Districts: Lummi Splits; Lynden, Sehome Move On; Ferndale Falls

All but one of our six Whatcom teams playing in their respective district tournaments on Thursday, Feb. 8, lived to play another day.

The Lummi Nation boys and girls split their Class 1B district championship games with the boys beating Tulalip Heritage for the third time, 69-28, and the girls losing to Mount Vernon Christian, 53-31. The Lady Blackhawks, however, had already qualified for a spot in the upcoming tri-district tournament.

In the Class 2A girls district quarterfinals, Lynden had little trouble topping Sedro-Woolley, 78-19, and Sehome shocked city rival Squalicum, 64-36. The Lions and the Mariners will square off in the semifinals Saturday while the Storm will have to fight through the consolation bracket.

For the Ferndale girls, however, there is no tomorrow as the Golden Eagles couldn’t find their shooting touch and lost to visiting Monroe, 62-47, in a Class 3A loser-out contest that ends their season.

NEXT UP FRIDAY: The Class 2A boys have the night to themselves with Lynden facing Lakewood in one semifinal at 6:30 p.m. at Mount Vernon High and in consolation contests, Bellingham taking on Burlington-Edison at 5:15 p.m. and Sehome playing Archbishop Murphy at 7 p.m. Both games are at Sehome. For all the action, check out Whatcom Hoops.

Here are the results from Thursday night’s playoff action:

1B District

Lummi Boys Top Tulalip Again To Win Title, 69-28

The third time was not the charm for Tulalip Heritage as Lummi Nation beat the Hawks for the third time this season, 69-28, in the 1B District 1 championship game.

The Blackhawks (18-1) used their winning formula — pressing defense and balanced scoring — to overwhelm their rivals and win their 18th game in a row.

While the Lummi defense was limiting the Hawks to their lowest point total of the season, the Lummi offense was building a 21-point lead at the half and stretching it to the 41-point final margin thanks to nine Blackhawks getting in the scoring column.

“Our boys did a great job defensively tonight,” said Lummi Nation coach Jerome Toby Sr. “Our halfcourt defense and rebounding were outstanding. Offensively, we had another great balanced game.”

Sophomore Jerome Toby Jr. led the way with 25 points, senior Desmond Bailey had 14 points, junior Tony Abrams collected 12 points, and senior Tobias Francis had 7 points.

Lummi Nation had already clinched a spot in the next round, the District 1/2/3 tournament. As the top seed, the Blackhawks earned a first-round bye and advance directly to a quarterfinal contest on Tuesday, which they will host.

They will play the winner of Saturday’s Northwest Yeshiva-Crescent game. A win in that game would make the Blackhawks one of the top seven teams from the 12-team tri-district and earn them a spot in the 1B state regionals.

Tulalip Heritage (14-7), which also qualified for the tri-district tournament, had won 11 of its past 13 with the only two losses to Lummi Nation (72-33 and 73-47).

Lummi Nation 69, Tulalip Heritage 28

Tulalip Heritage 7 6 12 3—28

Lummi Nation 15 19 18 17—69

Tulalip Heritage: Guzman, Jefferson 2, Tomahawk 2, Jones, Gray 18, Shopbell, Luong, Hatch 4, D. Pablo 2, E. Pablo, Lewis, Dumont.

Lummi Nation: Toby 25, LaFontaine, Francis 7, Johnson, Edwards 3, Perkins 3, Day 1, Abrams 12, Lee 2, Revey, Bailey 14, James 2.

CLASS 1B DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT

Thursday, Feb. 8

At Lummi Nation

Consolation finals

Providence Classical Christian 55, Shoreline Christian 45 (winner fifth to tri-district, loser out)

Mount Vernon Christian 49, Orcas Island 43 (winner third, loser fourth, both to tri-district)

Championship game

Lummi Nation 69, Tulalip Heritage 28 (winner first, loser second, both to tri-district)

Lummi Girls Drop Final To Mt. Vernon Christian, 53-31

The Lady Blackhawks rallied from a shaky start but struggled against the fourth-ranked Hurricanes in the second half before losing the district championship game, 53-31.

Freshman Jemma James sparked the Lummi Nation offense with four 3-pointers and 17 points, but the Blackhawks could only manage four field goals and 10 points after halftime.

