The Nooksack Valley boys wanted a repeat and the Blaine girls wanted to avoid one, and the two teams got their wishes with big victories in Class 1A District 1 play-in games Monday night, Feb. 6.
The Pioneers defeated the visiting Mounties, 61-43, almost matching the same margin as the two teams’ matchup three weeks ago. Except this time the victory propelled fourth-seeded Nooksack Valley into the boys district semifinals on Wednesday at Lynden Christian, and the loss ended Mount Baker’s season.
Meanwhile, the Borderites avenged an earlier loss by beating the host Mounties, 48-36. With the win, fifth-seeded Blaine advances to the girls district semifinals at Nooksack Valley on Wednesday, while fourth seed Mount Baker had its season end.
NEXT UP: The Lummi Nation girls and boys both host Orcas Island today at 4 and 5:30 p.m. in the Class 1B District 1 semifinals. Check out Whatcom Hoops later tonight for all the action.
Boys
Nooksack Valley 61, Mount Baker 43
Like their first meeting, Nooksack Valley got off to a fast start, taking a 20-8 lead after one period. The Mounties would close to within seven at the half, but the Pioneers held the Mount Baker to one field goal in the fourth quarter to pull away.
“The boys played well and played hard,” said Nooksack Valley coach Rich Skillman, whose team improved to 9-11 on the season. “We fought through some adversity. It was the next man up mentality and the boys did it.”
With sophomore standout Brady Ackerman and junior Dalton Hickey out sick, and senior Bennett DeLange, another all-league performer, playing with an injury, the Pioneers needed and got scoring from all eight players.
Sophomore point guard Caden Heutink had the biggest night offensively with a team-high 17 points. His eight points in Nooksack’s big first period got the Pioneers off and running.
Sophomore Colton Lentz added 9 points; junior Jorge Vigre had 8 points, including two big 3-pointers; junior Wayne Silves had 7 points; and DeLange managed 6 points in barely a half of action. Skillman also praised junior Joey Brown and senior Ayden Roper for picking up the slack on the boards and combining for 12 points.
For Mount Baker, which finished the year at 2-17, senior Jacob Wade had 19 points, including 12 points in the second half as the Mounties tried to climb back in the game. Senior Ethan Larson added 9 points, including two 3-pointers; freshmen Jordan Bailey had a pair of 3s; and another freshman, Carter Hill, had 5 points.
“I’m proud of our guys for the way they fought this year,” said Mount Baker coach Tony Clark. “They absolutely never gave up and played really well against a solid Nooksack team.”
The contest was similar to Nooksack Valley’s 50-33 win over Baker on Jan. 19, when the Mounties again got off to a slow start, scoring only 12 points in the first half.
While the Pioneers were happy with a repeat on Monday and an opportunity to move into the double-elmination part of the tournament, they won’t want a repeat on Wednesday against the defending state champion Lyncs. Lynden Christian won the two teams’ regular-season meeting, 73-52, on Jan. 6.
Nooksack Valley 61, Mount Baker 43
Mount Baker 8 16 10 9—43
Nooksack Valley 20 11 13 17—61
Mount Baker: Smith 1, Wade 19, Powell, Madera, K. Hill 3, C. Hill 5, Larson 9, Ross, Scott, Kruse, Toner, Bailey 6.
Nooksack Valley: Heutink 17, DeLange 6, Olney 2, Vigre 8, Lentz 9, Roper 5, Silves 7, Kamphouse, Brown 7, Coppinger.
DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Monday, Feb. 6
Play-in game
#4 Nooksack Valley 61, #5 Mount Baker 43 (loser out)
Wednesday, Feb. 8
Semifinals
#3 Meridian (11-9) at #2 Blaine (13-6)
Nooksack Valley (9-11) at #1 Lynden Christian (19-2)
Saturday, Feb. 11
At Lynden High
Consolation round
Semifinal losers, 1 p.m. (loser out)
Championship game
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m. (winner to bi-district playoff)
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Consolation final
At Lynden High
Championship game loser vs. consolation round winner, 7 p.m. (winner to bi-district playoff, loser out)
Girls
Blaine 48, Mount Baker 36
The Borderites blew open a close contest with 23 points in an explosive fourth quarter. Junior Deja Dube led the way with 11 points in the period and the Borderites hit all six of their free throws in the fourth to finally subdue the Mounties.
Dube would finish with a game-high 24 points and four big 3-pointers, and junior Jordyn Vezzetti added 11 points for Blaine, which improved to 4-16 this season.
“It was a well-played game, but they made a run in the fourth quarter and we just couldn’t match it,” said Mount Baker coach Tiffany Ramirez, who praised freshman point guard Natalie Van Liew for her leadership and senior post Jojo Lindsey for her all-around play.
Van Liew and Lindsey would finish with 15 points each for Mount Baker, which had its season end at 5-15.
With the win, Blaine moves into the double-elimination portion of the tournament, but the Borderites face a difficult task on Wednesday. Next up is top-ranked Nooksack Valley, which has won 20 of 21 games and defeated Blaine by 54 points earlier this season.
Blaine and Baker played twice earlier in the season with the Borderites winning a non-conference holiday tournament game. Monday’s victory, however, was a major turnaround from Mount Baker’s 40-35 win on Jan. 16. But there was a major difference between the two games— or, more exact, the lack of a major difference.
This time Mount Baker was without its all-Whatcom Hoops guard Maddy Barter, who was injured at the end of the regular season and unable to play Monday. Barter had 21 points in the Mounties’ earlier victory over Blaine.
Blaine 48, Mount Baker 36
Blaine 9 7 9 23—48
Mount Baker 5 11 6 14—36
Blaine: Shields, Vezzetti 11, Bowman 5, Berkeley 2, Ball 2, Puls, Price 2, Dube 24, Daniels 2
Mount Baker: Johnson, Madera 3, Contreras, Abitia, 2, Jefferson, Lindsey 15, Wilson 4, Brown, Van Liew 15
DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Monday, Feb. 6
Play-in game
#5 Blaine 48, #4 Mount Baker 36 (loser out)
Wednesday, Feb. 8
Semifinals
#3 Meridian (7-12) at #2 Lynden Christian (19-2), 5:30 p.m.
Blaine (4-16) at #1 Nooksack Valley (20-1), 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 11
At Lynden High
Championship game
Semifinal winners, 5 p.m. (winner first, to bi-district playoff)
Consolation round
Semifinal losers, 11 a.m. (loser out)
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Consolation final
At Lynden High
Championship game loser vs. consolation round winner, 5 p.m. (winner to bi-district playoff, loser out)
