It was a rough day for Whatcom County girls basketball teams as four of them lost in their Class 2A and 3A District 1 tournaments on Saturday, Feb. 14.
But the one that won Saturday was no surprise as two-time defending state champion Lynden romped to its 69th straight victory in the 2A district semifinals to clinch a return trip to state.
The Lions stunned everyone including Sehome as they scored the first 27 points of the game on the way to routing the Mariners, 64-20, in the final game of the day at Mount Vernon High School. Besides putting Lynden in the district championship game on Thursday, it guaranteed the Lions a state berth.
There would be no state berth for Squalicum — at least not yet — as the Storm fell behind by 22 at halftime of the other 2A semifinal and never got much closer in losing to Archbishop Murphy, 63-25.
While Sehome and Squalicum remain alive in the tournament, their city rivals can’t say the same. Bellingham had its stellar season come to an end when the Bayhawks lost to Lakewood, 51-38, in consolation play Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, in the Class 3A District 1 girls tournament on Saturday, Ferndale had its Cinderella dreams dashed — at least for now — as the Golden Eagles were grounded by heavily favored Edmonds-Woodway in a quarterfinal matchup, 68-38. They will now have to notch two upsets to earn a state berth.
Lynden Blasts Sehome In 2A Semifinals, 64-20
What was remarkable about Lynden’s explosive start is not that the Lions pitched a 25-0 shutout in the first quarter. It was who the Lions shut out in their dominant 64-20 victory over Sehome.
The Mariners came into the game with an outstanding 16-6 record, the fourth seed in the stacked District 1 tournament, and a top-10 ranking among 2A teams in the state. But none of that seemed to impressive the defending state champs, who improved to 22-0.
Lynden’s vise-like man-to-man defense didn’t just contest shots, it contested every dribble. When Sehome’s Taylor Turrell snuck open for a layup a minute into the second quarter, the score was 27-2. When Sehome scored again, it was 37-4. By halftime, the Lions were up 44-4 and the running clock was warming up.
“I was really happy with how we defended,” said Lynden coach Rob Adams in perhaps the understatement of the season. When asked about the team’s tendency to get off to strong starts, he said. “I hope it’s a trend that continues. But,” he added in perhaps the scariest statement of the season, “we can still get better.”
Offensively, you can’t get much better than junior Finley Parcher’s night. She made all 12 of her shots for a game-high 25 points. She had 12 points in the first-quarter explosion, 10 of Lynden’s 19 points in the second quarter, and a 3-pointer in the third quarter as she spent much of the second half watching her teammates from the bench.
Lynden’s other all-stater, senior post Payton Mills, had a rather normal — for her — 17 points. Her 3-pointer from the corner 10 seconds into the game started the flood and she only had four points after halftime as Adams let his reserves get some tournament experience.
Senior Reese Nyhoff and junior Lexi Hermanutz added 6 points each for the Lions.
For Sehome, the points were few and hard-earned. Turrell and senior reserve Gwen Gates had 6 points each with Gates’s coming on a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointers as Sehome actually outscored Lynden, 12-6, in the final period. But no other Mariners had more than four points.
“You can’t be frustrated with these situations,” said Sehome coach Kim Stensgar, who could be seen laughing with her team late in the game. “You just have to take it one day at a time. And it’s Anacortes on Monday.”
Gates, one of the team’s captains, agreed: “It’s a game you have to let go. You have to flush it.”
The Mariners can still reach the state tournament, but they’ll have to take the long route that includes winning three loser-out games. First up is Anacortes on Monday night at Lynden High School, and if they win, it’s back to Mount Vernon for the consolation finals on Wednesday against either Squalicum or Lakewood.
A win Wednesday would give them a third-place finish and set up a crossover match with the third-place finisher from District 5 — the Ellensburg/Yakima Valley region. The winner of that game, which would be hosted by our district 1 team, would earn the third and final state berth.
“I told them they’re in the driver’s seat as to what their legacy will be at Sehome,” said Stensgar, “It’s up to them.”
But when it comes to legacy, no one has had a better one the past couple of years than Lynden. And at least one person is enjoying every minute of it.
“They really like each other and like to play basketball,” said Adams of his Lions. “They are a fun group, an unselfish group. This has been one of my most-fun years.”
The Lions will get to continue their fun journey on Thursday, when they take on Anacortes in the district championship game at 5:30 p.m. at Mount Vernon High School.
Lynden 64, Sehome 20
Sehome 0 4 4 12—20
Lynden 25 19 14 6—64
Sehome: Gates 6, Ewing, Gustafson, Turrell 6, Panagos 4, Ka. Reeves, Hogan, Barge 2, Schroeder 2, Ke. Reeves, Kingsley.
