So, after one week of prep basketball playoffs, how many Whatcom Hoops teams have qualified for state? Zero.
But that will quickly change as we move into the second and final week of our district, bi-district, and tri-district tournaments starting Monday.
Check out all of last week’s playoff action at WhatcomHoops.com.
Here’s a look at where all our favorite teams stand in their respective playoffs and what they have to do to qualify for the state regionals on Feb. 24 and 25:
Class 1B Boys
LUMMI NATION: The Blackhawks open play in the District 1/2/3 tournament on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at home in a quarterfinal matchup with 12th-seeded Crescent. Fourth-seeded Lummi Nation only needs to win Tuesday to not only advance to the semifinals but secure a berth in the state regionals. Should the Blackhawks lose Tuesday, they would have to win two more consolation games to qualify for state.
Class 1B Girls
LUMMI NATION: The Lady Blackhawk overcame a rash of injuries to win their play-in game Saturday and move into the District 1/2/3 quarterfinals. They will take on Orcas Island for the third time this season (the two teams split their earlier meetings) with the winner earning a state berth. Should the Blackhawks lose, they would need to win two consolation games to earn the tri-district’s fifth state berth.
Class 1A Boys
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN: The defending state champion Lyncs won the District 1 title on Saturday but haven’t secured a state berth quite yet. They will need to win a bi-district “crossover” game against District 2’s fifth-place finisher. The opponent isn’t known yet, but the game will be played Saturday at 5 p.m. at King’s High School.
BLAINE and NOOKSACK VALLEY: The Borderites and Pioneers square off in the District 1 consolation final on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Lynden High School. The winner will advance to the other bi-district crossover game and play District 2’s fourth-place finisher Saturday at 7 p.m. at King’s. Tuesday’s loser will see their season come to an end as will the loser of the crossover game.
Class 1A Girls
NOOKSACK VALLEY: The top-ranked Pioneers won the District 1 title on Saturday, but still need to win one of those bi-district crossover games to return to Yakima. Nooksack Valley will play the winner of Wednesday’s South Whidbey-Overlake game on Saturday at 1 p.m. at King’s.
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN and MERIDIAN: The Lyncs and Trojans will meet in the District 1 consolation final on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Lynden High School. The winner will take on the District 2 fourth-place finisher — the loser of Wednesday’s Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) and Sultan game — in a crossover contest on Saturday at 3 p.m. at King’s. The loser of Tuesday’s consolation final as well as the crossover game will have their seasons end.
Class 2A Boys
LYNDEN and SEHOME: With Saturday’s quarterfinal wins, Lynden and Sehome moved into the District 1 semifinals and will face off in Mount Vernon on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. with the winner earning a state berth and a spot in the district final on Saturday. The loser will have to win consolation games on Thursday and Saturday to get the district’s third state berth.
SQUALICUM: With Saturday’s quarterfinal loss, the Storm will have to win three loser-out consolation games to qualify for state starting with a trip to Burlington-Edison on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Class 2A Girls:
LYNDEN: The top-seeded Lions easily advanced into the District 1 semifinals and will play fifth-seeded Archbishop Murphy on Monday at 7:15 p.m. at Mount Vernon High School. The winner of that game is guaranteed a state berth while the loser will have to win two consolation contests to grab the district’s third state berth.
SEHOME: The Mariners could be the first Whatcom team to reach the 2023 state playoffs but they’ll have to beat a hot Burlington-Edison squad in the other District 1 semifinal on Monday at 6 p.m. at Mount Vernon. Should Sehome lose, they would have to win two consolation games to nab the district’s third state berth.
SQUALICUM: The Storm have their work cut out for them. To reach state, they will have to win three consolation games starting with a home game against Lakewood on Monday at 7 p.m.
Class 3A Girls
FERNDALE: The Golden Eagles have a couple chances to still capture a state berth, but they start with having to win a loser-out consolation game at Everett on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Should seventh-seeded Ferndale upset the third-seeded Seagulls, the Golden Eagles could clinch a state berth by winning a consolation game on Thursday or a final consolation game on Saturday.
