What did you expect? The Lummi Nation girls and boys basketball teams once again won their Class 1B District 1 championships Tuesday night, Feb. 10, and they did it the same way they’d been winning all season long.
The Lady Blackhawks dismantled another district opponent — this time the victim was Concrete — in impressive fashion, 72-28, to claim their second district title in a row. It was no surprise since Lummi Nation (19-2) had won its 10 league games by an average of 53 points.
The Lummi Nation boys, however, again needed clutch play in the last two minutes to beat rival Tulalip Heritage for the third time this season, 57-56, in a packed Lummi gym. It was the sixth straight district crown for the Blackhawks (20-1-1), who also happen to be the defending 1B state champions.
With the victories, both Lummi Nation teams will advance to their District 1/2/3 tournaments and will open at home in the quarterfinals next Tuesday, Feb. 17. The Lady Blackhawks are seeded third and will play the winner of Saturday’s Crescent-Concrete game. The boys are seeded first and will play the winner of Saturday’s Northwest Yeshiva-Darrington game.
No matter what, a win next Tuesday would earn the Lummi teams state berths.
One other game involving a Whatcom team was played Tuesday night, and the Bellingham girls made sure they advanced in the Class 2A District 1 tournament by eliminating Marysville-Pilchuck, 70-26, in the play-in game.
This, too, was no big shocker since the eighth-seeded Bayhawks (11-10) had beaten the ninth-seeded Tomahawks (1-20) by 40 in early December. Bellingham now advances to the double-elimination portion of the tournament and is at top seed Lynden in a quarterfinal contest on Thursday at 6 p.m.
1B Girls: Lady Blackhawks Crush Concrete, 72-28
If there was any surprise Tuesday night, it was that Lummi Nation was behind after two minutes. But as has happened too many times to count, junior Jemma James turned a steal into a fastbreak layup and the Lady Blackhawks were off and running to their 72-28 victory.
James’s bucket started a 13-2 run that gave Lummi Nation a double-digit lead in the first quarter. And with the stifling Lummi pressure defense holding the Lions to three points in the second quarter, the lead quickly ballooned to 23 points at the half and the rout was on.
“There’s pressure (on us),” said James of the Blackhawks being behind early. “But we’re good at playing under pressure. You brush it off at the beginning of the game and don’t get down on yourselves.”
The Blackhawks’ offense took a little while to get going but its defense was brilliant from the outset, holding Concrete to its second lowest point total of the season. And this was not a paper Lion team; Concrete came into the game with a 17-5 record and had scored more than 80 points twice this season.
Leading the way on both ends of the court was James. The 5-foot-5 cat-quick point guard had a game-high 23 points, including three 3-pointers, and provided constant pressure on the ball.
Joining her in double-figure scoring was senior Ailina Rabang, who had 18 points and two more 3-pointers; eighth-grader Jordy Reeder, who had three of Lummi Nation’s nine 3s; and senior Brianna Metteba with 10 points. Sophomore Laraya Dennis added 5 points off the bench.
The victory was especially meaningful coming after last year’s district championship, which was the Blackhawks’ first since 2009. That was before half of the current players were even born.
“I was telling the girls they are making history,” said Lummi Nation coach David James. “They should be proud. They worked hard for it. They deserve it.”
The next step, of course, will be be harder. The tri-district tournament will include not only District 2 champion Crosspoint Christian but District 3’s top team, three-time defending state champion Neah Bay.
But a top-seven tri-district finish will move the Blackhawks into the state regionals for the third straight year and give them a shot at a state trophy — their goal all season long.
“We’re not looking at just the tri-district,” said Jemma. “We’re looking at the big picture.”
Said Reeder, who wasn’t even alive when the Blackhawks won their last and best trophy — fourth place 16 years ago: “The job isn’t finished yet.”
The only bad news for Lummi Nation was an ankle injury to reserve Laveena Phair, who was wheeled off early in the third quarter. The extent of her injury will be determined on Wednesday.
