While our bigger schools were playing for playoff seeding last week, our smallest school — Lummi Nation — was opening its girls basketball playoffs with a big victory.
The Lady Blackhawks won their Class 1B District 1 quarterfinal contest with Darrington on Saturday, 54-39. The victory advanced them to the district semifinals and also guaranteed them a spot in the District 1/2/3 tournament that determines state berths.
Lummi Nation (9-3) held the Loggers to 12 first-half points and coasted to its seventh victory in a row. Junior Aleisha Solomon had a game-high 25 points, sophomore Serena Jo Pantelia had 13 points, and senior Jacynta Morris and sophomore Keyonee Morris had 8 points each.
Lummi Nation will travel to Mount Vernon Christian (14-3) on Tuesday, Feb. 8, for its semifinal matchup. The Hurricanes are the Northwest 1B-2B League’s top seed and ranked third in the latest Associated Press state poll. The Blackhawks are the Northwest 1B League’s second seed and tied for 10th in the state.
Lummi Nation 54, Darrington 39
Darrington 3 9 12 7—29
Lummi Nation 18 9 16 11—54
Darrington: Pujadas, C. Wright 17, Hoglund 4, A. Wright 6, Cochran 2, Espeland 5, Soito 4, Davis, Garcia.
Lummi Nation: Graciela Lopez, Aleisha Solomon 25, Raven Solomon, Serena Jo Pantelia 13, Lena Williams, Keyonee Morris 8, Aubree James, Jacynta Miles 8, Zeta Lansem, Louella Toby, Aneika Sanchez.
For a look back at Week 10 for our county boys team, check out Whatcom Hoops boys recap.
Here are the girls highlights from Week 10.
GAME OF THE WEEK
On their Senior Night, the Blaine Borderites rallied behind their two seniors — Hailey Pike and Krystin Kamrath — to overcome a double-digit second-half deficit and upset Ferndale on Thursday, 37-34. After Blaine managed only six points in the first half, Pike and Kamrath combined for 19 points in the second half as the Borderites outscored the Golden Eagles, 16-8, in the fourth quarter to secure the win. “The team plays with a lot of grit and resilience,” said Blaine coach Ryan Pike. “They never give up and continue to play hard no matter what the score is. It has been fun coaching them this year.”
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Mount Baker sophomore Lauren Valum and senior Maddy Barter had 26 points each on Thursday, and Barter collected another 18 points on Monday. … Junior Hallie Kamphouse had 26 points and sophomore Devin Kamphouse had 23 in Nooksack Valley’s win Saturday, and Coppinger had 21 points to lead Nooksack Valley on Wednesday. … Junior Aleisha Solomon had 25 points for Lummi Nation on Saturday. … Senior Libby Stump led Lynden Christian with 17 points on Monday and added 23 points on Friday. Freshman Grace Hintz added 17 points for the Lyncs on Friday. … Senior Skyleigh James had 19 points for Meridian on Friday. … Junior Ellie Wolverton had 15 points for Bellingham on Tuesday and followed that up with 19 points on Thursday. … Mya VanderYacht had 15 points on Monday for Lynden and fellow sophomore Mallary Villars had 18 points for the Lions on Thursday. … Squalicum sophomore Mari Binning had 15 points Wednesday, and junior Callie McEachran led the Storm with 17 points on Friday. … Blaine senior Hailey Pike had 15 points on Thursday and sophomore Deja Dube had 17 points on Saturday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Nooksack Valley finished the regular season on an 11-game winning streak — all of them by double figures — by finishing off Blaine on Wednesday, 63-30, and Sehome on Saturday, 83-44. On Wednesday, the Pioneers’ defense limited Blaine to one point in first quarter and kept the Borderites at bay with a 20-point third quarter. Coppinger’s 21 points led the scoring with seniors Tehya Moore and McKenna Wichers collecting 10 points each and Kamphouse hitting a pair of 3s and 8 points. On Saturday, the Pioneers wrapped up an undefeated league season by exploding for 29 points in the first quarter. Kamphouse had 11 of her game-high 26 points and half of her four 3-pointers in the first period, and Coppinger had 11 of her 23 points in the opening quarter. Moore and fellow senior Ellie Van Berkum added 9 points each, sophomore Lainey Kimball had 7, and Wichers had 6 points.
Lynden Christian defeated Mount Baker on Monday, 69-34, and Meridian on Friday, 66-38. … On Monday, Stump hit two of LC’s 11 3-pointers and had 17 points to lead a balanced LC attack as nine of 10 Lyncs scored. Hintz had 12 points and two 3s, and juniors Daisy Poag, Demi Dykstra, and Reganne Arnold had 9 points each, with Poag hitting three 3s and Dykstra making a pair. On Friday, the Lyncs secured the second seed in the Class 1A district with the big win over the Trojans. Stump and Hintz combined for 40 points, Dykstra added 12 points, and Arnold had 6 points.
Lynden defeated Sedro-Woolley on Monday, 56-42, and lost to Burlington-Edison on Thursday, 60-49. On Monday, VanderYacht led a balanced Lions attack with three 3s and her 15 points, fellow sophomore Haylee Koetje had 9 points, junior Adia Newcomb and freshman Kiki York had 8 points each, and Villars added 6. On Thursday, the Lions couldn’t stop Sydney Reisner, who had 34 points, including 13 in the third quarter when Lynden was outscored 22-7. Villars had 18 points to lead the Lions, Koetje had 13 and Newcomb had 11, but no other Lions had more than two points.
