BURLINGTON — The Next Door Gastropub Olympic Avalanche Black eighth-grade girls basketball team won the 25th Annual Tulip Tournament this weekend.
The OAB won the championship game 41-40 over Northside Swarm Gold (from Mill Creek) as Jada Cargo-Acosta hit two free throws with 10 seconds left for the final margin of victory.
The girls won shorthanded as Camille Stensgard was out with a broken finger and Emilia Long, Hannah Reetz and Myra Gale Walker had all fouled out. Cago-Acosta and Maggie Ruddell, who hit a shot late to tie the game, were big in the final minute, while Jayla Julmist of Sequim filled in for Stensgard.
This was the 17th tournament championship for the OAB girls.
“The girls showed tremendous heart and resiliency in the face of adversity in the championship game. NSS Gold was a very tough and talented team,” said head coach Joe Marvelle.
Long led the Avalanche Black with 11 points, while Reetz had eight, and Walker and MJ Cooke each had seven.
In earlier games, OAB beat JABOG, a British Columbia club team, 60-21. Long had 18 points, while Walker and Cooke each had 13 points and Reetz 10 points. Cooke added 12 rebounds and Walker 11.
OAB also beat HD Seattle 69-34. In that game, Cooke had 22 points, Long 15 and Julmist 10.
In the tournament semifinal, OAB beat the Lynden Lasers 32-23. Jaida Wood led the team with 11 points, while Cooke had seven.
