Because of cancellations, the spotlight was solely on the Squalicum gym Thursday night, where the only Whatcom County basketball games were a doubleheader featuring the defending Northwest Conference champion Lynden boys and girls and the upstart Storm teams.
And it was the champs who stole the spotlight, with the Lynden girls storming away for a 67-20 victory and the Lynden boys pulling away for a 63-33 triumph.
It was only the second game of the season for the Lynden girls, who are 2-0 in NWC play and riding a 50-game winning streak. Squalicum fell to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in league play.
The Lynden boys raised their overall record to 2-1 and are 2-0 in the NWC. Squalicum dropped to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
Girls: Lions’ Defense, Depth Dominate Storm, 67-20
The Lynden girls are the two-time defending Class 2A state champions in part because they defend like no others. Just ask the Storm, whose two lowest scores last year were also to the Lions.
“We talked about that at halftime,” said Lynden coach Rob Adams. “Everybody knows they have to play defense.”
Everybody did because everybody played — a lot.
Lynden used its strength to dominate the boards and its speed to fastbreak its way to a 10-point first-quarter lead and stretch it to 20 at the half. Then the defense took over — thanks to Adams’s halftime talk — holding the Storm to five points in the third quarter and shutting them out in the fourth period.
Give credit to everybody, but especially to guards Rilanna Newcomb, Lexi Hermanutz, and Degitu Bowler who hounded Squalicum’s all-league point guard, Lexi Robbins, into a two-point night.
While the Storm was having trouble scoring against the physical man-to-man pressure, the Lions’ stars weren’t.
All-state senior post Payton Mills had 25 points, including three 3-pointers, and junior guard Finley Parcher, last season’s Class 2A player of the year, had 18 points, 14 coming in the first half before the game got out of hand, and added 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
“I try not to worry about the score … and not worry about the outside noise,” said Mills, a University of Hawaii commit who also had 11 rebounds. “But obviously, we have our standards, and we need to play up to that.”
The Lions did that again Thursday night thanks to their deep roster. Hermanutz had 9 points and 5 steals, Rian Stephan had 6 points and 4 rebounds, Bowler had 5 points, and Newcomb added 4 points.
“Finley and Payton played as you’d expect those type of players to play,” said Adams. “But it’s a tough night (for opponents) when our role players contribute like that.”
While it was a tough night for the Storm and first-year coach Caden Mee said he was frustrated with the team’s execution, he made it clear he was not disappointed with their effort.
“We planned for it, we prepared for it, but we just didn’t do that great at it,” he said of dealing with Lynden’s pressure. “But it’s easier said than done. They (the Storm) battled to the end and kept their heads high.”
There weren’t many bright spots offensively for Squalicum, but one was freshman Audri Kiesau, who came off the bench to score 5 points. Also putting up 5 points were juniors Addison Kettman and Tiana Thompson, and while Robbins had an off night on offense, she did have a team-high 4 rebounds.
“I was kind of nervous,” said Kiesau, whose older sister Carli was a returning starter until suffering a season-ending injury. “They (the Lions) are really big and strong. But if I hustled hard, I knew I’d have a good game. It was fun.”
Mee was already looking to the next game, a home NWC contest against Meridian on Tuesday.
“Sehome was a tough loss (last week), but we came back to crush Burlington,” he said of Monday’s 50-31 victory over the Tigers. “We have to learn from losses and come out better.”
Lynden, meanwhile, will have one of its biggest tests of the season on Saturday when the Lions travel to Maple Valley to take on Class 4A state power Tahoma.
Lynden 67, Squalicum 20
Lynden 18 17 22 10—67
Squalicum 8 7 5 0—20
Lynden: Bowler 5, Hermanutz 9, Nyhoff, Newcomb 4, Slayton, R. Stephan 6, I. Stephan, Somma, Basart, Parcher 18, Mills 25, Dykstra.
Squalicum: Cecka, Av. Kettman 3, Paz, Thompson 5, Robbins 2, Harper, Ad. Kettman 5, A. Kiesau 5.
Boys: Experienced Lions Overpower Storm, 63-33
With almost everyone back from last year’s state team, the Lions figure to again be one of the Northwest Conference elite, while the Storm, with only one returning veteran, figure to be rebuilding. Yet with two minutes left in the first half, Lynden was clinging to only an eight-point lead.
Then the Lions took over. Sophomore Jayden Navarre sank two 3-pointers, senior James Ellis made two layups, and senior Spencer Adams hit a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer. When the Storm could only come up with two turnovers and two missed shots, Lynden had completed a 13-0 run and stretched the margin to an insurmountable 21 points.
“We’re a tough matchup for them,” said Lynden coach Brian Roper. “We’re physical and can rotate in a bunch of athletes. We’re playing more guys than normal. It’s a challenge, but a good problem to have.”
Lynden’s depth was apparent in the scorebook as 10 different Lions scored, six of them getting at least 6 points.
Adams led the Lions with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and a pair of 3-pointers. Navarre had 9 points on three 3-pointers and 3 assists, Ellis and senior Brody Price had 8 points each, and juniors Gordy Bedlington and Lewis Whitney had 6 points each with Whitney collecting 7 rebounds.
“We have a lot of great guys that love the game,” said Adams. “We feed off each other’s energy. Every guy on our squad can play. No one really cares who gets the most points. We all just want to win.”
Said Roper, “We talk about being a star in your role. We’re still figuring all that out. But we can still grow. We just want to enjoy the process of getting better.”
The inexperienced Storm also figure to get better. Their only returnee with much playing time, junior point guard Blake Elston, did it all Thursday with 23 points, three 3-pointers, and even a team-high 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
But he was forced to take as many shots (19) as the rest of the team, which only made four field goals. Junior Orion Granberg-Kiddle was the next leading Storm scorer with 4 points.
“It’s tough for us with only one veteran and a lot of young guys,” said Squalicum coach David Dunham. “They are great young men. But someone has to step up. We need them to be willing to leave with bruises and scrapes. We’ll be better; we just have to get confident.”
Elston, for one, was confident. “We a have a lot to grow from,” he said. “We’re only going to get better. You haven’t seen our best. We’ll be a problem later (in the season for other teams), and they won’t want to play us.”
One thing that will help Squalicum, which is also back in action Tuesday at home against Meridian, is getting back junior Hunter Calloway, who is recovering from an injury. The all-league guard is expected to play again in early January.
The Lions also will be getting back a big returnee, injured senior Ty Jorgenson, who is hoping to be able to play around the same time. Lynden’s next game is Saturday, when the Lions host Mountlake Terrace in a non-league contest.
Lynden 63, Squalicum 33
Lynden 16 21 10 16—63
Squalicum 9 7 4 13—33
Lynden: Navarre 9, Bedlington 6, Price 8, Ellis 8, Mar. Koenen 2, Mal. Koenen 2, Broersma 2, Smith 4, Whitney 6, Adams 16.
Squalicum: Knowlton 2, Tetrick, McDaniel, Elston 23, Col. Le 1, Granberg-Kiddle 4, Shimkus, Binta, Cod. Le, Thompson 3, An. Asbjornsen.
