FERNDALE — Both the Glacier Peak and Ferndale girls basketball teams tried aggressive, full-court defensive pressure in the first half.
Naturally, both teams had netted 40 points by halftime.
Glacier Peak led the whole way but Ferndale hung around in what turned out to be a shootout. The Golden Eagles kept it close right until the end, but the Grizzlies prevailed 78-71 in the opening round of the 3A District 1 tournament Friday night at Ferndale High School.
“We pulled away to eight, and then they always came back,” said Glacier Peak head coach Brian Hill. “Then we’d get it to eight and they’d come back. We got it to eight again and we were able to keep it at seven.”
It was the seventh consecutive win for Glacier Peak, which will face Arlington in a district semifinal game at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at Jackson High School.
The Grizzlies, the No. 5 team in the latest Associated Press 3A poll, took an early lead against No. 9 Ferndale. Both offenses came out firing with Glacier Peak holding a slim 42-40 lead at halftime.
“It was just set offenses and people were scoring,” Hill said. “I don’t know if the defenses were bad or the offenses were good but that’s a good team. There’s a reason they’ve been ranked all year. We’re happy to get out of here.”
“Both teams are super good at defense so I was surprised (by the high score),” added Glacier Peak sophomore Paisley Johnson.
Ferndale, the No. 4 seed in the district tournament, started the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run to get within three, 64-61. But a Natalie Rasmussen 3-pointer doubled Glacier Peak’s lead as the Grizzlies maintained their advantage the rest of the way and got the win in the opening game of a district tournament that features four teams ranked in the top 10.
“It’s not even that this is the first win (in districts), but it’s a first win against a really good team,” Hill said. “They’re a little unknown because no one comes up here. But they battled.”
Johnson led Glacier Peak (19-2 overall), the No. 5 seed, with 20 points — including eight in the third quarter. She also grabbed six rebounds and had six steals.
“She goes 100 miles an hour and makes a lot of good things happen,” Hill said. “She was big for us tonight.”
Samantha Fatkin, Sadie Mensing and Kayla Watkins added 13 points apiece and Kianna Garner netted 12 for a balanced Glacier Peak offense.
“We were talking about our defense before the game and how that was going to win our game,” Garner said. “But it was kind of our offense tonight.”
Star post Linsey Honeycutt led Ferndale, which plays in the 3A/2A/1A Northwest Conference, with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Darrien Camarillo scored 14 points off the bench for the Golden Eagles and Abby Reid added 11 for Ferndale (17-4), which will host Shorewood in a loser-out game on Tuesday.
“They’re tough. They’re very, very physical,” Hill said. “Offensively, they hit some big 3s down the stretch. They just kept answering.”
The Grizzlies echoed their coach’s thoughts.
“Definitely a physical game,” said Garner, who ended up falling to the floor a couple times. “We knew coming in it was going to be physical.”
The win sets up a rematch with Arlington, which Glacier Peak defeated 61-58 on Dec. 15 in one of only two losses for the Eagles this season.
“Arlington’s really good too. They’re five points away from being undefeated. It doesn’t get any easier for us,” Hill said. “We knew that closing out the season with Lynnwood and Edmonds-Woodway and Ferndale — we’re playing ranked team after ranked team. We just have to keep bringing our A-game every night.”
At Ferndale
Glacier Peak 19 23 19 17 —78
Ferndale 15 25 13 18 —71
Glacier Peak—Paisley Johnson 20, Samantha Fatkin 13, Sadie Mensing 13, Kayla Watkins 13, Natalie Rasmussen 7, Charlie Sevenants 0, Sierra Nash 0, Kianna Garner 12, Abbie Juozapaitis 0. Ferndale—Carly Bannerman 2, Shelby Slaughter 0, Abby Reid 12, Darrien Camarillo 14, Savanna Shawler 2, Dasia Washington 6, Kendyl Puhan 4, Gabrielle Edison 4, Linsey Honeycutt 27. 3-point goals—Fatkin 3, Rasmussen 2, Garner 1, Reid 2, Camarillo 2. Records—Glacier Peak 19-2 overall. Ferndale 17-4.
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