2A Girls State: Tough Loss Ends Lynden’s Season

The Lynden girls basketball team learned what the difference was between a team of the present and the team of the future: It’s 25 points.

The young and inexperienced Lions got an education from state power W.F. West and lost, 55-30, in the opening round of the Class 2A state tournament Wednesday afternoon, March 2, in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

The loss ended the season for the 12th-seeded Lions at 16-6, but winning a state regional game last Saturday and reaching Yakima was a great accomplishment for a team with only one senior, one player who’d ever played in the SunDome, and nine freshmen and sophomores.

So the team will have to say goodbye and thank you to their lone senior, Claire DeVries. And the Lions will have to give up the state championship trophy they’ve held for two years after winning it all in 2020 — the last state tourney that was held.

But there were still positives.

For more of Will Rice’s great photos from Lynden’s state game on Wednesday, visit lyndenathletics.com or VVNPhotos.com.

“The introduction to the Dome portion of the tournament was a big plus for this young group,” said first-year Lynden coach Vic Wolffis. “And even though we got down on the scoreboard, the fight and competitiveness of these girls never died. I was very proud of their accomplishments.”

The fourth-seeded Bearcats (20-5) from Chehalis move on to the quarterfinals to play third-seed Hudson’s Bay. That was only to be expected from a team of 6-footers who dominated the Lions, whose tallest player was 5-foot-9.

“Their overall length and athleticism worked its way into our psyche to start the game,” said Wolffis. “Coupled with some cold shooting and some unforced turnovers, we dug ourselves a hole too deep to escape. Credit W.F. West with being a talented team that executed their game plan really well.”

All-state 6-foot-3 center Drea Brumfield had 14 points to lead W.F. West, which jumped out to a 20-2 lead and eventually led by as much as 31 before the Lions rallied in the final quarter.

Junior Adia Newcomb, the last player left from Lynden’s 2020 state title team, had 7 points. Freshman Kiki York, who has come off the bench to be a key post player in the playoffs, also had 7 points and a team-high 8 rebounds. Sophomore Haylee Koetje added 6 points to the Lions’ cause.

The game featured the two teams who have won three of last four state titles — Lynden in 2020 and 2017, and W.F. West in 2018.

W.F. West 55, Lynden 30

Lynden 5 5 9 11—30

W.F. West 20 14 14 7—55

Lynden: Kamryn Hermanutz, Mya VanderYacht, Hannah Sauer, Ella Selcho 2, Karlee Holman, Mallary Villars 4, Claire DeVries 2, Adia Newcomb 7, Haylee Koetje 6, Kiki York 7, Chloe Wittenberg 2, Melanie Anderson.

W.F. West: Lena Forager, Lexi Roberts 7, Makayla Mencke, Olivia Remund 6, Drea Brumfield 14, Amanda Bennett 8, Morgan Rogerson 7, Carlie Deskins, Kyla McCallum 5, Maggie Busse 2, Julia Dalan 6.