Lummi Nation 72, Concrete 28
Concrete 8 3 10 7—28
Lummi Nation 18 16 21 18—72
Concrete: Selin 11, Dalton 7, A. Damian 1, Dellinger, J. Damian 1, Nick 8, Huntley, Law, Morgareidge, Martinez.
Lummi Nation: J. James 23, Rabang 18, B. Metteba 10, Reeder 14, Morris, Dennis 5, Phair, M. Metteba, C. James 2.
CLASS 1B DISTRICT 1 GIRLS TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, Feb. 4
Play-in game
Shoreline Christian 33, Darrington 17 (loser out)
First round
Thursday, Feb. 5
Lummi Nation 96, Shoreline Christian 19
Concrete 61, Providence Classical Christian 20
Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) 42, Grace Academy 36
Lopez Island 36, Tulalip Heritage 27
Saturday, Feb. 7
Consolation round
Grace Academy 29, Providence Classical Christian 21 (loser out)
Tulalip Heritage 35, Shoreline Christian 17 (loser out)
Semifinals
Lummi Nation 72, Lopez Island 18
Concrete 54, Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) 28
Tuesday, Feb. 10
Consolation finals
Providence Classical Christian 26, Tulalip Heritage 24 (winner fifth to tri-district, loser out)
Lopez Island 59, Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) 36 (winner third, loser fourth, both to tri-district)
Championship game
Lummi Nation 72, Concrete 28 (winner first, loser second, both to tri-district)
1B Boys: Blackhawks Top Tulalip In Thriller, 57-56
The Lummi Nation boys’ first game with Tulalip this season came down to the last possession, the second came down to the last quarter, but Tuesday’s third matchup came down to the last second as the Blackhawks held off the Hawks, 57-56.
“They’re always close ones,” said Lummi Nation senior Chayce Waite-Kellar of the battles with Tulalip. “But we don’t like them that close.”
“A classic district championship game with two of the top teams in the state,” said Lummi Nation coach Jerome Toby Sr. “We gutted one out tonight. Defense wins championships. Ours wasn’t great tonight, but it was good enough to beat a very good team.”
It might not have been great, but it was pretty good. Lummi Nation held the Hawks, who came into the game with a 17-4 record and had scored more 100 points in a game four times, to their second lowest point total of the season. (Their lowest was to the third-ranked 4A school in the state.)
The game was tight from the beginning with Lummi Nation holding five-point leads after one quarter and at the half. But Tulalip showed off its own defense in the third period — and the Blackhawks showed they were human by having an off shooting night — and heading into the fourth quarter, Lummi was down by six.
“It’s what we expected,” said senior Jerome Toby Jr. “Back and forth. They played hard, and we played hard. But even when we were down, we’re going to fight hard.”
Fight they did, holding the dangerous Hawks to seven points in the final period. And it came down to the final two minutes as Tulalip held a 56-53 lead.
Toby tied it up with 1:50 to go on a 3-pointer and after a Tulalip miss, was fouled. He missed the first free throw but made the second to give the Blackhawks a 57-56 lead with 1:28 to go. Then it was time for the home team to flex its defensive muscles.
Junior Deandre James blocked a shot and after a Lummi turnover that appeared headed for an easy Tulalip breakaway, junior Dyson Edwards sprinted fullcourt to knock the ball out of bounds.
After another Lummi turnover with 13.7 seconds left, Tulalip had one last chance but the Blackhawks’ defense clogged the lanes, forced a bad pass, and when the Hawks couldn’t get off a final shot, Lummi Nation was the district champion.
“We gutted one out tonight,” said coach Toby. “I was proud of our defensive stops at the end. Sometimes you find a way to get an ugly win.”
Edwards was the star on both offense and defense. Not only did he have a team-high 17 points, but his defense was the main reason that Tulalip’s slippery guard Jaylen Gray, who had 21 points last Tuesday against Lummi Nation, was held to 7 points.
Toby and Waite-Kellar finished with 16 points each with Toby hitting three of Lummi Nation’s four 3-pointers. But while the Blackhawks were struggling to hit their outside shots, Tulalip made nine from beyond the arc.
Still, while there were lots of smiles afterward, the veterans of last year’s state championship run knew there was still work to be done as they still had to qualify for Spokane.
