The Lynden Christian girls and boys basketball teams have never been afraid to schedule — and be tested by — bigger and stronger non-league opponents like Lake Stevens.
Well, the Class 1A Lyncs passed their first tests of the young season by sweeping the Wesco 4A school in a home doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 7.
The LC girls opened their season with an exciting, come-from-behind 55-48 victory, and the LC boys led wire-to-wire in a 76-58 triumph.
“Lake Stevens has had a really strong program for a lot of years,” said LC girls coach Brady Bomber of the school with almost 1,400 more students than Lynden Christian. “We knew we wouldn’t have the advantage physically. Regardless of the outcome, we got all we wanted to (from the game).”
Lyncs Girls Rally To Beat Lake Stevens, 55-48
Besides the victory, Bomber and the Lyncs also got to see how the new squad would react to adversity. After jumping to a 7-0 lead and holding a double-digit lead in the first half, Lynden Christian saw the physical Vikings scrap back to take 43-36 lead with five and a half minutes left in the game.
“We had a rough six to eight minutes at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter,” said Bomber. “But I was proud of our resiliency. They showed their toughness and togetherness.”
Junior Estela Hernandez started the rally with her fourth 3-pointer of the game and senior Danya Dykstra hit two 3s, the first giving LC a 46-44 lead it would never surrender and the second completing a 13-1 run with just under two minutes left.
Lake Stevens, which won its first two games by an average of 16 points, closed the margin to two, but freshman Tyra Dykstra sank a free throw, junior Ella Fritts sank another one, Hernandez turned a steal into a fastbreak layup, and Fritts iced the game with two more free throws.
“It was really fun,” said the older Dykstra, who finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.” I knew we could handle this. We’ve come from behind before.”
Fritts and Hernandez led the Lyncs with 16 points each with Fritts collecting 6 rebounds and Hernandez adding 3 steals. Senior Allison Shumate led the Lyncs with 10 rebounds as Bomber was able to give a lot of minutes to all nine of the Lyncs who played.
“We have a lot returning, but we have a lot playing their first (varsity) games,” said Bomber. “It was fun to see them have success.”
If there was a down side coming into the game, it was that all-state guard Grace Hintz and fellow senior Makalie Tveter would be limited to cheering on their teammates from the bench this season because of injuries.
Still, the Lyncs are up to the challenge of reaching the state championship game, something they just missed last March. After being in the previous five straight state finals — and winning three of them — Lynden Christian placed third.
“We didn’t end the way we wanted to (last year),” said Hernandez. “We want to make it far (at state). These games (against 4A opponents) help us a lot.”
The LC girls return to action on Tuesday night when they travel to Mount Vernon to begin Northwest Conference play.
Lynden Christian 55, Lake Stevens 48
Lake Stevens 9 11 14 14—48
Lynden Christian 14 12 9 20—55
Lake Stevens: Eyman 2, Swobody 5, Kuehl 10, Strom 2, Baker, K. Tupua 9, Olotu 5, N. Tupua 15.
Lynden Christian: D. Dykstra 8, T. Dykstra 5, Hernandez 16, Fritts 16, Scott 4, Shumate 3, Yun, Van Loo 3, Eshuis.
Everybody waits to see if Luke Van Kooten’s shot goes in.
Lyncs Boys Run And Gun To 76-58 Win
After using dominant big men to win two state titles and finish third at state last March, the newest edition of the LC boys team is relatively small. But the Lyncs are also quick and, boy, can they shoot.
After posting 84 points in their season-opening victory on Wednesday, the Lyncs came out firing, scoring 22 points in the first quarter and never relinquishing the lead. The Vikings (1-2) managed to cut the margin to five at halftime, but a 21-point third quarter put the Lyncs back in control the rest of the way.
“This tests us right away,” LC coach Tim Zylstra said of playing the 4A Vikings. “They are physical and aggressive. But we responded well. When we shoot like that, it’s fun basketball to watch.”
Doing much of the damage on offense was senior point guard Gannon Dykstra, whose drives and pull-up jumpers resulted in a game-high 24 points, 11 of them coming in the crucial third period. He also had 9 rebounds and 8 assists.
Doing much of the damage on offense was senior point guard Gannon Dykstra, whose drives and pull-up jumpers resulted in a game-high 24 points, 11 of them coming in the crucial third period.
“Gannon does an incredible job out there,” said Zylstra, who was himself an all-state point guard. As for getting back to the state finals, Zylstra was — surprise, surprise — focusing on one game at a time. “We know the standard we set, and we need to do it every night. We have to have everyone contribute.”
On Saturday, all eight of the Lyncs who played contributed both on offense and defense.
Sophomore Gunnar Dykstra, Gannon’s little brother, sank four 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. Senior Luke Van Kooten and sophomore Kaden Veldman dominated the boards with Van Kooten also sinking a pair of 3s and 12 points, and Veldman scoring 9 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. Junior Boyce Robertson added another 12 points.
The older Dykstra, who has already signed to play for Biola University, certainly knows the LC standard that Zylstra spoke about having been part of the 2023 state championship team, the Lyncs’ third since 2018. And he’s ready for this year’s squad to join the Lyncs’ legacy.
“It’s the same thing this year,” he said of the squad’s state goal. “I think we have a good shot.”
The LC boys begin Northwest Conference action on Tuesday night when they host league champion Mount Vernon.
Lynden Christian 76, Lake Stevens 58
Lake Stevens 10 23 11 14—58
Lynden Christian 22 16 21 17—76
Lake Stevens: Hansen 6, Ngezaho 11, Pierpoint 12, Tilghman 7, Bell 1, Freeman 16, Allinson, Bakoto, Rabb 2, Gerhart 3.
Lynden Christian: Gu. Dykstra 17, Ahlers, Maberry 2, Robertson 12, Ga. Dykstra 24, Van Kooten 12, Veldman 9, Kooiman.