Lynden: Bowler 2, Hermanutz 6, Nyhoff 6, Newcomb, Slayton, R. Stephan 2, I. Stephan, Somma, Basart 2, Parcher 25, Mills 17, Dykstra 4.
Archbishop Murphy Cools Off Squalicum In 2A Semis, 63-25
It didn’t take long for the Storm to realize it would be a long night. In the first couple of minutes, Squalicum had five turnovers and Archbishop Murphy had two 3-pointers and a three-point play, and when the first quarter ended, the Storm trailed by 15 on the way to a frustrating 63-25 loss in the 2A district semifinals.
Before the game, it appeared to be toss up between the second-seeded Wildcats and the third-seeded Storm, both of whom were ranked in the top 10 of 2A teams in the state. But when the buzzer sounded and both teams were left with 18-4 records, it was Archbishop Murphy that looked like a state contender.
The Storm, who had a seven-game winning streak snapped and lost for only the second time in their last 17 games, were held to their second-lowest point total of the season and never got untracked offensively.
Junior Tiana Thompson had 7 points and junior Lexi Robbins had 6 points on a pair of 3-pointers, but no one else had more than four points. Junior Addison Kettman collected team-highs of 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the Storm’s normally effective defense was blistered by Archbishop Murphy all-state guard Brooke Blachly, who fired up seven 3-pointers including one from just over half court that bounced around the rim before falling through to end the third quarter. She finished with 30 points and passed the 2,000 career-points milestone in the game.
“We tried our best to stop No.2 (Blachly), but she still got her shots” said Thompson, who still found positives despite the score. “We still gave it our full effort, even when it wasn’t going our way. Everybody loses games. It just means the journey is longer.”
Like Sehome, Squalicum would have to battle through the three-game gauntlet to earn its first state berth since 2010. First up is a rematch with Northwest Conference rival Lakewood on Monday night at Lynden.
Should the Storm win, they would take on the Sehome-Anacortes winner on Wednesday with the winner hosting the crossover playoff game.
Despite Saturday’s letdown, Squalicum coach Caden Mee said the team is still optimistic about its state hopes.
When asked if the Squalicum girls would bounce back, he said, “Without a doubt. They’ll come out focused tomorrow and we’ll be right back here Monday. It’s not over. It’s just a little detour.”
Archbishop Murphy 63, Squalicum 25
Squalicum 5 8 5 7—25
Archbishop Murphy 20 15 16 12—63
Squalicum: Cecka, Av. Kettman, Paz 3, Horst, Singh-Sanchez 1, Thompson 7, Olufemi-Daniel 2, Robbins 6, Harper 4, Ad. Kettman 2, Kiesau.
Archbishop Murphy: M. Fryberg, Blachly 30, Hookfin, Le, Ives 2, Fletcher 2, Cohen 2, K. Fryberg 4, Cham 4, Wright 14, Hern 5.
Bellingham’s Season Ends With 51-38 Loss To Lakewood
It says a lot about how far the Bayhawks have come when they are no longer satisfied with moral victories. Unfortunately, while Saturday’s 51-38 loss to Lakewood in the Class 2A consolation bracket displayed Bellingham’s improvement, it also ended the Bayhawks’ season.
The eighth-seeded Bayhawks kept the game with the fifth-seeded Cougars close throughout, but couldn’t close the gap after falling behind early.
Junior Merritt Jensen led Bellingham with 18 points and senior Mary Lockhart had 8 points, but points were hard to come by against the scrappy Cougars as no other Bayhawks had more than three points.
“We executed our game plan well,” said Bellingham coach Drew McFall. “When we had the right attention to detail defensively, they had no chance of scoring. We just lost sight on the scorers too many times.
“And then offensively, we generated a ton of open shots (but) we missed free throws and shots inside. They just weren’t falling today. I think we very easily could have won the game.”
Despite the season-ending defeat, the season itself was anything but a loss. Bellingham finished with an 11-12 record and recorded nearly twice as many wins as it has had in any of the past five seasons. And losing by 13 to a Lakewood team that improved to 15-8 on the season is a big improvement over the 78-38 loss to the Cougars on Jan. 12.
“I am really grateful for the group I had,” said McFall. “We did a ton right this year, and I believe we took a massive step forward toward building a program.”
Four seniors played in their final game for the Bayhawks — Ashley Ask, Avery Manning, Isabelle Rogers, and Lockhart.
Lakewood 51, Bellingham 38
Bellingham 12 7 9 10—38
Lakewood 16 8 12 15—51
Bellingham: E. Holland 3, Ask 3, Manning, Borchert, L. Holland 3, Rogers, Lockhart 8, Jensen 18, Ferrier 3, Ashlock.
Lakewood: Lewis 5, Stewart 21, Baar, Champion, Escalante 9, Riveira 14, Abell 2, Hardwick.