“It’s fun,” Toby Jr. said of winning another district title. “But we can’t celebrate too much. There’s the tri-district next.”
His father agreed: “It won’t get easier.”
Lummi Nation 57, Tulalip Heritage 56
Tulalip Heritage 12 20 17 7—56
Lummi Nation 17 20 6 14—57
Tulalip Heritage: Gray 7, Parks 18, Bachand 10, Black Tomahawk, Zackuse, Archibald 5, Myles-Gilford 16, Hatch.
Lummi Nation: Toby Jr. 16, LaFontaine 2, Edwards 17, Yrizarris, Hawk 2, Waite-Kellar 16, D. James 4.
CLASS 1B DISTRICT 1 BOYS TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, Feb. 4
Play-in game
Lopez Island 65, Concrete 50 (loser out)
First round
Thursday, Feb. 5
Lummi Nation 86, Lopez Island 18
Tulalip Heritage 102, Grace Academy 24
Darrington 61, Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) 48
Shoreline Christian 51, Providence Classical Christian 50
Saturday, Feb. 7
Consolation round
Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) 49, Grace Academy 35 (loser out)
Lopez Island 45, Providence Classical Christian 37 (loser out)
Semifinals
Lummi Nation 100, Shoreline Christian 44
Tulalip Heritage 81, Darrington 45
Tuesday, Feb. 10
Consolation finals
Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) 70, Lopez Island 60 (winner fifth to tri-district, loser out)
Darrington 77, Shoreline Christian 41 (winner third, loser fourth, both to tri-district)
Championship game
Lummi Nation 57, Tulalip Heritage 56 (winner first, loser second, both to tri-district)
2A Girls: Bellingham Wins Play-In Game, 70-26
The Bayhawks made sure there would be no upset Tuesday night as they held visiting Marysville-Pilchuck to single digits in every quarter on the way to an easy, 70-26, victory in the Class 2A District 1 play-in game.
With the victory, Bellingham raised its record to 11-10 and, after eliminating the Tomahawks (1-20), will take a step up in competition by traveling to Lynden on Thursday to face the two-time defending state champion Lions (20-0).
“Defensively, there’s a lot of things we have to lock in on better, but we are excited to attack our opportunity to improve and play with pride on Thursday,” said first-year Bellingham coach Drew McFall.
On Tuesday, the Bayhawks put together 22-point quarters in both the second and fourth periods to put away Marysville-Pilhuck in a rematch of Bellingham’s 53-13 victory on Dec. 6.
Sophomore Lucy Holland had a big night with 18 points, 11 of her points and three of her four 3-pointers coming in the big second period that stretched Bellingham’s lead to 22 points at halftime.
Senior Mary Lockhart had 15 points, sophomore Elise Holland had 10 points, senior Ashley Ask had 9 points on three 3-pointers, junior Merritt Jensen had 8 points, and sophomore Taylor Ashlock had 6 points.
“It was a needed game offensively for us,” said McFall. “We moved the ball quickly and efficiently. When we’ve done that, it makes it easier to score.
Bellingham 70, Marysville-Pilchuck 26
Marysville-Pilchuck 4 8 9 5—26
Bellingham 12 22 14 22—70
Marysville-Pilchuck: S. Baumgart 7, B. Boisseranc, Reyes Reyes, Williams, Perez 9, Cervantes Nieblas 2, Hunt, Purewal 1, Whitson 3, Clemens 4.
Bellingham: E. Holland 10, Ask 9, Manning, Borchert 2, L. Holland 18, Rogers 2, Lockhart 15, Jensen 8, Ferrier, Ashlock 6, Anderson.
CLASS 2A GIRLS DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT
Tuesday, Feb. 10
Play-in game
Bellingham 70, Marysville-Pilchuck 26 (loser out)
Thursday, Feb. 12
Quarterfinals
Bellingham at #1 Lynden, 6 p.m.
#7 Anacortes at #2 Archbishop Murphy, 6 p.m.
#6 Burlington-Edison at #3 Squalicum, 6 p.m.
#5 Lakewood at #4 Sehome, 6 p.m.
