NOTE: Playoff stories will be updated as new information is reported. For the latest news on all the games, keep visiting www.whatcomhoops.com.
You can’t do better defensively than what the Nooksack Valley girls did to start their Class 1A District 1 tournament consolation game Thursday night.
The visiting Pioneers held Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) scoreless in the opening period on the way to a dominating 53-22 victory. With the win, Nooksack Valley (15-7) earned a trip into next week’s bi-district tournament.
Before that, the Pioneers will play King’s (17-5) on Saturday at 3:45 p.m. at Mount Vernon High School … weather permitting … with the winner placing third in the district and the loser fourth. King’s beat Coupeville, 41-11, in Thursday’s other loser-out contest.
“We just want to keep moving on,” said Nooksack coach Shane Wichers. “Survive and advance.”
With Jenna Tenkley and Maya Galley doing most of the work on the Eagles’ top two players, the Pioneers took a 12-0 lead and didn’t let Cedar Park Christian break into double figures until late in the third quarter. Remarkably, only three Eagles players scored in the game.
“Defensively we played really well,” said Wichers, singling out Tenkley and Galley but noting that others helped out. “It was definitely a team effort.”
Jenna Compton had a game-high 12 points to lead Nooksack Valley’s balanced scoring attack. Tehya Moore added nine points, and Kora Larsen and Galley had eight each.
Nooksack Valley 53, Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) 22
Nooksack Valley 12 14 13 14 — 53
Cedar Park Christian 0 6 7 9 — 22
Nooksack Valley: Kora Larsen 8, Tehya Moore 9, Maya Galley 8, Vanessa Galindo, McKenna Wichers 4, Lexi Strong, Jenna Tenkley 2, Jenna Compton 12, Kaity Paz 6, Aubree Bird 4.
Cedar Park Christian: Parker Reymore, Abby Perrigoue 2, Lauren McNamara, Irena Korolenko 11, Tia Johnson, Jaden Chappell-Waters, Sela Flynn 9.
CLASS 1A DISTRICT 1 GIRLS TOURNAMENT
Consolation round (Thursday)
Nooksack Valley 53, Cedar Park Christian 22 (loser out)
King’s 48, Coupeville 11 (loser out)
Consolation Final (Saturday)
Nooksack Valley (15-7) vs. King’s (17-5) at Mount Vernon High School, 3:45 p.m. (winner third, loser fourth, both advance to bi-district)
Championship final (Saturday)
Meridian (18-4) vs. Lynden Christian (18-3) at Mount Vernon High School, 7:30 p.m. (winner first, loser second, both advance to bi-district, winner to state)
(Full schedule and bracket at nwcathletics.com)
Jim Carberry is a former Bellingham Herald sports editor and author of several books on Whatcom County prep basketball. Follow him on Twitter @whatcomhoops and visit the Whatcom Hoops Facebook page.
