If you’re a fan of Whatcom prep basketball, then you might as well pitch your tent — or your RV — at Mount Vernon High School this weekend as seven of our eight state teams will be playing regionals there on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28 and March 1.
First up will be Lummi Nation on Friday. The second-seeded Blackhawk boys are coming off their Class 1B District 1/2/3 championship and will take on seventh seed Moses Lake Christian/Covenant Christian at 6 p.m.
Then the ninth-seeded Lady Blackhawks play a loser-out game at 8 p.m. but have to wait to find out their opponent. They will face the winner of Tuesday’s play-in game between No.16 Muckleshoot Tribal and No.17 Mary M. Knight.
Then comes Saturday and five games involving Whatcom teams.
The two-time defending Class 1A state champion Nooksack Valley girls are seeded ninth and play No.16 Hoquiam at noon in a loser-out contest.
Next up are Lynden Christian’s two 1A teams. The top-seeded LC girls take on No.8 Naches Valley at 2 p.m., and the third-seeded LC boys are up against No.6 Seton Catholic at 4 p.m.
The evening belongs to Lynden and its top-seeded squads. The three-time defending 2A state champion Lion boys are up first at 6 p.m. against No.8 Mark Morris, and the Lion girls begin defense of their state title at 8 p.m. against No.8 Bainbridge.
The only Whatcom team not playing at Mount Vernon is the seventh-seeded Meridian boys, who travel to Ellensburg to take on No.2 Royal in a 1A contest on Friday at 8 p.m.
For the complete brackets, check out the WIAA Tournament Central websites for Girls and Boys.
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 the 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 5-8 (the 2A and 1A in Yakima, the 1B in Spokane). Those 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 Mount Vernon High School
6 p.m: No.2 Lummi Nation boys (22-3) vs. No.7 Moses Lake Christian/Covenant Christian (19-2)
8 p.m.: No.9 Lummi Nation girls vs. winner of Tuesday’s No.17 Mary M. Knight (15-8) vs. No.16 Muckleshoot Tribal (13-8) play-in game
Friday at Ellensburg High School
8 p.m.: No.7 Meridian boys (17-7) vs. No.2 Royal (23-1)
Saturday at Mount Vernon High School
Noon: No.9 Nooksack Valley girls (16-8) vs. No.16 Hoquiam (15-8)
2 p.m.: No.1 Lynden Christian girls (20-3) vs. No.8 Naches Valley (20-5)
4 p.m.: No.3 Lynden Christian boys (21-2) vs. No.6 Seton Catholic (18-5)
6 p.m.: No.1 Lynden boys (24-1) vs. No.8 Mark Morris (20-4)
8 p.m.: No.1 Lynden girls (24-0) vs. No.8 Bainbridge (19-5)
