A 27-point fourth quarter lifted the Oak Harbor High School girls basketball team to a 58-50 win over visiting Ferndale Friday, Dec. 18.

“That’s the first time we beat Ferndale in a long time,” Oak Harbor coach Jon Atkins said. “That’s a monkey off our backs and could be a turning point in our season.”

The Wildcats broke up a close game with a 13-0 run in the final period.

Down 34-31 heading into the fourth quarter, the Wildcats, behind 12 points from Bryn Langrock, took off.

Langrock hit a three pointer, Ferndale countered with its own, then Langrock struck again, evening the score at 37.

Six consecutive free throws, four by Rashanna Graham and two by Langrock, got the 13-0 run started.

Langrock added another three and Deja Bunch scored to make it 50-37 with 2:04 left in the game. The Golden Eagles never moved closer than seven the rest of the way.

Ferndale ramped up its pressure in the second half, and the ball-handling of Graham limited the damage.

When Graham left with an injury midway through the fourth quarter, Bunch took over the point and continued to break down the Ferndale press.

The Golden Eagles fouled to stop the clock in the fourth period, and Oak Harbor responded by hitting 12 of 19 free throws in the quarter. The Wildcats were 20-for-30 from the line in the game.

Ferndale jumped to a 9-3 lead in the first quarter. A three-pointer by Bunch, a three-point play by Janae Payne and a three-ball by Langrock helped Oak Harbor go up 16-14 half way through the second period. Oak Harbor led 23-22 at the half.

Langrock finished with four three-pointers and 15 points. Bunch scored 11 points, Julie Jansen 10, Graham eight, AnnaBelle Whitefoot eight and Payne six.

The Wildcats slowed the ball down when no obvious break existed and attacked Ferndale’s half-court defense.

“We thought we could score in half-court possessions,” Atkins said. “We really played well, especially in handling their pressure and closing the game out.”

Darrien Camarillo scored 22 points, 11 in the fourth quarter, for Ferndale (2-5).

Oak Harbor (3-4) will compete in the Bulldog Holiday Classic in Mount Vernon Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 28 and 29. The Wildcats open with Vashon Island (3-5) at 2 p.m.Monday. Mount Vernon (2-4) and Marysville-Pilchuck (1-5) are also in the tournament. The winners tangle at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday while the losers meet a 2 p.m.

(Deja Bunch drives by a Ferndale defender. Photo by Jim Waller.)