CLASS 2A GIRLS DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Tuesday, Feb. 10
Play-in game
Bellingham 70, Marysville-Pilchuck 26 (loser out)
Thursday, Feb. 12
Quarterfinals
Lynden 67, Bellingham 13
Archbishop Murphy 76, Anacortes 18
Squalicum 56, Burlington-Edison 44
Sehome, 53, Lakewood 40
Saturday, Feb. 14
At Mount Vernon
Consolation games
Anacortes 53, Burlington-Edison 48 (loser out)
Lakewood 51, Bellingham 38 (loser out)
Semifinals
At Mount Vernon
Archbishop Murphy 62, Squalicum 25
Lynden 64, Sehome 20
Monday, Feb. 16
Consolation games
At Lynden
Sehome vs. Anacortes, 5:30 p.m. (loser out)
Squalicum vs. Lakewood, 7:30 p.m.(loser out)
Wednesday, Feb. 18
At Mount Vernon
Consolation final
Sehome-Anacortes winner vs. Squalicum-Lakewood winner, 5:30 p.m. (winner third, to District 1/5 crossover, loser out)
Thursday, Feb. 19
At Mount Vernon
Championship game
Lynden vs. Archbishop Murphy, 5:30 p.m. (winner first, loser second, both to state regionals)
Ferndale Falls To Edmonds-Woodway In 3A Tourney, 68-38
There would be no fantastic finish, no game-winner at the buzzer this time as the Golden Eagles were trounced by Edmonds-Woodway, 68-38, in the quarterfinals of the 3A District 1 tournament.
The loss dropped 10th-seeded Ferndale to 9-14 and was a much different outcome than the Golden Eagles’ 46-45 victory in Thursday’s loser-out first-round game, which Ferndale won on a last-second 3-pointer.
On Saturday, Edmonds-Woodway came in as the district’s second seed and ninth-ranked team in the state, and the Warriors left with a 19-3 record after taking a double-digit lead in the first quarter and putting Ferndale away with a 21-7 advantage in the fourth quarter.
“Edmonds-Woodway is a strong team,” said Ferndale coach Terri Yost. “But our girls battled hard.”
No one battled harder than junior Brooklyn Larrabbee, who deserved the award for comeback player of the tournament — if there was one.
The point guard with the killer smile had a rough game Thursday, going scoreless and eventually fouling out, but she came back to lead Ferndale with a game-high 22 points. Known more for her ball-handling, passing, and suffocating defense, she hit four 3-pointers and both her free throws.
“Brooklyn had a great game on both ends of the court,” said Yost.
Unfortunately for Ferndale, senior Abbey White with 6 points was the only other Golden Eagle to score more than three points Saturday.
Fortunately for Ferndale, its season isn’t over. The Golden Eagles will continue consolation play on Wednesday at sixth seed Shorecrest.
Should Ferndale upset the Highlanders, it could earn a state berth with another upset victory next Saturday against the loser of Wednesday’s semifinal between Snohomish and Meadowdale.
Edmonds-Woodway 68, Ferndale 38
Ferndale 10 5 16 7—38
Edmonds-Woodway 20 10 17 21—68
Ferndale: Larrabee 22, Gilday 3, Dawson 1, Washington 3, Kanda, Jefferson, Tom 1, Collins, Barner, White 6, Dayton, Lee 2.
Edmonds-Woodway: Kost 8, Hanson, Jones 13, Beckstrom 3, Wichers 19, Rothmier 2, Gill 2, Miller, Leckie, Franks 4, Johnson, Faber 15.
CLASS 3A GIRLS DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Thursday, Feb. 12
First round
Ferndale 46, Everett 45 (loser out)
Mount Vernon 68, Shorewood 49 (loser out)
Shorecrest 71, Monroe 58 (loser out)
Sedro-Woolley 51, Mountlake Terrace 44 (loser out)
Saturday, Feb. 14
Quarterfinals
Snohomish 62, Sedro-Woolley 27
Edmonds-Woodway 68, Ferndale 38
Stanwood 69, Shorecrest 37
Meadowdale 68, Mount Vernon 61
Wednesday, Feb. 18
Consolation games
Ferndale at Shorecrest, 7 p.m. (loser out)
Sedro-Woolley at Mount Vernon, 7 p.m. (loser out)
Semifinals
Stanwood at Edmonds-Woodway, 5 p.m.
Meadowdale at Stanwood, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 21
At Jackson High
Consolation semifinals
Ferndale-Shorecrest winner vs. Snohomish-Meadowdale loser, 11:45 a.m. (winner third, to state regionals, loser out)
Mount Vernon-Sedro-Woolley winner vs. Stanwood-Edmonds-Woodway loser, 3:15 p.m. (winner third, to state regionals, loser out)
Championship game
7 p.m. (winner first, loser second, both to state regionals)
