For Whatcom County prep basketball fans — and especially fans of the four schools involved — it’s the best time of year as eight teams begin state tournament play at regionals on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 27 and Feb. 28.
This year, our Elite Eight will include both boys and girls teams from Lummi Nation, Lynden, Lynden Christian, and Nooksack Valley and six of the eight will be playing in the familiar confines of Lynden High School, while two will head south down I-5.
First up will by the Lynden teams, which will be playing home games on Friday in Jake Maberry Gymnasium. The No.1-seeded and two-time defending Class 2A state champion Lynden girls will take on No.8 Selah on Friday at 6 p.m. The No.9 Lynden boys will host No.16 Franklin Pierce in a loser-out game at 8 p.m.
Then on Saturday, Lynden High will host four games involving Whatcom County teams.
The No.1-seeded and defending Class 1B state champion Lummi Nation boys tip off the action against No.8 Wahkiakum at noon.
The No.9 Nooksack Valley girls are up next and will face No.16 King’s Way Christian at 2 p.m. in a loser-out contest.
Then the Lynden Christian teams take over their rivals’ gym. The No.2 LC boys will meet No.7 Chelan at 4 p.m., and the No.3 Lyncs girls will square off off with defending Class 1A state champion and sixth-seeded Bellevue Christian at 6 p.m.
The only Whatcom teams not playing at Lynden are the No.16 Nooksack Valley boys and the No.8 Lummi Nation girls.
The Pioneers, who are making their first state appearance in 15 years, will battle with No.9 Fort Vancouver in a loser-out game on Friday at 6 p.m. at Camas High School.
The Lady Blackhawks, meanwhile, will have a rematch with three-time defending 1B state champion and No.1-seeded Neah Bay on Friday at 8 p.m. at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma.
For the complete brackets for all the state tournaments, check out the WIAA Tournament Central websites for Girls and Boys. Girls: https://www.wiaa.com/tournament/?sportid=12#tab boys: https://www.wiaa.com/tournament/?sportid=3#tab
The state regionals are considered the first round of the state tournaments, but it can be a bit confusing. Here’s how they work:
After the seeding committee ranked the 16 teams in each classifications on Sunday, all of the teams move on to state regionals this Friday or Saturday. The only exceptions are for Class 1B and 3A, which have play-in games for teams ranked 13th through 20th.
The top eight seeds play each other with all advancing to their respective state tournaments on March 4-7 (the 2A and 1A in Yakima, the 1B in Spokane). The regional winners, however, move directly to Thursday’s quarterfinals while the losers must win a Wednesday play-in, loser-out game to continue.
The nine through 16 seeds play each other in loser-out regionals with only the winners advancing to Wednesday’s play-in state tournament games.
Below is the seeding, dates, locations, and opponents for our eight teams. Whatcom Hoops will give you full previews later in the week. So be watching and keep rooting for our favorite teams.
Friday at Lynden High School
6 p.m: No.1 Lynden girls (23-0) vs. No.8 Selah (19-7)
8 p.m.: No.9 Lynden boys (17-7) vs. No.16 Franklin Pierce (16-8)
Friday at Camas High School
6 p.m.: No.16 Nooksack Valley boys (10-14) vs. No.9 Fort Vancouver (20-3)
Friday at the University of Puget Sound
8 p.m.: No.8 Lummi Nation girls (21-3) vs. No.1 Neah Bay (21-2)
Saturday at Lynden High School
Noon: No.1 Lummi Nation boys (23-1-1) boys vs. No.8 Wahkiakum (17-5)
2 p.m.: No.9 Nooksack Valley girls (14-10) vs. No.16 King’s Way Christian (16-5)
4 p.m.: No.2 Lynden Christian boys (21-1) vs. No.7 Chelan (22-4)
6 p.m.: No.3 Lynden Christian girls (20-3) vs. No.6 Bellevue Christian (16-6)
