BLAINE

BORDERITES

Coach: Ryan Pike (first season)

Last year: Finished tied for second in the Class 2A NWC standings with a 10-3 conference record. ... Ended season after going 1-2 during the Class 2A State Tournament and finished 18-8 overall. ... Stefawn Perrin was an All-Whatcom County selection and Jeremy Hinchey was selected All-Whatcom County Coach of the Year.

Players to watch: Taylor V'Dovec (So., F); Mandy Hayes (So., G); Breanna Chau (So., G); Alexis McElwain (Jr., P); Olivia Olason (Jr., F)

Outlook: New coach Ryan Pike inherited quite a team after Jeremy Hinchey stepped down from his post as head coach following Blaine's first state tournament appearance since 2004 last season. Pike seems like the right man for the job, as he said he watched nearly every Blaine game last season. Returning for the Borderites is their star trio of sophomores Taylor V'Dovec (9.3 points per game last year), who, as only a sophomore, is one of the top posts in the Northwest Conference, guard Mandy Hayes (7.3), guard Breanna Chau (7.4) and junior post Alexis McElwain (7.0). The big loss is four-year varsity graduated point guard Stefawn Perrin, who led Blaine with 12 points per game last year. Pike is using Chau and Hayes to bring the ball up this year, but said he's "trying to make it where everyone on the team can run every spot." Though Blaine is a talented group, it doesn't have one senior on its roster. "So far, defensively, they've played really well," Pike said. "I went to almost all the games last year, and defense seemed to be an area they struggled." Junior guard Rhiana Breedlove and sophomore frontcourt players Nicole Ortega and Mikayla Deming are expected to contribute off the bench.

2012-13 ROSTER

No. Player Yr. Ht. Pos.

1 Emily Roe So. 5-6 P

2 Breanna Chau So. 5-4 G

4 Gretchen Kordas So. 5-5 G

10 Olivia Olason Jr. 5-8 F

13 Alexis McElwain Jr. 5-10 P

20 Mikayla Deming So. 5-10 F

24 Nicole Ortega So. 5-8 P

33 Rhiana Breedlove Jr. 5-7 G

34 Taylor V'Dovec So. 5-10 F

35 Mandy Hayes So. 5-9 G

2012-13 SCHEDULE

Nov. 27 Concrete W 71-30

Nov. 30 Sedro-Woolley W 51-11

Dec. 3 Mount Baker W 45-34

Dec. 7 at Ferndale 7:15 p.m.

Dec. 10 Meridian 7:15 p.m.

Dec. 14 Lynden Christian* 7:15 p.m.

Dec. 18 Nooksack Valley* 7:15 p.m.

Dec. 21 at Anacortes* 7:15 p.m.

Dec. 27 at LC Christmas Tournament TBD

Dec. 28 at LC Christmas Tournament (White River) 8:30 p.m.

Jan. 3 Bellingham* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 7 Ferndale* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 10 at Squalicum* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 15 Sehome* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 18 at Meridian* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 21 at Mount Baker* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 25 Lynden* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 26 Friday Harbor noon

Jan. 29 at Sedro-Woolley* 7:15 p.m.

Feb. 1 at Burlington-Edison* 7:15 p.m.

*NWC game

Reach ANDREW LANG at andrew.lang@bellinghamherald.com or call ext. 862.