Girls Roundup: Lynden Earns State Berth, Lummi Comes Up Short

The Lynden girls started slow, but finished strong and earned a trip to state with a hard-earned 43-28 victory in the Class 2A District consolation finals on Saturday, Feb. 19.

The Lummi Nation girls started strong, but couldn’t finish, losing to Muckleshoot Tribal School, 47-41, in the Class 1B District 1/2/3 consolation round on Saturday and seeing their successful season come to an end.

The Lions, however, will moving on to the state regionals on Friday or Saturday, Feb. 25 or 26. The regional matchups will be announced Sunday afternoon. Depending on the RPI rankings and regional results, Lynden is hoping to reach the state tournament in Yakima on March 2 through 5.

Here’s what happened Saturday:

2A: Young Lions Rally To Defeat Cedarcrest

It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. That was the feeling of Lynden coach Vic Wolffis and his third-seeded Lions as they dug deep to defeat seventh-seed Cedarcrest, 43-28, and earn the District 1’s third and final state berth.

“I told the girls that my heart is so full,” said Wolffis, who is in his first year with the Lions. “We’re going to state, and we are thrilled.”

With only one senior and only one player with playoff experience, the young Lions got off to the worst start possible in Saturday’s loser-out game. The aggressive Red Wolves scored the first 10 points and after one quarter Lynden trailed 11-4, hadn’t hit a field goal, and its best offensive player already had two fouls.

“I’ve seen so many teams quit when they fall behind and their shots weren’t falling,” said Wolffis , whose third-seeded Lions raised their record to 15-6. “But they never quit. I am so proud of their toughness and grit.”

That toughness showed on defense. While their offense never got untracked, Lynden held Cedarcrest to six points in the second quarter to tie the game at halftime and held the Red Wolves to one made free throw in the third quarter to go up by 11 after three periods.

Sparking the Lions was their only veteran, junior Adia Newcomb, who saw playing time with Lynden’s 2020 Class 2A state championship team.

She scored Lynden’s first field goal midway through the second quarter, gave Lynden its first lead on a putback a minute into the second half, had five of the team’s 11 field goals, sank 10 of 11 free throws, and finished with a game-high 21 points.

“Our shots weren’t falling, but we picked it up on defense,” she said. “(Eventually) someone had to start scoring.”

Sophomore Haylee Koetje, the Lions’ top offensive threat, had a rare off night, finally hitting her first field goal with 5:20 left in the game. She still had 9 points and along with senior Claire DeVries and freshman Kiki York controlled the boards.

While Cedarcrest finished its season at 9-12, the Lions will be moving on to the state regionals with dreams of returning to Yakima, where they won state titles in 2020 and 2017.

“This means a lot to us because a lot of people said we weren’t as good as last year,” said Newcomb.

And what will she tell her teammates about playing under the bright lights of the SunDome with the rest of the state watching?

“I’d tell them to enjoy the moment,” she said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Lynden 43, Cedarcrest 28

Cedarcrest 11 6 1 10—28

Lynden 4 13 12 14—43

Cedarcrest: Bella Rose 6, Kat Townley 11, Kiley Mercer, Haley Marsh 3, Gracie Mattison, Madelyn Davidson 3, Audrey Mattison, Holly Williams 5, Melia Mills.

Lynden: Kamryn Hermanutz, Mya VanderYacht, Ella Selcho, Mallary Villars 5, Claire DeVries 4, Adia Newcomb 21, Haylee Koetje 9, Kiki York 4, Chloe Wittenberg, Melanie Anderson, Hannah Saur, Karlee Holman.

CLASS 2A DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT

Play-in games

Thursday, Feb. 10

#7 Cedarcrest 51, #10 Sedro-Woolley 24 (loser out)

#8 Bellingham 51, #9 Lakewood 48 OT (loser out)

First round

Saturday, Feb. 12

#2 Archbishop Murphy 65, Cedarcrest 28

#3 Lynden 51, #6 Squalicum 37

#5 Anacortes 37, #4 Sehome 35

#1 Burlington-Edison 2, Bellingham 0 (forfeit)

Tuesday, Feb. 15

Consolation games

Cedarcrest 47, Squalicum 41 (loser out)

Sehome 63, Bellingham 30 (loser out)

Semifinals

At Mount Vernon

Archbishop Murphy 43, Lynden 38

Burlington-Edison 61, Anacortes 29

Consolation games

Thursday, Feb. 17

At Mount Vernon

Cedarcrest 45, Anacortes 38 (loser out)

Lynden 43, Sehome 34 (loser out)

Saturday, Feb. 19

At Mount Vernon

Consolation final

Lynden 43, Cedarcrest 28 (winner third, to state regionals, loser out)

Championship game

Archbishop Murphy 59, Burlington-Edison 44 (winner first, loser second, both to state regionals, loser out)

STATE REGIONALS

Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25 and 26

STATE TOURNAMENT

At Yakima SunDome

Wednesday-Saturday, March 2-5

Whatcom Hoops February-20-2022 — **Keyonee Morris fires up a 3-pointer for the Lady Blackhawks. (File photo)**

1B: Muckleshoot Edges Lummi For Final State Berth

Foul trouble caught up with Lummi Nation, which lost a 17-point lead in the second half and eventually lost the District 1/2/3 consolation game to Muckleshoot Tribal School, 47-41.

After holding the Kings to 17 points through the first three quarters, the Lady Blackhawks could only watch as Muckleshoot shot an incredible 25 free throw in the fourth quarter. The Kings made 16 of them and finished with 30 points in the fourth period.

Senior Jacynta Myles and sophomore Keyonee Morris both had 12 points to lead Lummi Nation. Raven Solomon had 7 points and fellow junior Aleisha Solomon added 6 points.

With the loss, third-seed Lummi Nation finished its season at (11-6). The fourth-seeded Kings (15-4), meanwhile, earned the tri-district’s fifth and final state berth. This was a rematch of a Dec. 18 game that the Kings won, 48-40.

Muckleshoot Tribal 47, Lummi Nation 41,

Muckleshoot Tribal 6 5 6 30—47

Lummi Nation 10 9 11 11—41

Muckleshoot Tribal: Marlee Rodarte, Mazzy Olive, Olivia Korndorfer, Lyena Gopher, Sierra Nelson, Lenora Baker, Chellyna Lester, Alyssa Sutton, Kalani Thompson, Leila Sam, Paige Courville, Astraiya Penn, Pricilla Jansen, Erika Elkins, Larissa Mathias, Leslie Starr, Avoyelles Offord, MaryJane Miller..

Lummi Nation: Aleisha Solomon 6, Graciela Lopez, Raven Solomon 7, Serena Pantelia 4, Keyonee Morris 12, Jacynta Myles 12, Zeta Lansem.

CLASS 1B TRI-DISTRICT 1/2/3 TOURNAMENT

Saturday, Feb. 12

Play-in games

#6 Evergreen Lutheran 47, #11 Crescent 35 (loser out)

#7 Orcas Island 53, #10 Crosspoint 20 (loser out)

#5 Grace Academy 49, #12 Northwest Yeshiva 22 (loser out)

#8 Sound Christian Academy 67, #9 Shoreline Christian 43 (loser out)

Tuesday, Feb. 15

First round

Evergreen Lutheran 47, #3 Lummi Nation 43

#2 Neah Bay 83, Orcas Island 35