Lynden Girls Win District Title; Lynden, Ferndale Boys Lose

It was finals week for the undefeated and top-ranked Lynden girls and boys basketball teams, and they both were tested in their Class 2A District 1 championship games Wednesday night, Feb. 19.

The Lynden girls passed with flying colors, defeating third-ranked and once-beaten — make that now twice-beaten — Archbishop Murphy, 52-36, to claim the district title and with it, a berth in the state regionals.

The Lynden boys, however, failed to win the district title although it took a 3-pointer with five seconds left for Lakewood to upset the Lions, 50-49, in the nightcap at Mount Vernon High School.

Fortunately for the Lions, their final grade has yet to be determined and the three-time defending state champions will have a second shot at returning to Yakima. They will play in the consolation final on Saturday at 7 p.m. with the winner earning a berth in the state regionals and the loser having its season end.

That’s what happened to the Ferndale boys, who lost in the Class 3A consolation bracket on Wednesday to Marysville-Getchell, 56-38, in the only other game involving a Whatcom team.

The 2025 Class 2A District 1 champion Lynden Lions

CLASS 2A GIRLS

Lynden Shuts Down Archbishop Murphy, 52-36

High-scoring Archbishop Murphy and its all-state guard Brooke Blachly figured to be Lynden’s biggest challenge to date especially with their 21-1 record and 16-game winning streak after mauling the Burlington-Edison Tigers in the district semifinals.

But the Lions — and especially the Lions’ defense — were up to the challenge, especially in the first half when they held Blachly to one field goal and the Wildcats to 13 points. Archbishop Murphy’s 36 points was not only its lowest total of the season, but it was 18 points less than their previous low.

“To give up only 13 points … that was a gem,” said Lynden coach Rob Adams, whose team is now 24-0.

But the Wildcats are no pussycats. Despite only scoring two points in the second quarter, they only allowed Lynden’s own high-scoring offense to score 24 points in the first half and lead by 11.

And even after the Lions hit three layups to start the third quarter and were up by 18 after two Finley Parcher free throws, Blachly fired up three bombs in less than three minutes to cut the lead to 14.

“This is the first time we played a truly loaded team that was able to push back … and they did,” said Adams. “We had a 22-point lead and when I looked up, it was 12.”

But Archbishop Murphy never got closer because the Lions could counter with their own all-staters in sophomore Parcher and junior post Payton Mills.

Mills got untracked early, hitting nine points and one of her two 3-pointers in the first quarter. She would finish with a game-high 24 points.

Parcher let the game come to her and after not scoring in the opening period she finished with 17 points and Lynden’s other two 3-pointers. But even Parcher recognized that the victory belonged to the Lions’ defense.

“We always emphasize defense,” the 6-foot guard said. “Once we settled in (on offense), we found our rhythm.”

Heading the defense, as usual, was senior Kiki York, who guarded Blachly most of the game although she got timely help from reserves Degitu Bowler and Melanie Anderson. And let’s not forget sophomore guard Lexi Hermanutz, who held Archbishop Murphy’s other all-star, Ava Marr, to 13 points, only seven coming in the final three periods.

But as Adams pointed out, it was a team effort since only two other Wildcats managed to score and besides Blachly and Marr, the rest of the team totaled only eight points.

“Kiki played lights out on defense, and Lexi’s job on Marr was phenomenal,” said Adams. “But it was a great team effort. People who needed to step up really did.”

And now the Lions can sit back and relax for at least a week. They will find out on Sunday if they will indeed be the top seed in the state regionals and learn when and who they will play on either Feb. 28 or March 1.

Not that they are too worried about records, seedings, or RPI rankings.

“We try not to worry about the outside noise,” said Mills. “It’s just business as usual.”

Parcher agreed: “We know we’ve got a target on our backs, but we’re still looking to hunt. We’ll take each game one at a time. Rob likes to say we’re 0-0 and trying to be 1-0.”

When asked to compare this year’s squad to last year’s state championship team, Adams praised both. “I think each team is special,” he said. “We want to celebrate this one (the district championship), but we’ve got more wood to chop.”

The Wildcats, whose only previous loss was by four points to Lynden Christian, can still advance to the state regionals for the second straight year. But they will have to beat the winner of Thursday’s Squalicum-Burlington consolation contest on Saturday.

