Things didn’t come easy for our Whatcom basketball teams as only three of the six won their state regional games on Saturday, Feb. 25.
Lynden Christian’s two teams were tested by lower seeds in the Class 1A regionals at Mount Vernon High School but came out on top. The LC boys defeated Overlake, 69-49, in a game much closer than the score, and the girls held off state tournament rival Cashmere, 61-51.
In the shocker of the 1A boys state playoffs, Blaine went all the way to Yakima to beat Zillah in the Leopards’ backyard, 61-58. The Borderites came into the tournament seeded seventh, while second seed Zillah was considered one of the tourney favorites.
Two of our other teams — the Sehome boys and the Lummi Nation boys — did not fare as well on the road. The Mariners lost to Mark Morris, 84-72, in Chehalis, and the Blackhawks fell to DeSales, 74-56, in Richland.
And in a shocker late Saturday night in Mount Vernon, the second-seeded Lynden girls were upset by White River, 51-45,
For complete stories and stats from each of Saturday’s games and photos from the regional games in Mount Vernon, visit WhatcomHoops.com on Sunday morning.
Class 1A boys
Lynden Christian Pulls Away From Overlake, 69-49
Top seed Lynden Christian broke open a close game with a 22-point fourth quarter to finally pull away from Overlake, 69-49.
Senior Tyler Sipma led the Lyncs with 25 points and six 3-pointers, junior Jeremiah Wright dominated inside with 18 points, and senior Griffin Dykstra added 16 points and another four 3-pointers.
With their victory, the Lyncs (23-2) move on to the Yakima SunDome to play a state quarterfinal game on Thursday, March 2, at 5:30 p.m against the winner of Wednesday’s Seattle Academy-Zillah game.
Lynden Christian 69, Overlake 49
Overlake 12 13 12 12—49
Lynden Christian 12 17 18 22—69
Overlake: Brandon Douvia 6, Nathan Kang, Jake Shuey 15, Alec Odell 5, Nikita Davis 5, Mad Abdi 2, Zubin Sannakkayala, Jack Wiley 16, Hudson Im, Ashwin Chintalapati.
Lynden Christian: Tyler Sipma 26, Gannon Dykstra 3, Griffin Dykstra 16, Dawson Bouma 3, Lane Dykstra 2, Jeremiah Wright 18, Dexter Zylstra, Braden Kuik, Isaac Paxton, Treven Blair 1, Luke Van Kooten, Boyce Robertson.
Blaine Defense Stifles Zillah In 61-58 Shocker
Blaine shut down second seed Zillah for three quarters and then when the high-scoring Leopards threatened a comeback, the seventh-seeded Borderites outscored them in the fourth quarter to win, 61-58, in Yakima.
Senior Matt Russ had six of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, and junior Noah Tavis had seven of his 10 points in the final period as Blaine built up an eight-point lead. A Zillah 3-pointer at the final buzzer proved meaningless as the Borderites pulled off the tournament’s first big upset.
With the victory, the Borderites (17-7) also advance to the Yakima SunDome, where they will play in a state quarterfinal game on Thursday, March 2, at 9 p.m. against the winner of Wednesday’s Overlake-Lakeside (9 Mile) game.
Blaine 61, Zillah 58
Blaine 17 9 15 20—61
Zillah 9 15 16 18—58
Blaine: Mathew Russ 19, Carson Lehnert 10, Lucas Smith 9, Ethan Korseki 8, Noah Tavis 10, Lawrence Creasey-Pulphus 5, Conner Dalry.
Zillah: Aiden Garza 8, Yisrael Sandoval 9, Carson Favilla, Dekker Van De Graaf, 4 Brandon Favilla, Dominic Navarre 7, Nakea John 5, Luke Navarre 25.
