The higher seeds opened play with decisive victories in the Class 2A District 1 girls basketball tournament on Thursday, Feb. 12, which was good news for three of the four Whatcom teams involved..
Top seed and top-ranked Lynden, third seed Squalicum, and fourth seed Sehome picked up double-digit wins in the 2A tourney. The Lions beat Bellingham, 67-13; the Storm defeated Burlington-Edison, 56-44; and the Mariners toppled Lakewood, 53-40.
The tournament continues Saturday with the winner-to-state semifinals and loser-out consolation games, all at Mount Vernon High School.
In the first semi, Squalicum (18-3) will take on second-seeded Archbishop Murphy (17-4) at 5 p.m. Then at 7 p.m., Lynden (21-0) will face Sehome (16-6). In consolation play, Bellingham (11-11) will try to keep its season alive at 3 p.m., when the Bayhawks face Lakewood (14-8).
Things were much different in the 3A tournament’s first round on Thursday, when senior Kayla Washington hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer as 10th-seeded Ferndale shocked seventh seed Everett on the road, 46-45, in a loser-out, play-in contest.
With the victory, the Golden Eagles (9-13) advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament. They will hit the road again to take on second-seeded Edmonds-Woodway (18-3) in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Lynden Rolls On At Bellingham’s Expense, 67-13
The two-time defending state champion Lions showed they are ready for post-season by scoring the first 17 points of the game on the way to trouncing Bellingham, 67-13, and winning their 68th game in a row.
Thanks to a suffocating defense that held the Bayhawks to only one field goal in every quarter and left Bellingham with its lowest point total of the season, Lynden led by 21 after one period, 39 at the half, and 41 after three quarters as the running clock began running.
“Our group is excited to get to the post-season,” said Lynden coach Rob Adams after the Lions improved to 21-0. “I thought we came out of the starting blocks and played well.”
Lynden’s two all-staters — senior Payton Mills and junior Finley Parcher — led a balanced Lions attack in which 11 of 12 players scored. Mills had 16 points and Parcher 12 even though neither played in the fourth quarter or scored in the second half.
Not that Lynden needed the extra points from its stars. Senior Degitu Bowler had 12 points, including three of the Lions’ eight 3-pointers; junior Izzie Stephan continued her standout play with 8 points and a pair of 3s; and senior Reese Nyhoff added 7 points.
“I thought Izzie Stephan played well tonight,” said Adams. “She is starting to become more comfortable with the ball in her hand and has come on and scored for us as of late.”
For Bellingham, which came into the contest seeded eighth in the tournament and ranked No.34 among the state’s 2A teams — there wasn’t much to praise, at least on offense. Senior Mary Lockhart had 6 points, junior Merritt Jensen had 4 points, sophomore Lucy Holland had a 3-pointer, and that was it for the scoring.
But the Bayhawks can’t be too disappointed since Lynden ran through the Northwest Conference schedule beating 13 teams by an average of 50 points a game. And with one more victory on Saturday, Bellingham will have doubled the number of wins it has had in any of the past five seasons.
“It was a good opportunity for us to see if we could rise to the occasion,” said Bellingham coach Drew McFall. “We showed some good things, but we’ve got a long way to go to be great. I’m really looking forward for the opportunity to extend our season on Saturday.”
The Lions, meanwhile, will take on a familiar foe in Sehome on Saturday in a rematch of their 70-19 victory on Jan. 14. But that was ages ago in the basketball world, and now it’s the playoffs.
“We’re excited for the opportunity to play Sehome again,” said Adams. “As in every postseason, everyone gets to press the reset button. As of now, we are both 1-0 and that’s all that matters.”
Lynden 67, Bellingham 13
Bellingham 4 2 4 3—13
Lynden 25 20 6 16—67
Bellingham: E. Holland, Ask, Borchert, L. Holland 3, Rogers, Lockhart 6, Jensen 4, Ferrier, Ashlock.
Lynden: Bowler 12, Hermanutz 1, Nyhoff 7, Newcomb, Slayton 2, R. Stephan 2, I. Stephan 8, Somma 2, Basart 2, Parcher 12, Mills 16, Dykstra 3.
Squalicum’s Late Burst Too Much For Burlington, 56-44
The Storm never trailed, but it was never easy taming the visiting Tigers as Squalicum finally built a double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter and then held off Burlington-Edison in the 56-44 victory.
Early on, Squalicum’s nine-point lead looked like the beginning of a rout, but by halftime, Burlington-Edison had tied it up. And with just over three minutes left in the third quarter, the Storm’s three-point lead looked tenuous at best.
But junior Addison Kettman sparked the Storm with a reverse layup. Then, after junior Colee Harper’s two free throws, Kettman hit a jumper. When junior Lexi Robbins sank a 3-pointer with just over a minute to go, the lead had grown to nine, and, after another Robbins 3-pointer a minute into the fourth quarter, Squalicum was back on top by 13.
The Storm defense also stiffened in the second half. After giving up 19 points in the second quarter, Squalicum shut down the Tigers inside and limited them to only 18 points after halftime.
“Defensively, we adjusted well in the second half to limit their high-post and low-post actions and transition points,” said Squalicum coach Caden Mee. “We need to continue to get better at KYP (knowing your personal).”
Robbins would finish with 18 points, seven coming in the fourth quarter, and a team-high 3 assists. Junior Tiana Thompson added 13 points, and Kettman and Harper had 9 points and 5 rebounds each. Freshman Avery Kettman grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds.
Squalicum is looking to return to state for the first time since 2010 and only the third time in school history. Saturday’s semifinal opponent, Archbishop Murphy, has taken fourth and sixth in the past two state tournaments.
The loss dropped Burlington-Edison to 6-15, and the Tigers will have to take on rival Anacortes on Saturday in a loser-out contest. The Seahawks lost to Archbishop Murphy on Thursday, 76-18.