Lynden 52, Archbishop Murphy 36

Archbishop Murphy 11 2 9 14—36

Lynden 13 11 14 14—52

Archbishop Murphy: Fryberg, Blachly 15, Hookfin, Cushing, Ives, Fletcher 6, Miller, Marr 13, Cham, Wright 2.

Lynden: Bowler 4, Hermanutz, Nyhoff 1, Slayton, R. Stephan 4, I. Stephan, Anderson, York 2, Parcher 17, Mills 24.

CLASS 2A GIRLS DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT

Monday, Feb. 10

Play-in game

#8 Bellingham 54, #9 Marysville-Pilchuck 20 (loser out)

Wednesday, Feb. 12

Quarterfinals

#1 Lynden 71, Bellingham (6-13) 8

#2 Archbishop Murphy 55, #7 Sehome 27

#3 Burlington-Edison 68, #6 Lakewood 40

#4 Squalicum 38, #5 Anacortes 35

Friday, Feb. 14

Consolation games

Anacortes 46, Bellingham 23 (loser out)

Lakewood 49, Sehome 43 (loser out)

Semifinals

At Mount Vernon

Archbishop Murphy 54, Burlington-Edison 39

Lynden 61, Squalicum 27

Monday, Feb. 17

Consolation games

At Mount Vernon

Squalicum 58, Lakewood 27 (loser out)

Burlington-Edison 58, Anacortes 28 (loser out)

Wednesday, Feb. 19

At Mount Vernon

Championship game

Lynden 52, Archbishop Murphy 36 (winner first, to state regionals)

Thursday, Feb. 20

At Mount Vernon

Consolation game

Squalicum (13-9) vs. Burlington-Edison (20-4), 6 p.m. (loser out)

Saturday, Feb. 22

At Mount Vernon

Consolation final

Archbishop Murphy (21-2) Squalicum-Burlington winner, 5:15 p.m. (winner second, to state regionals, loser out)

Brant Heppner’s heroics inspired the Lynden bench.

CLASS 2A BOYS

Lakewood Shocks Lynden In Final Seconds, 50-49

The big and talented Lions are used to being the Goliath after winning the past three state championships and the past 23 games this season. But on Wednesday, they met their David in the form of the super-quick, sharp-shooting Cougars from Lakewood.

And after one quarter, it looked like Lakewood was the heavy favorite and Lynden the upstart with a 16-6 record. The Cougars’ press forced the Lions into at least seven of their 19 turnovers and when Lynden did finally get the ball over halfcourt, they couldn’t score — literally.

Lakewood was up 18-0 — yes, 18-0 — before junior Spencer Adams finally hit a shot for Lynden, a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left in the period.

“I didn’t think it was possible to play that poorly in the first quarter,” said Lynden coach Brian Roper. “Their press bothered us. They were playing on their toes, and we were playing on our heels.”

You can blame it on Lynden’s youth and inexperience with only two seniors on the roster and almost no playoff experience in its backcourt. Or you can blame it on Lakewood’s unworldly shooting in the first period. As Lynden senior Brant Heppner succinctly put it, “We came out slow, and they came out hot.”

But the Lions aren’t in the habit of making excuses and there was no panic in the Lynden huddle. Midway through the second quarter, they were down, 25-5, when Adams hit his second 3. Then Heppner hit a 3 and a turnaround jumper. Then Ty Jorgenson scored inside, Heppner hit another 3 and Gordy Bedlington hit a 3.

Suddenly, the 20-point deficit was a manageable eight-point margin at the half. But the Lions weren’t done. With the Cougars finally cooling off, Lynden went on the prowl, finally taking the lead on Jack Stapleton’s three-point play with 6 minutes left in the game.

“I was proud of our guys to keep fighting,” said Roper. “That’s not easy to do when you’re behind 25-5 against a good team. I thought we had the game under control, but they hit some big shots late.”

Lynden actually led by six with a minute left when the night’s first crucial play happened. Lakewood’s Evan Greenland drove to the hoop and was grabbed by Stapleton. A foul was called and should have been … but it surprisingly was called an intentional foul instead of a side out.

Greenland made both free throws, Lakewood got the ball, and the Cougars’ Quinton Steen made a 3-pointer to give Lakewood back the lead with 38 seconds left. Adams countered with his third 3-pointer with 20 seconds left.

Then it was the Cougars’ turn and Evan Espe, one of eight seniors on the team, had the final say, sinking a 3-pointer from the corner with 5.4 seconds left to make it 50-49. The Lions managed to get off a final shot, but Heppner’s 30-footer was off the mark … and Lynden had its first loss.

