Young Tomahawk cagers eager to return to districts

MARYSVILLE — Last year’s Tomahawk basketball team had a core of senior girls who had helped build the program early in their high school career.

While this year’s seniors Britt Harris and Brittany Pierce were a part of that too, including a 2007-08 season that saw the girls earn a district playoff spot, there is some young talent on this team that doesn’t intend to wait until they’re seniors to return to districts.

In addition to Harris, the team’s leading scorer and an all-league first-team pick as a junior last year, the Tomahawks bring back three freshmen who saw considerable playing time last year as the season went on. Sophomore Dacia Heckendorf came off the bench at guard and forward last year, often chipping in four to six points per game. Fellow sophomore Morgan Martinis got her first varsity points midway through the season, when her canny three-point shooting ability on the JV team started to get noticed.

And the team’s third expected sophomore to contribute this season is Andi Adams, who coach Julie Martin projects to start at point guard this season after the graduation of last year’s starter Nicole Peterson. She’ll share that duty with senior guard Kaitlyn Enberg.

While it might be tempting to build the offense around Harris and her strong post performance, Martin said her senior captain helps make the rest of the team better.

“We’re pretty balanced this year,” Martin said. “Britt Harris is a pretty selfless player. She knows when to shoot and when to pass it out.”

With the loss of four starters graduation, including Peterson, all-league forward Jessica Masters and guards Shaelei Lucas and Anna West, there will be plenty of opportunities for this team’s returning faces step up and make a big play this season.

The girls get the first home tip off of the season, hosting Bellingham-area Squalicum Dec. 2 at Jim Linden Fieldhouse. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

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