It will be Lynden Christian versus Nooksack Valley for the boys and girls Class 1A district championships after the Lyncs and Pioneers won their respective semifinal games on Friday, Feb. 13.
In the boys semifinals, the top-seeded Lyncs took longer than expected before beating fourth-seeded Blaine, 66-54, and the second-seeded Pioneers won another classic battle with third seed Meridian, 65-61.
In the girls semifinals, the top-seeded Lyncs had the hot hand in blasting fourth seed Meridian, 66-28, and the second-seeded Pioneers held off third-seeded Mount Baker, 56-47.
The district championship games will be Tuesday night at Lynden High School with the girls contest at 5:40 p.m. and the boys at 7:15 p.m. The winners will earn berths into the state regionals. LC won both regular-season games with Nooksack on Jan. 23, the girls by a 58-38 score and the boys by a 61-44 margin.
Friday’s semifinal losers are still alive and will square off in the consolation bracket next Friday, Feb. 20, at Lynden. The girls will play at 5:40 p.m. and the boys follow at 7:15.
The championship game losers will then play the consolation survivors for second place in winner-to-state, loser-out games on Saturday, Feb. 21, with the girls at 1 p.m. and the boys at 2:50. And this year, there are no crossover games so the boys and girls top two teams advance directly to the state regionals.
Lynden Christian Girls Shoot Down Trojans, 66-28
The Lyncs unleashed their long-range shooters and when the smoke had cleared, Lynden Christian had made 11 3-pointers and shot down Meridian, 66-28. The win raised the Lyncs’ record to 20-3.
Senior Ella Fritts led the barrage with five 3-pointers and 25 points to go along with 5 assists, 5 steals, and 3 blocks.
Sophomore Tyra Dykstra had three 3s and 17 points, and senior Sara Van Loo tossed in a pair of 3-pointers for 6 points. Junior Jocelyn Eshuis added 8 points to the LC attack and 7 rebounds. Junior Ellie Pierce had a game-high 7 assists.
The Lyncs held Meridian to 11 first-half points and, after taking an 18-point halftime lead, put the game away with a 20-point fourth quarter.
“We had an extremely competitive first quarter and did a lot of good things,” said Meridian coach Kayla Bernsen, whose team fell to 8-14. “LC has a lot of depth, and they kept it rolling. Credit to them for withstanding us until we were too tired to keep up the pressure.”
Junior Eden Bernardy led the Trojans with 9 points and 7 rebounds, and juniors Sierra James and Lola Gibbs had 6 points each with Gibbs adding a team-high 3 steals.
Lynden Christian 66, Meridian 28
Meridian 5 6 11 6—28
Lynden Christian 11 18 17 20—66
Meridian: Krumdiak 2, Koning 2, Bernardy 9, Storgaard, Swanson 3, Noste, James 6, Cline-Malarz, Gibbs 6, Benson.
Lynden Christian: Fritts 25, T. Dykstra 17, Eshuis 8, D. Dykstra 1, Russell 3, Van Loo 6, Pierce 2, Lensen, Camping, DeJong 4.
Nooksack Girls Shut Down Mount Baker, 56-47
The Nooksack Valley girls couldn’t stop Mount Baker junior Rebeca Soares but the Pioneers did a good job shutting down the rest of the Mounties in taking the 56-47 victory.
Mount Baker led heading into the second half, but only managed six points in the third quarter. Nooksack Valley countered with 19 points to take a nine-point lead and then held off the Mounties in the final period. The win raised the Pioneers’ record to 13-9.
Senior Payton Bartl had 17 points, 14 in the second half, plus 10 rebounds and 3 assists to pace the Pioneers. Junior Raegan Burke provided a big lift with two 3-pointers late in the second period to cut Baker’s lead to four and then hit two more 3s in the crucial third quarter to finish with 12 points. She also had 4 rebounds.
Senior Grace DeHoog had 11 points and 12 rebounds; senior Chayleigh Davis had 10 points and a team-high 4 assists and 4 blocked shots; and senior Natalie Van Liew had 6 points and 3 steals against her former team.
“We played a good first half, but they hit back-to-back 3s right before the half and came out with momentum in the third quarter,” said Mount Baker coach Tiffany Ramirez, whose team fell to 5-15. “We fought hard. We just have to learn to control momentum when we need to.”
Soares would finish with 26 points, including all six of Baker’s third-period points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks. Sophomores Kayln Abitia and Aurora George had 6 and 5 points, respectively, but no other Mountie had more than four points. Junior Violet Fox was back in uniform and had 5 rebounds.
Nooksack Valley 56, Mount Baker 47
Mount Baker 16 10 6 15—47
Nooksack Valley 9 13 19 15—56
Mount Baker: Kammenga, Brown 3, Soares 26, V. Fox 4, Powell 3, Abitia 6, George 5, Nutting 2.
Nooksack Valley: Flores, Bartl 17, Davis 10, Swaffield, Biondolillo, Harmon, Van Liew 6, Burke 12, DeHoog 11.
