Last year, Bellevue Christian rose from a pack of contenders to end Nooksack Valley’s and Lynden Christian’s four-year reign of Class 1A girls basketball state championships.
And when this year’s state regionals tip off Friday and Saturday, the Vikings will be among another pack of strong contenders looking to claim the golden state championship trophy.
Of course, so will the Nooksack and LC girls.
The Pioneers are up first as part of a quadruple-header at Lynden High School on Saturday, when they take on King’s Way Christian at 2 p.m. The Lyncs will close out the four games when they meet — surprise, surprise — Bellevue Christian at 6 p.m.
The two Whatcom teams find themselves in the same positions they were last year.
For previews of all the regional games involving Whatcom teams, check out Whatcom Hoops.
Nooksack Valley comes in as the ninth seed and will be playing the Knights from Vancouver in a loser-out game. Should the Pioneers win Saturday, they would move on to Wednesday’s elimination game in Yakima against the loser of the King’s-Lakeside (9 Miles) regional. If they survive that, they’d advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Of course, Nooksack will have to get by King’s Way Christian first. One advantage the Pioneers will have is state experience, having three seniors — Payton Bartl, Chayleigh Davis, and Grace DeHoog — who were part of Nooksack’s state championship run. This is only the third time the 16th-seed Knights have made it to state, and they’ve never advanced past the regional round.
In addition, the Knights are young — really, really young. They have four eighth-graders, including two starting guards, and a starting freshman. Their leading scorer is junior 6-footer Addison Bagley.
“They predominantly play zone and offensively want to work the ball inside or get a wide open perimeter shot,” said Nooksack Valley coach Shane Wichers, whose string of three straight state finals and two state titles ended in Wednesday’s loser-out round last year. “They aren’t super deep and don’t sub much.”
By virtue of its third seed, Lynden Christian’s path is simpler but not easier. If they beat the defending champions Saturday, the Lyncs advance directly to Thursday’s quarterfinals. Should they lose Saturday, they, too, would fall into Wednesday’s elimination round and would have to beat the Bear Creek-Wapato winner to go to the quarterfinals.
The first step, of course, is taking on the defending champs. Of all the returning contenders, Bellevue Christian may have been hit hardest by graduation, losing five seniors.
But the Vikings return 5-foot-6 fireball Kiana Skogstad (and if that name sounds familiar, yes, she’s the granddaughter of legendary Ferndale and King’s coach Larry Skogstad) and 6-foot Addi Taylor. They also have talented 6-1 freshman post Emily Hoffman and will matchup well with LC’s height and quickness.
“Bellevue Christian is very good at controlling the pace of the game,” said Lynden Christian coach Brady Bomber, whose team has lost heart-breaking semifinals the past two years after reaching the state finals the previous five tournaments. “They execute their offense at a very high level.”
The Lyncs will be led by their three seniors — all-state guard Ella Fritts, Sara Van Loo, and Estela Hernandez, who is expected to return from an injury that kept her out of the district playoffs.
Here’s a look at both Whatcom teams and their 1A regional games:
#9 NOOKSACK VALLEY (14-10) vs. #16 KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN (16-6)
Saturday, 2 p.m., at Lynden High School
If Pioneers win: Play King’s-Lakeside (9 Miles) loser in loser-out game on Wednesday, March 4, at 9 p.m.
If Pioneers lose: Their season is over.
Regional outlook: The Pioneers’ record is misleading since they play in the highly competitive Northwest Conference and aren’t afraid to schedule 4A and 3A teams in non-league games. They’ll definitely be favored against the youthful Knights, especially in the comfortable Lynden gym where the Pioneers had one of their best games of the season in beating Mount Baker for the district’s final state spot. If Nooksack comes out strong, the game could be over early. Of course, after Saturday, things will get a lot tougher.
State preview: Last year’s top five teams are all back and have to be considered the favorites. All have impressive wins but last year’s runner-up, King’s, is the one everyone is watching because of their impressive loss (by only five points) to 2A state favorite Lynden. However, Zillah (fourth place last year) is loaded, Annie Wright (fifth) has three convincing victories over Bellevue Christian, and Lynden Christian (third) has marched through its rugged schedule with only three losses.
Pioneers coach Shane Wichers: “I really like where we are at as a team. We have everyone healthy and are starting to find a good rhythm offensively and defensively. I like our matchup going into the regional game as long as we can limit their ability to get easy shots and don’t get into too big of a hurry in our halfcourt offense.”
#3 LYNDEN CHRISTIAN (21-3) vs. #6 BELLEVUE CHRISTIAN (16-6)
Saturday, 6 p.m., at Lynden High School
If Lyncs win: Play in quarterfinals on Thursday, March 5, 7:15 p.m.
If Lyncs lose: Play Wapato-Bear Creek winner in loser-out game on Wednesday, March 4, 3:45 p.m.
Regional outlook: Bellevue Christian may not be as good as last year’s squad, which ran roughshod over the 1A tournament, but the Vikings still have plenty of talent and experience. Both BC and LC have wins over Burlington and Sehome and losses to Lynden, so it may come down to how well the Lyncs’ defense corrals the Vikings’ big three and especially who wins the battle between 6-footers in the paint.
State preview: While last year’s top five squads could return to the trophy stand, this weekend’s regionals will pose some serious challenges to the top seeds. Second seed Zillah faces another two-loss team in Seton Catholic, third seed LC and defending champion Bellevue Christian will square off, and fourth-seeded Annie Wright will be tested by a strong Royal squad, which only has four losses, three of them coming to Zillah.
Lyncs coach Brady Bomber: “King’s, Zillah, and Annie Wright are the favorites. Royal and Seton Catholic are in the next tier.”
CLASS 1A GIRLS STATE REGIONALS
Friday, Feb. 27
#1 King’s (20-4) vs. #8 Lakeside (9 Mile) (15-5), 6 p.m., at North Creek HS (both to state tournament)
#4 Annie Wright (18-5) vs. #5 Royal (20-4), 6 p.m., at University of Puget Sound (both to state tournament)
#10 Cascade Christian (17-6) vs. #15 Hoquiam (16-8), 8 p.m., at Mount Tahoma HS (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#11 Wapato (20-5) vs. #14 Bear Creek (12-11), 8 p.m., at Davis HS (winner to state tournament, loser out)
Saturday, Feb. 28
#12 Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) (18-6) vs. #13 Montesano (15-8), 10 a.m., at Bellevue CC (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#9 Nooksack Valley (14-10) vs. #16 King’s Way Christian (16-6), 2 p.m., at Lynden HS (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#2 Zillah (22-2) vs. #7 Seton Catholic (20-2), 4 p.m., at Davis HS (both to state tournament)
#3 Lynden Christian (21-3) vs. #6 Bellevue Christian (16-6), 6 p.m., at Lynden HS (both to state tournament)