Ferndale beat Bellingham on Tuesday, 63-27, and lost to Blaine on Thursday, 37-34. On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles played their final regular-season game in the Eagles Nest an impressive one, holding Bellingham to single digits in each quarter. Junior Madisyn Butenschoen led Ferndale with 14 points, including a pair of 3s; junior Ashley Lang had 11 points and three 3s; Barlean had 10 points and two more 3s; sophomore Tia Gilday had 9 points; and sophomore Maleah Singson had 6 points. On Thursday, the Golden Eagles went cold in the second half, scoring only 15 points. Sophomore Mallory Butenschoen led Ferndale with 14 points, and Barlean hit a pair of 3s for 6 points, but no other Golden Eagle scored more than four points.
Sehome clobbered Oak Harbor on Monday, 43-30, and lost to Nooksack Valley on Saturday, 83-44. On Monday, the Mariners used its press to hold the Wildcats to 19 points in the final three periods. Junior Mac Cooper had 10 points, senior Maddie Schumacher had 9 points, sophomore Emmy Hart had 8 points, and junior Madison Hogan led the defense with 4 steals. On Saturday, the Mariners fell behind by 19 in the first quarter and never recovered against the top-ranked Pioneers. Cooper had 13 points and three 3-pointers, Madi Cooper had 8 points, Hart had 6 and the two sophomores had two 3s each.
Meridian routed Lakewood on Wednesday, 66-22, and lost to Lynden Christian on Friday, 66-38. On Wednesday, the Trojans hit on 10 3-pointers and coasted after building a 31-point halftime lead. Junior Avery Neal hit four of five 3-point attempts and had 14 points with 0 turnovers. Sophomore Allie Richter tied for team-high honors with 14 points and 7 steals, senior Ellie DeWaard had 13 points, and senior Kadance Blankers had 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. On Friday, James led the Trojans with 19 points, Richter had 9 points on a trio of 3s and 8 rebounds, and DeWaard had 7 points.
Blaine lost to Anacortes on Monday, 37-32, and to Nooksack Valley on Wednesday, 63-30, and beat Ferndale on Thursday, 37-34, and Sedro-Woolley on Saturday, 50-22. On Monday, the Borderites held the Seahawks to only one field goal in the fourth quarter but couldn’t quite rally for the victory. Pike had 12 points, and sophomore Deja Dube had 9 points. On Wednesday, the Borderites only managed six first-half points and could never dig out of the hole against the top-ranked Pioneers. Dube had 10 points, Pike had 9 and Kamrath had a pair of 3-pointers and 8 points. The Borderites started slow again on Thursday, but held the Golden Eagles to 15 second-half points to rally for the victory. Pike had 15 points, Kamrath had 8, and sophomores Jordyn Vezzetti and Dube added 6 points each with Vezzetti hitting two big 3-pointers in the second-half comeback. On Saturday, the Borderites held the Cubs under 25 points for the second time this season. Dube led Blaine with 17, Kamrath had 15 points and four 3-pointers, and Pike added 14 points.
Mount Baker lost to Lynden Christian on Monday, 69-34, and doubled up Sedro-Woolley on Thursday, 73-36. On Monday, the Mounties scored first before the defending Class 1A state champs took command. Barter led the Mounties with 18 points, and Valum had 9 points but no other Mountie managed more than three points. On Thursday, it was the Mounties who took command early with a 43-point first half. Valum’s 26 points were a career-high for her and included four 3-pointers. Barter had her usual outstanding game with 26 points and a pair of 3s, sophomore Jenna Wineinger added 8 points, and junior Jojo Lindsey had 6 points.
Squalicum lost to Anacortes on Wednesday, 60-47, and bounced back to beat Lakewood on Friday, 59-40. On Wednesday, the Storm fell behind by 10 early and never could make up the difference. Binning led Squalicum with 15 points and freshman Loretta Murphy-Kangas had 11 points and 6 rebounds, and junior Callie McEachran added 7 points. On Friday, the Storm forced 27 turnovers and went on runs of 12-3 and 16-0 in the first half to take control. McEachran had 17 points and 10 rebounds; sophomore Makayla Heaton had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists; Binning had 11 points, 5 assists and 9 steals; junior Shelby Smithson had 9 points; and sophomore Caitlyn Richardson added 7 points.
Bellingham lost to Ferndale on Tuesday, 63-27, and Mount Vernon on Thursday, 50-41. On Tuesday, only four Bayhawks managed to score with Wolverton collecting 15 points and three 3-pointers, and senior Kaycee French scoring 7 points. On Thursday, the Bayhawks held the lead into the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold off the Bulldogs. Wolverton again led Bellingham with three 3s and 19 points; senior Mazy Wright added 7 points and a team-high 9 rebounds and 5 assists; and sophomore Genevieve Blum had 8 rebounds.
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE (Final)
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Nooksack Valley | 14 | 0 | 16 | 2 |
| Lynden Christian | 13 | 1 | 16 | 4 |
| Lynden | 12 | 3 | 12 | 5 |
| Meridian | 11 | 3 | 14 | 5 |
| Burlington-Edison | 10 | 2 | 14 | 6 |
| Ferndale | 8 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
| Sehome | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| Blaine | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Mount Vernon | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| Anacortes | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| Squalicum | 6 | 9 | 6 | 9 |
| Bellingham | 4 | 10 | 5 | 12 |
| Lakewood | 3 | 10 | 5 | 11 |
| Mount Baker | 2 | 12 | 4 | 13 |
| Oak Harbor | 1 | 12 | 6 | 13 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 1 | 13 | 4 | 17 |
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE (Final)
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lummi Nation | 7 | 1 | 9 | 3 |
| Grace Academy | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| Shoreline Christian | 2 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| Lopez Island | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