CLASS 1A GIRLS DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, Feb. 11
Play-in game
Meridian 44, Blaine 34 (loser out)
Friday, Feb. 13
Semifinals
Lynden Christian 66, Meridian 28
Nooksack Valley 56, Mount Baker 47
Tuesday, Feb. 17
At Lynden High
Championship game
Lynden Christian vs. Nooksack Valley, 5:40 p.m. (winner first, to state regionals)
Friday, Feb. 20
At Lynden High
Consolation game
Mount Baker vs. Meridian, 5:40 p.m. (loser out)
Saturday, Feb. 21
At Lynden High School
Consolation final, 1 p.m. (winner second, to state regionals, loser out)
LC Boys Finally Shake Off Blaine, 66-54
It wasn’t easy — and certainly a lot different than Lynden Christian’s 41-point victory a month ago — but the Lyncs finally subdued the brash Borderites, 66-54. The win improved Lynden Christian’s record to 21-1 and the loss dropped the visitors to 5-18.
LC got 30 points from junior Gunnar Dykstra, who finished with five of the team’s eight 3-pointers, and the Lyncs would need every point. Junior Kaden Veldman added 13 points and 14 rebound;, senior Boyce Robertson had 10 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals; and senior Eli Maberry had 5 points.
Blaine used its disciplined offense and physical defense to keep the game close. Senior Landon Melton led the balanced Borderite attack with 13 points and 10 rebounds, senior Daniel Banks had 11 points, junior Gus Dickson had 10 points, and junior Dawson Dohner had 8 points.
“I’m really proud of our commitment to the style of play as of late,” said Blaine coach Chas Kok. “Our guys have been extremely unselfish, and we’ve played some good basketball. We need to continue to take things one day at a time and see what happens if our process continues to be good. The guys should be proud of their growth as a team.”
The Lyncs were hurt by the absence of leading-scorer Dawson Hintz, who was forced to sit out the game.
Lynden Christian 66, Blaine 54
Blaine 15 14 14 11—54
Lynden Christian 18 18 15 15—66
Blaine: Kerwin 3, Banks 11, Dahl, Dohner 8, L. Brown 5, Melton 13, P. Bouma 4, G. Dickson 10.
Lynden Christian: Dykstra 30, Howell 2, Maberry 5, Kamphouse 3, Robertson 10, Veldman 13, Herwerden 3.
Nooksack Boys Take This One From Meridian, 65-61
It was another Nooksack Valley-Meridian boys battle royale and like the others the past two year, Friday’s semifinal came down to another tight finish.
This time there would be no last-second Trojan heroics as the Pioneers used a 22-point second quarter to take a big lead and then held off the Trojans for a 65-61 victory.
“They closed the gap late when we had some not-so-great turnovers three or four possessions in a row,” said Nooksack Valley coach Jason Heutink, whose squad improved to 9-13. “But Cole Coppinger had a big and-one in the lane with around two and a half minute left.”
Senior Owen Wichers had a big night for the Pioneers with 26 points and 6 rebounds. Senior Jayden Anderson added 10 points and 5 assists, Coppinger and fellow senior Crew Bauman had 9 points each with Coppinger nabbing 4 steals, and sophomore Tyler Martin had 6 points.
“Owen was big all night at the high post, hitting multiple 12- to 15-foot jumpers,” said Heutink.
Junior Pierce Brzozowski, whose free throw with less than a second to go gave Meridian a one-point victory in the two teams’ regular-season meeting, led the Trojans with a triple double. He had team-highs of 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Senior Daniel Larsen had 13 point and 6 rebounds, junior L.D. Webster had 12 points and 3 assists, junior Trey Alexander had 9 points, and junior Gabe Galbraith had 5 points.
The loss dropped the Trojans to 6-15 on the season.
Nooksack Valley 65, Meridian 61
Nooksack Valley 17 22 15 11—65
Meridian 18 12 17 14—61
Nooksack Valley: Coppinger 9, Bauman 9, J. Anderson 10, Wichers 26, Leyerly 4, Martin 6, Silves, Ackerman 1.
Meridian: Hayes 1, Braithwaite, Webster 12, Alexander 9, Blankenburg 3, Galbraith 5, Ashmore 2, L. Brzozowski, P. Brzozowski 16, Larsen 13, Burgess.
CLASS 1A BOYS DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, Feb. 11
Play-in game
Blaine 60, Mount Baker 43 (loser out)
Friday, Feb. 13
Semifinals
Lynden Christian 66, Blaine 54
Nooksack Valley 65, Meridian 61
Tuesday, Feb. 17
At Lynden High
Championship game
Lynden Christian vs. Nooksack Valley, 7:15 p.m. (winner first, to state regionals)
Friday, Feb. 20
At Lynden High
Meridian vs. Blaine, 7:15 p.m. (loser out)
Saturday, Feb. 21
At Lynden High School
Consolation final, 2:50 p.m. (winner second, to state regionals, loser out)
