Higher seeds are expected to win and the top seeds in the Class 1A District 1 boys and girls tournaments did not disappoint in Wednesday night’s semifinals
The top-seeded Nooksack Valley and second-seeded Lynden Christian girls cruised to big victories at home to set up their second meeting of the season. The Pioneers blasted Blaine on Wednesday, 98-21, and the Lyncs leveled Meridian, 70-34.
Nooksack Valley and Lynden Christian will square off again in the district championship game Saturday at 5 p.m. at Lynden High School.The district champion will advance to a bi-district crossover game on Feb. 18 with a state regional berth at stake.
Blaine and Meridian, meanwhile, will play in a loser-out consolation contest at 11 a.m. Saturday also at Lynden. The winner of that game will take on the Nooksack Valley-Lynden Christian loser on Tuesday, Feb. 14, for the district’s second berth in the bi-district crossover series on Feb. 18. The loser of Tuesday’s game also will be eliminated.
In the boys semifinals, top seed Lynden Christian knocked off Nooksack Valley, 83-38, and second-seeded Blaine held off Meridian, 61-54.
The Lyncs and Borderites will face off in the district championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lynden High School. The district champion will advance to a bi-district crossover game on Feb. 18 with a state regional berth at stake.
Nooksack Valley and Meridian will play a loser-out consolation contest at 1 p.m. Saturday also at Lynden. The winner of that game will take on the Lynden Christian-Blaine loser on Tuesday, Feb. 14, for the district’s second berth in the bi-district crossover series on Feb 18. The loser of Tuesday’s game also will be eliminated.
Girls
Nooksack Valley 98, Blaine 21
The Pioneers (21-1) showed why they are the top-ranked 1A team in the state by overwhelming the Borderites (4-17), 68-12, in the first half and never letting Blaine get in the game.
All 10 Pioneers scored with both senior Hallie Kamphouse and Lainey Kimball outscoring Blaine with 23 points each. Kimball had 14 points in the first quarter and Kamphouse hit all seven of her 3-pointers in the first half.
All-state junior guard Devin Coppinger added 17 points, sophomore Kate Shintoffer had 12 points, including a pair of 3s, and junior Tana Hoekema added 10 points and two more 3s.
For Blaine (4-17), the only bright spot offensively was junior Jordyn Vezzetti, who had 15 points.
Nooksack Valley 98, Blaine 21
Blaine 9 3 2 7—21
Nooksack Valley 38 30 19 11—98
Blaine: Shields, Rea, Vezzetti 15, Bowman 3, Berkeley 2, Ball, Puls, Price, Dube, Daniels 1.
Nooksack Valley: Kimball 23, Shintaffer 12, Bartl 2, Kamphouse 23, Coppinger 17, Hoekema 10, Lentz 4, Anderson 3, Perry 2, DeHoog 2.
Lynden Christian 70, Meridian 34
The two-time defending state champion Lyncs (20-2) held the Trojans to 15 first-half points and put the game away with a 23-point fourth period.
Sophomore Grace Hintz led Lynden Christian with 22 points and two 3-pointers, senior Demi Dykstra added 10 pints, freshman Ella Fritts had 9 points, and sophomore Tabby DeJong added 8 points.
For Meridian (7-12), senior Maris Baklund had 15 points including three 3s, sophomore Brooklyn Fuller had 9 points, and senior Avery Neal had 8 points.
Lynden Christian 70, Meridian 34
Meridian 8 7 12 7—34
Lynden Christian 15 16 16 23—70
Meridian: Fuller 9, McCauley, Baklund 15, K. Neal, Bressler 2, A. Neal 8, Benson.
Lynden Christian: Hagen, De. Dykstra 10, Herwerden 2, Fritts 9, Hintz 22, Fay 3, DeJong 8, Poag 5, Arnold 5, Shumate 6.
DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Monday, Feb. 6
Play-in game
#5 Blaine 48, #4 Mount Baker 36 (loser out)
Wednesday, Feb. 8
Semifinals
#2 Lynden Christian 70, #3 Meridian 34
#1 Nooksack Valley 98, Blaine 21
Saturday, Feb. 11
At Lynden High
Championship game
Nooksack Valley (21-1) vs. Lynden Christian (20-2), 5 p.m. (winner first, to bi-district playoff)
Consolation round
Meridian (7-13) vs. Blaine (4-17), 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)
Boys
Lynden Christian 83, Nooksack Valley 38
The Lyncs (20-2) used their suffocating defense to limit the Pioneers to 15 first-half points and used some hot shooting to win going away.
Junior Dawson Bouma sparked the 21-point first quarter with nine points and would finish with 15 points and three of Lynden Christian’s 14 3-pointers.
Junior Jeremiah Wright led the Lyncs with 19 points, senior Griffin Dykstra added 11 points and three 3s, and senior guard Tyler Sipma had a triple double with 13 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and, just for good measure, four 3-pointers.
Senior Bennett DeLange led Nooksack Valley (9-12) with 15 points and the Pioneers’ only two 3-pointers. Junior Wayne Silves and sophomore Brady Ackerman had 6 points each.
Lynden Christian 83, Nooksack Valley 38
Nooksack Valley 6 9 12 11—38
Lynden Christian 21 15 26 21—83
Nooksack Valley: Heutink 4, DeLange 15, Olney, Vigre 2, Lentz 2, Roper, Silves 6, Hickey 2, Kamphouse, Brown, Ackerman 6, Coppinger 1.
Lynden Christian: Sipma 13, Ga. Dykstra 5, Bouma 15, Zylstra 4, Robertson 3, Gr. Dykstra 11, L. Dykstra 6, Paxton 4, Kuik 3, Blair, Van Kooten, Wright 19.
Blaine 61, Meridian 56
The Borderites (14-6) led by 14 at the half but needed a big fourth quarter of their own to hold off a remarkable Meridian comeback.
Senior Lucas Smith had a pair of 3s and seven of his game-high 24 points in Blaine’s 20-point fourth period, and senior Carson Lehnert had eight of his 10 points in the crucial final quarter. Senior Matt Russ added 14 points for the Borderites.
The Trojans (11-10), who only managed 14 points in the first half, scored 15 in the third quarter and then put together a 25-point fourth quarter to put a scare in the Borderites. Meridian hit a remarkable 14 of 15 free throws in the final period.
Senior Hunter Jones and sophomore Talon Jenkins led Meridian with 17 points each with Jones scoring 10 points and Jenkins seven in the fourth-quarter rally. Sophomore Jaeger Fyfe added 16 points with three 3-pointers, and Jenkins finished with four 3s.
Blaine 61, Meridian 56
Meridian 8 6 15 25—56
Blaine 7 21 13 20—61
Meridian: Jenkins 17, Fuller, Fyfe 16, Nagra, Amundson, Burks, James, Jones 17, Brooks 4.
Blaine: Smith 24, Creasey-Pulphus 3, Russ 14, Koreski 4, Dalry, Lehnert 10, Tavis 6.
DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Monday, Feb. 6
Play-in game
#4 Nooksack Valley 61, #5 Mount Baker 43 (loser out)
Wednesday, Feb. 8
Semifinals
#2 Blaine 61, #3 Meridian 56
#1 Lynden Christian 83, Nooksack Valley 38
Saturday, Feb. 11
At Lynden High
Consolation round
Meridian (11-10) vs. Nooksack Valley (9-12), 1 p.m. (loser out)
Championship game
Blaine (14-6) vs. Lynden Christian (20-2), 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)