Although Heppner didn’t sink the game-winner, the senior all-stater did everything else. He finished with 19 points, three 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists in carrying the Lions through an offensive drought.

Adams had 9 points with his three 3s, and Jorgenson came off the bench to add 6 points and 5 rebounds. Junior guard Brody Price only had 4 points but sparked the Lions’ comeback with his steady play and hustle.

And now, the Lions must take the hard way if they are to defend their state crown in Yakima. Because District 1 only gets two state berths, Lynden will play the winner of Thursday’s Burlington-Archbishop Murphy consolation game on Saturday at 7 p.m. with the winner taking the second spot in the state regionals.

“We’ve got a one-game season,” said Roper. “We’ve been in this position before. It’s disappointing to be so close, but that’s basketball. I know our kids, and we’ll get back up and get after it.”

Heppner was not letting Wednesday’s loss be an excuse.

“This can either be the best thing to happen to us or the worst thing,” he said. “We decide.”

Lakewood 50, Lynden 49

Lakewood 18 11 9 12—50

Lynden 3 18 18 10—49

Lakewood: Sanko, P. Espe, Steen 7, Hoekendorf 4, N. Espe 23, Stacey 5, Wilson, Greenland 11.

Lynden: Navarre 1, Bedlington 3, Price 4, Bowman, Mal. Koenen 3, Stapleton 4, Jorgenson 6, Heppner 19, Adams 9.

CLASS 2A BOYS DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT

Wednesday, Feb. 19

At Mount Vernon

Championship game

Lakewood 50, Lynden 49 (winner first, to state regionals)

Thursday, Feb. 20

At Mount Vernon

Consolation game

Archbishop Murphy (10-13) vs. Burlington-Edison (16-7), 7:45 p.m. (loser out)

Saturday, Feb. 22

At Mount Vernon

Consolation final

Lynden (23-1) vs. Archbishop Murphy-Burlington winner, 7 p.m. (winner second, to state regionals, loser out)

Tommy Mack had a team-high 9 points for Ferndale. (File photo)

CLASS 3A BOYS

Cold Spell Ends Ferndale’s Season, 56-38

The eighth-seeded Golden Eagles started slow and by the time they warmed up, they were too far behind fifth seed Marysville-Getchell, ending their season with a road loss in the District 1 consolation round.

Ferndale, which finished the year 11-11, only managed eight points in the opening quarter yet was only two points down. But it wasn’t until the fourth period that they broke double figures in a quarter and by then they were behind, 41-24.

Seniors Jonah Brillowsky and Tommy Mack had 9 points each, and junior Kaveer Dhillon came off the bench to score 8 points and hit two 3-pointers. Ferndale’s leading scorer, junior Mantaj Singh, was in foul trouble much of the game and finished with just 5 points, 10 below his average.

The Golden Eagles also were playing without starting forward Hunter Wills, who was sick. Wills averages nearly 11 points a game.

It was the final game of their Ferndale careers for seniors Brillowsky, Mack, Wills, Lincoln Thomas, and Tushraj Grewal.

Ferndale opened the district tournament with a 59-45 victory over Meadwdale in a play-in game last Thursday. The Golden Eagles then entered the double-elimination portion of the tourney but lost to top-seed Edmonds-Woodway on Saturday, 62-42.

Marysville-Getchell improved to 16-8 and will play Shorecrest, which lost to Monroe in Wednesday’s semifinal round. The Chargers made 10 3-pointers to Ferndale’s five. Interestingly, only one Getchell player shot free throws and he missed all four.

Marysville-Getchell 56, Ferndale 38

Ferndale 8 9 7 14—38

Marysville-Getchell 10 15 16 15—56

Ferndale: Singh 5, Brillowsky 9, Vincent 3, Thomas 1, Mack 9, Grewal 3, Dhillon 8.

Marysville-Getchell: Michan, Palacol 3, Doherty, Jammeh 2, Pittman 16, Dakol 14, Maddoch, Abila, Rice 12, Harris 9, Holaday.

CLASS 3A BOYS DISTRICT 1 TOURNAMENT

Saturday, Feb. 15

Quarterfinals

#1 Edmonds-Woodway 62, Ferndale 42

#2 Shorecrest 52, Snohomish 43

#3 Monroe 64, Sedro-Woolley 56

#4 Shorewood 68, Marysville-Getchell 62