Fortunately, Lummi Nation (16-6) had already qualified for the District 1/2/3 tournament and will go in as the fifth seed. The Lady Blackhawks will host a loser-out play-in game against 12th seed Northwest Yshiva on Saturday at a time to be determined.

Should Lummi Nation win Saturday, they would advance to the double-elimination portion of the tri-district and play Tuesday at fourth seed Evergreen Lutheran with a state berth at stake. The top five teams from the 12-team tri-district will advance to the 1B state regionals.

Mount Vernon Christian (21-4) also qualified for the tri-district and will go in as the second seed behind No.1-ranked Neah Bay.

Mount Vernon Christian 53, Lummi Nation 31

Lummi Nation 3 18 5 5—31

Mount Vernon Christian 9 17 16 11—53

Lummi Nation: Mak. Morris, J. James 17, Jones, Metteba, Dennis, Rabang 5, Pantalia 4, K. Morris 3, Landsem 2, C. James, Mal. Morris.

CLASS 1B DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT

Thursday, Feb. 8

Consolation game

Grace Academy 49, Concrete 38 (winner fifth, to tri-district, loser out)

Consolation final

Darrington 36 Orcas Island 23 (winner third, loser fourth, both to tri-district)

Championship game

Mount Vernon Christian 53, Lummi Nation 31 (winner first, loser second, both to tri-district).

2A Girls District

Lynden Mauls Cubs To Advance To Semis, 78-19

Every coach likes to talk about a total team effort, but the top-seeded and No.1-ranked Lions certainly gave one to coach Rob Adams when they shellacked visiting Sedro-Woolley, 78-19, in the 2A quarterfinals.

On defense, Lynden only allowed three Cubs to score and held them to their second lowest point total of the season. The lowest was in an 81-15 loss to Lynden earlier in the season.

On offense, all 12 Lions scored. Sophomore Payton Mills led Lynden with 16 points, and junior Kiki York and freshman Finley Parcher had 13 points each. Senior Mya VanderYacht added 7 points.

The victory was Lynden’s 14th in a row as the Lions improved to 21-1 on the year. Next up is a semifinal date with Sehome on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. in Mount Vernon. The Lions won the two teams’ earlier matchup, 74-39, two weeks ago.

Lynden 78, Sedro-Woolley 19

Sedro-Woolley 4 6 3 6—19

Lynden 25 25 14 14—78

Sedro-Woolley: Bernal, Torgerson, Bahr, Meeker, McIlraith 5, Farrell, Evans 11, Collins, Oram, Stroud, Sansauere 3.

Lynden: Villars 3, K. Newcomb 5, Bowler 1, VanderYacht 7, R. Newcomb 3, Slayton 3, Stephan 4, Hermanutz 5, Koetje 5, York 13, Parcher 13, Mills 16.

Sehome’s Big Second Half Quiets Storm, 64-36

Sehome turned up its defense in the second half and turned a close game into a surprisingly easy victory over Squalicum, 64-36, in the 2A quarterfinals.

The Mariners led by seven at the half and it looked like it would be another battle to the end like Sehome’s hard-fought win against the Storm on Dec. 4. But not this time.

Sehome held Squalicum to just 14 points after halftime while continuing to light up the scoreboard thanks to its seniors.

Natalie Brewer had 17 points, three 3-pointers, and 6 rebounds, and fellow senior Madi Cooper had 16 points, including 10 in the the third quarter when the Mariners stretched their lead to 19. Senior Emmy Hart had three 3-pointers and 9 points, and senior Hazel Gaston added 7 points and 5 rebounds.

The Mariners also shared the ball with 20 assists. Cooper had 4, and Hart, Brewer, Gaston, and senior Macie Aven had 3 each.

The victory raised the fourth-seeded Mariners’ record to 12-9 as they prepare to meet Lynden in Saturday’s 7:15 p.m. semifinal.

The loss cooled off the fifth-seeded Storm (14-8), which had won seven of its last eight and 13 of its last 15. Squalicum will host Sedro-Woolley in a loser-out contest Saturday at 6 p.m.

Sehome 65, Squalicum 36

Squalicum 13 9 5 9—36

Sehome 18 11 17 18—64

Squalicum: Murphy-Kangas 6, Richardson 6, Kiesau 10, Heaton 5, Robbins 1, Thompson, Paz 2, Binning 2, Kettman 4.

