Even with an almost entirely new team, the Lynden Christian girls find themselves in a familiar place after holding off Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls), 59-51, in the Class 1A state regional Saturday afternoon, Feb. 24, at Lynden High School.
The third-seeded Lyncs, who have been in the last five state finals, are back in the quarterfinals in the Yakima SunDome for the 17th straight tournament. On Thursday, Feb. 29, at 7:15 p.m., they will face the winner of Wednesday’s loser-out contest between King’s and Eatonville.
“We’ll start with the things where Lakeside exposed us and that we need to get better at,” Lynden Christian coach Brady Bomber said of the coming week.
“We’ll start there and see how we can continue to grow and improve. Then we’ll take the week to try and get our bodies and minds ready to go, to be ready to play fast and free on Thursday.”
For the Essential Fans Guide to the Class 1A girls state tournament, check out Fans Guide.
For the Lyncs (17-7), who return only one starter and two reserves from last year’s state runner-up squad, Saturday’s regional against the sixth-seeded Eagles was a new experience for most of the team. Fortunately for LC, the returnees knew what was needed.
Junior guard Grace Hintz, who still isn’t 100 percent after knee surgery last spring, finished with 16 points. Sophomore guard Ella Fritts had 13 points, and the team’s only senior, Tabby DeJong, was one of four players with 6 points.
Lynden Christian took control of the game by scoring the last six points of the first quarter and starting the second quarter on a 10-1 run to go up by a dozen. After Lakeside closed to within 33-28 after scoring the first basket of the second half, a 14-2 LC run gave the Lyncs a comfortable 17-point lead.
“I thought we got in a nice little comfort zone (in the third quarter) where we were a little more sure of where we were going and a little more poised with the ball, and we saw the results of that,” said Bomber. “Offense gets easier when you’re doing that.”
The Eagles held Lynden Christian to nine points in the fourth quarter to make it interesting but never got the lead under eight points.
Pitching in on offense for the Lyncs were junior Danya Dykstra and sophomore Estela Hernandez, who had two 3-pointers and 6 points each, and junior Allison Shumate, who also had 6 points. Lynden Christian also helped itself by going 14 of 18 from the free throw line.
Lakeside (19-5) will take on Montesano in a loser-out contest Wednesday.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A special thanks to Marie Yates for all the photos and to Butch Kamena for helping with the story.
Lynden Christian 59, Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) 51
Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) 13 13 11 14—51
Lynden Christian 17 16 17 9—59
Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls): Stueckle, A. Tobeck, Arnold, Edwards-Kevin, Mac. Cummings, Crabtree, Mad. Cummings, Lorenz, B. Tobeck, Owen, Boykin, Haff.
Lynden Christian: Dykstra 6, Tveter, Hernandez 6, Fritts 13, Hintz 16, DeJong 6, Yun 3, Van Loo 3, Shumate 6.
CLASS 1A GIRLS STATE REGIONALS
Friday, Feb. 23
Seattle Academy 55, Annie Wright 53 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
Eatonville 40, Seton Catholic 36 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
Saturday, Feb. 24
Lynden Christian 59, Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) 51 (both to state tournament)
Montesano 41, Cascade Christian 25 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
Wapato (21-4) 63, King’s 58 (both to state tournament)
Nooksack Valley 75, Toppenish 36 (both to state tournament)
Deer Park 41, Bellevue Christian 35 (both to state tournament)
Cashmere 43, Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) 24 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
