Sehome started off the season 3-0, and Ferndale gave its new coach two victories to highlight the week 1 action for the Whatcom County girls teams.
GAME OF THE WEEK: Bellingham bounced back from its opening-season loss with an exciting 45-38 overtime victory at Marysville-Getchell on Thursday. Freshman Ellie Wolverton hit a 3 to tie the game at 35 and send it into overtime, and junior Alexa Mee scored 6 of her 17 points in OT to give the Raiders their first win of the season.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Lynden Christian senior Riley Dykstra had 23 points in the Lyncs’ season-opening victory over Archbishop Murphy and a team-high 14 points in a win over Edmonds-Woodway. … Freshman Hallie Kamphouse hit five 3-pointers and had 23 points as Nooksack Valley clobbered Sultan. … Junior Aspen Garrison had 16 points to lead Sehome over city rival Bellingham. … Lynden senior Ruby VanderHaak had 30 points as the Lions topped King’s and then had 16 more, including two game-sealing free throws, in the Lions’ overtime win over White River.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: Sehome got off to a hot start, winning all three of its games last week. After edging cross-town rival Bellingham in a non-league contest on Tuesday, 47-41, the Mariners brought down Cascade of Everett, 54-29, on Wednesday, and then squeaked by their other city rival, Squalicum, 39-38, on Friday.
Ferndale gave new coach Terri Yost victories in her first two games. The Golden Eagles knocked off traditional power Snohomish on the road, 50-41, as senior guards Ashley Thomas and Brianna Byrnes led a balanced attack with 8 points each. The Golden Eagles then made Yost’s first game in the Ferndale gym a success by clobbering Redmond, 60-33, with freshman Ellie Ochoa pouring in 15 points.
Nobody started the season off better than Nooksack Valley, which scored the first 19 points of the game in a season-opening 57-11 victory over Granite Falls on Wednesday as senior Kora Larsen and junior Maya Galley each scored as many as the whole Tigers team (11). The Pioneers used a 30-point second quarter to blow out Sultan, 79-44, on Saturday as Tehya Moore had 14 points and McKenna Wichers added 12.
Lynden Christian opened with impressive road victories over two teams that qualified for state last year. Using a 19-0 third-quarter run, the Lyncs demolished 2A Archbishop Murphy, 67-32, on Wednesday, and two days later got 13 points from sophomore Libby Stump to double-up 3A Edmonds-Woodway, 68-34.
After losing to Sehome and beating Marysville-Getchell in overtime, Bellingham ended the week with a 53-20 victory Saturday over Marysville-Pilchuck in the Raiders’ home opener.
Squalicum opened its season with two close losses on the road. The Storm rallied in the fourth quarter behind sophomore Kali Haizlip before falling to Shorewood, 48-43, on Tuesday, and then lost a heart-breaker to Sehome on Friday.
Lynden got off to a strong start by taking care of King’s on the road, 64-48, and then winning its home opener against White River, 63-58, in overtime. VanderHaak and Liv Tjoelker had 16 points each and Keylie Hershey added 14 points against the Hornets.
Meridian bounced back from a season-opening 61-36 loss at 2A power White River by overwhelming Overlake, 65-28, on Saturday.
Blaine opened its season with a 31-28 victory at Friday Harbor on Tuesday, before losing another road contest, 54-32, to 3A Everett on Saturday.
Mount Baker knocked off 3A Chief Sealth of Seattle, 40-27, on Wednesday, but couldn’t overcome the lack of referees for its game at Concrete on Friday. Because of that the Mounties had their game against the Lions rescheduled for Dec. 30.
Lummi Nation will open its season next week with games at Mount Vernon Christian on Tuesday and Shoreline Christian on Wednesday before playing its home opener against rival Tulalip Heritage on Friday.
Week 1 Standings
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Sehome | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Ferndale | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Lynden | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Lynden Christian | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Nooksack Valley | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Lakewood | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mount Baker | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bellingham | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Blaine | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Burlington-Edison | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Meridian | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Anacortes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Squalicum | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
NORTHWEST 1B CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Shoreline Christian | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Grace Academy | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Arlington Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fellowship Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lummi Nation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Skykomish | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tulalip Christian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cedar Park Christian (MLT) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lopez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Providence Christian | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Orcas Christian | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
WEEK 2
TOP GAME: Lynden continues its brutal early-season schedule on Saturday, Dec. 14, when the Lions travel to Sammamish to face defending 4A state champion Eastlake.
SCHEDULE
Monday, Dec. 9: Mount Baker at Squalicum
Tuesday, Dec. 10: Lynden at Port Angeles, Blaine at Bellingham, Lummi Nation at Mount Vernon Christian
Wednesday, Dec. 11: Mount Baker at LaConner, Lummi Nation at Shoreline Christian
Thursday, Dec. 12: Meridian at Bellevue Christian, Mount Vernon at Ferndale, Sehome at Marysville-Getchell
Friday, Dec. 13: Friday Harbor at Nooksack Valley, LaConner at Meridian, Sehome at Mount Baker, Stanwood at Lynden Christian, Tulalip Heritage at Lummi Nation
Saturday, Dec. 14: Liberty at Squalicum, Black Hills at Ferndale, Lynden at Eastlake, Blaine at Sultan, Cascade Christian at Mount Baker, LaConner at Nooksack Valley