Sehome: Cooper 16, Aven 5, Gates 2, Hart 9, Watson 2, Krout 2, Barge 4, Brewer 17, Gaston 7, Schroeder, Panagos, Reeves.

CLASS 2A DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT

Play-in games

Tuesday, Feb. 6

Lakewood 48, Bellingham 28 (loser out)

Sedro-Woolley 41, Cedarcrest 34 (loser out)

First round

Thursday, Feb. 8

Lynden 78, Sedro-Woolley 19

Archbishop Murphy 79, Lakewood 45

Burlington-Edison 61, Anacortes 24

Sehome 64, Squalicum 36

Saturday, Feb. 10

Consolation games

Sedro-Woolley at Squalicum, 6 p.m. (loser out)

Lakewood at Anacortes, 7 p.m. (loser out)

Semifinals

At Mount Vernon

Archbishop Murphy vs. Burlington-Edison, 5:30 p.m.

Lynden vs. Sehome, 7:15 p.m.

3A Girls District

Monroe Ends Cold-Shooting Ferndale’s Season, 62-47

When your opponents regularly have seven players taller than your second tallest player, you learn to live by the outside shot. Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, their shooting deserted them at a bad time as their season ended with a 62-47 loss Monroe, 62-47.

“They played tough and they played hard,” said Ferndale coach Terri Yost of her team, which finished the season 11-14. “The seniors left such a great legacy. And the underclassmen are getting ready for next season.”

The sixth seeded Golden Eagles, who only have one player taller than 5-foot-7, weren’t surprised they were overshadowed by the much taller Bearcats. What was surprising was how off their shots were against the Monroe zone.

They missed their first nine shots to fall behind 7-1 and when senior Mallory Butenschoen broke the ice with a pair of 3-pointers, Monroe made two layups and a 3-pointer to end the period and go up, 20-10.

That would be the script for most of the game: 11th-seeded Monroe getting big leads, Butenschoen leading Ferndale back to within a couple, and Monroe sinking big baskets to build the lead again.

Butenschoen was brilliant in defeat, hitting five 3-pointers and finishing with 29 points. The 5-7 post scored the Golden Eagles’ first 16 points and 19 of their 21 first-half points.

“Mallory played an amazing game tonight,” said Yost. “She brought passion and was huge for us.”

In the second half, 5-10 sophomore Jillea Fox got loose inside, scoring all 12 of her points and hitting 6 of 8 clutch free throws. But no other Golden Eagle had more than four points in the game and only four players scored.

Despite their shooting woes, Ferndale cut the margin to five in the third quarter before Monroe hit two 3s, the last at the buzzer, to build the lead back to 12. When Ferndale cut the lead down to six midway through the fourth period, Monroe countered with a 3-pointer and held the Golden Eagles to two points the rest of the way.

Providing a spark for Ferndale on defense was sophomore Abbey White, who came off the bench to disrupt the Bearcats and fuel the comebacks.

While the loss was not the way Butenschoen wanted to end her four-year varsity career, the composed senior was able to be reflective once the tears dried.

“We didn’t get the result we wanted, but we’re doing it together,” she said. “There’s no individuals, just one team. The seniors chose ‘United As One’ as our theme (for the year), and I think we fulfilled our goal.”

As for finishing her career with fellow seniors Maleah Singson and Naomi Stanley, Butenschoen said she couldn’t ask for anything more.

“We’ve played together since second grade,” she said. “I’m so grateful to have such great friends and teammates.”

Yost seconded her senior leader’s words.

“These three seniors are special,” she said. “There’s never been any drama, just joy. Everything I need, they step up. I’m going to miss them.”

Monroe 62, Ferndale 47

Monroe 20 13 15 14—62

Ferndale 10 11 15 11—47

Monroe: Oylear, Ho. Keller 7, K. Paxton, Lee 5, Yates 7, Taylor 4, M. Paxton 2, VanderVeen 3, Barnett 3, Mercille 12, Ha. Keller 19, Krache.

Ferndale: Fox 12, Washington 4, Butenschoen 29, Singson, White 2, Stanley.

CLASS 3A DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT

Thursday, Feb. 8

First round