groove near the rim, evident by her settling for outside shots and shooting a season high four 3-point attempts. Also, the Lady Hawks were sloppy with the ball, to the tune of a season high 30 turnovers, which a team like the Knights was able to turn into easy transition buckets. At this point in the season it’s all about execution and taking care of the ball.

Contact Micheal Rios, mrios@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov

Adiya leads Lady Hawks past Seattle Lutheran, 48-37

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News

The Tulalip Heritage Lady Hawks (21-0) went undefeated during their regular season, won out to claim the District 1-1B title, and were looking to keep their dominant run in tact as they played the Seattle Lutheran Saints (13-7) in the Tri-District Tournament semi-finals. The game was played on Tuesday, February 16 at Mount Vernon Christian High School.

It was obvious from the early going that the Saints had no answer for senior standout Adiya Jones, as she routinely got to her spots, hit shot after shot, all the while collecting rebounds. Adiya started the game red hot; connecting on 7 of 8 shot attempts and chipped in three free-throws. At halftime she had 18 points and more importantly the Lady Hawks held a 9 point lead, 28-19.

In the 2^nd half, Adiya picked up a technical for commenting on a sketchy foul call. The resulting technical meant she would have to sit a stretch. With Adiya on the bench, the Lady Hawks did their best to score buckets and grab rebounds. Keryn Parks and Cyena Fryberg were rewarded with their hustle play, as both finished the game with 9 rebounds apiece.

The Saints managed to carve away at the Lady Hawks lead and towards the end of the 3^rd quarter they only led by 5 points, 33-28. Enter Adiya back in the ball game. From that point on the Lady Hawks finished the game strong by holding the Saints to only 9 points the remainder of the way. In the end, the Lady Hawks won by 11 points, 48-37. Adiya led all scorers and had a very impressive stat line: 32 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals and 4 blocks.

Up next for the Lady Hawks is the Tri-District championship game where they will face off against the Mount Vernon Christian Hurricanes. The Hurricanes almost handed the Lady Hawks their first defeat the last time they played back in the District playoffs. In that game the Lady Hawks managed to escape with a 39-38 victory thanks to a last minute bucket by Aliya Jones.

Look for all the details of the Tri-District championship game and Regional coverage in the next issue of the syəcəb.