Squalicum 56, Burlington-Edison 44
Burlington-Edison 7 19 8 10—44
Squalicum 13 13 17 13—56
Burlington-Edison: Montiel 6, Weynands 15, Ray 9, Wyman 7, Smith 3, R. Rawlins, Lowell, Lam 4.
Squalicum: Blakely, Av. Kettman 4, Paz 2, Horst 1, Singh-Sanchez, Thompson 13, Robbins 18, Harper 9, Ad. Kettman 9.
Sehome Wears Down Lakewood In 53-40 Victory
The Mariners couldn’t shake the Cougars in the back-and-forth first half and were down by three in the third quarter before putting up 20 points in the fourth period to pull away for the 53-40 victory.
“It was a defensive battle through the first half, and we were able to pull away and get our posts going in the second half; that made a big difference for us. ” said Sehome coach Kim Stensgar, whose team had beaten Lakewood by only five during the regular season.
“Lakewood plays very hard until the bitter end, and they are definitely not a team to underestimate.”
Don’t underestimate the Mariners, either, especially when it comes down to crunch time in the fourth period. They knocked down three 3-pointers and were seven of eight from the free throw line.
And, after seeing the scrappy Cougars cut a 14-point margin in half in the final minutes, Sehome quickly shut the door on Lakewood. Junior Elyse Panagos hit a layup, junior Sadie Gustafson sank two free throws, and Panagos hit two more from the line to close out the Cougars.
Leading the Sehome offense were sophomore Taylor Turrell with 16 points and junior Kate Schroeder with 12 points. Turrell finished with four of Sehome’s eight 3-pointers, and Schroeder had two from beyond the arc.
Senior Aspen Barge added 8 points for the Mariners, Panagos had 6 points, and senior Keira Reeves had 5 points.
Sehome 53, Lakewood 40
Lakewood 8 13 8 11—40
Sehome 14 8 11 20—53
Lakewood: Lewis 10, Stewart 16, Escalante 9, Riveira 3, Abell 2.
Sehome: Gates 3, Gustafson 3, Turrell 16, Panagos 6, Hogan, Barge 8, Schroeder 12, Ke. Reeves 5.
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 vs. Burlington-Edison, 1 p.m. (loser out)
Bellingham vs. Lakewood, 3 p.m. (loser out)
Semifinals
At Mount Vernon
Squalicum vs. Archbishop Murphy, 5 p.m.
Lynden vs. Sehome, 7 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 16
Consolation games
(loser out)
(loser out)
Wednesday, Feb. 18
At Mount Vernon
Consolation game
5:30 p.m. (winner to District 1/5 crossover, loser out)
Thursday, Feb. 19
At Mount Vernon
Championship game
5:30 p.m. (winner first, loser second, both to state regionals)
Washington’s Bomb Gives Ferndale 46-45 Win Over Everett
It’s been a difficult season for the Golden Eagles, who have suffered through serious injuries and tough losses. And through three quarters, it looked like Thursday’s loser-out game at Everett —a team that had beaten them by 20 a month ago — would be just the final, sad chapter.
But something magical happened in the fourth quarter, as Ferndale rallied from 12 points down and defeated the Seagulls, 46-45, on Washington’s dramatic shot.
“The girls were focused and wanted this game,” said Ferndale coach Terri Yost. “Everett got us early in the season. They are a tough defensive team. But we played together. I am so proud of them.”
Washington’s jumper accounted for the final three points in the Golden Eagles’ golden 20-point fourth quarter.
With six seconds to go, Yost set up the play to go to Washington, who raced across the baseline, lost her defender thanks to a screen, got a pass from sophomore Ari Gilday, turned, and let it fly from 30-plus feet with two defenders racing at her.
Nothing but net … just as the horn sounded.
“Kayla was on fire in the fourth quarter, and our team did a great job of finding her on the floor,” said Yost of her 5-foot-4 guard.
Washington’s hot hand — she had 23 points, 16 of them in the fourth period, and three 3-pointers — helped Ferndale overcome a season of obstacles. Their best and really only post player, Jilly Fox, suffered a season-ending injury, and another talented senior, Abbey White, missed several games because of injuries.
Things didn’t go well even on Thursday as the team’s second-leading scorer and best ball-handler, junior Brooklyn Larrabee, was plagued by foul trouble and eventually fouled out.
But others stepped up. Gilday had 8 points, and White and junior Kayla Lee had 6 points each. On defense, the Golden Eagles put the clamps on the Seagulls, holding them to seven points in the crucial final period.
And thanks to Washington’s game-winner, instead of finishing with a sad chapter, Thursday’s game had a story-book ending.
Ferndale 46, Everett 45
Ferndale 13 7 6 20—46
Everett 14 12 12 7—45
Ferndale: Larrabee, Gilday 8, Dawson 3, Washington 23, Kanda, Collins, White 6, Lee 6.
Everett: F. Rodriguez, Akil. Shaw 18, Akir. Shaw 5, Campos, Desimone 2, Trefry, A. Rodriguez 2, Smith 7, Oyler 2, Parker 2, Barton 7.
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
Sedro-Woolley at #1 Snohomish, 7 p.m.
Ferndale at #2 Edmonds-Woodway, 7 p.m.
Shorecrest at #3 Stanwood, 7 p.m.
Mount Vernon at #4 Meadowdale, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 18
Consolation games
7 p.m. (loser out)
7 p.m. (loser out)
Semifinals
5 p.m.
7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 21
At Jackson High
Consolation semifinals
11:45 a.m. (winner third, to state regionals, loser out)
3:15 p.m. (winner third, to state regionals, loser out)
Championship game
7 p.m. (winner first, loser second, both to state regionals)