CLASS 1A BOYS STATE REGIONALS
Friday, Feb. 24
#14 Seton Catholic 62, #11 Seattle Christian 53 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
Saturday, Feb. 25
#10 Seattle Academy 71, #15 Elma 56 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#12 King’s Way Christian 59, #13 LaSalle 44 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#16 Lakeside (9 Mile) 58, #9 Omak 52 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#3 Annie Wright 74, #6 Toppenish 55 (both to state tournament)
#1 Lynden Christian 69, #8 Overlake 49 (both to state tournament)
#7 Blaine 61, #2 Zillah 58 (both to state tournament)
#4 Freeman 74, #5 King’s 72 (both to state tournament)
Class 1A girls
Lynden Christian Knocks Off Cashmere, 61-51
Lynden Christian defeated Cashmere for the third time in the last five state tournaments, 61-51, but it didn’t come easy.
Sophomore Grace Hintz and senior Demi Dykstra, who was a freshman on the LC team that beat the Bulldogs for the 2020 state title, each hit a pair of free throws in the final minute to ice the game. Hintz finished with 19 points and Dykstra with 14.
With the win, the second-seeded Lyncs (23-3) move directly to the Yakima SunDome to play in a state quarterfinal on Thursday, March 2, at 2 p.m. against the winner of Wednesday’s Bellevue Christian-Freeman game.
Our other Class 1A girls team, top-seeded Nooksack Valley, won its regional game on Friday, 65-16, against Bellevue Christian. The Pioneers will also play in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. against the winner of the Annie Wright-Cashmere game.
Lynden Christian 61, Cashmere 51
Cashmere 10 13 17 11—51
Lynden Christian 13 19 21 8—61
Cashmere: Brianna Talley 9, Allie McKenna 4, Katie Piepel 4, Ellie Bessonette 14, Maddie Hammond 15, Kaitlyn Bjorklund 5.
Lynden Christian: Demi Dykstra 14, Reganne Arnold 10, Taryn Herwerden 5, Daisy Poag 6, Grace Hintz 19, Alexie Hagen, Ella Fritts 1, Tabitha DeJong 6, Allison Shumate.
CLASS 1A GIRLS STATE REGIONALS
Friday, Feb. 24
#1 Nooksack Valley 65, #8 Bellevue Christian 16 (both to state tournament)
#9 Freeman 47, #16 Hoquiam 19 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#15 Annie Wright 48, #10 College Place 40 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
Saturday, Feb. 25
#12 Seattle Academy 56, #13 Seton Catholic 49 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#3 Wapato 63, #6 Deer Park 48 (both to state tournament)
#2 Lynden Christian 61, #7 Cashmere 51 (both to state tournament)
#5 King’s 51, #4 Montesano 37 (both to state tournament)
#11 Zillah 72, #14 Sultan 33 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
Class 1B boys
Lummi Nation Can’t Keep Up With DeSales, 74-56
Lummi Nation traveled the farthest of our Whatcom teams but the trip to Richland proved to be unsuccessful as the sixth-seeded Blackhawks fell to third seed DeSales of Walla Walla, 74-56.
Freshman Jerome Toby had a team-high 19 points and junior Raymond Perkins had 12 points, and the two of them had four 3-pointers each, but the Lummi Nation offense couldn’t keep up with the Irish.
Despite the loss, the Blackhawks (19-8) advance to the state tournament in the Spokane Arena and will play Wednesday, March 1, in a loser-out game against Mossyrock at 3:45 p.m. The Blackhawks played the Vikings earlier this year and lost, 63-51.
DeSales 74, Lummi Nation 56
Lummi Nation 12 16 11 17—56
DeSales 20 15 16 23—74
Lummi Nation: Tobias Francis 3, Jerome Toby 19, Richard Wilson 10, Mathias Johnson, Desmond Bailey 6, Tony Abrams 4, Frank Solomon, Peyton Brockie, Tracy Powell, Raymond Perkins 12, Landon Day, Payton Scott 2.
DeSales: Spencer Green 6, Carter Green 14, Jack Lesko 26, Joe Baffney 14, Levi Bingham, Sal Sisk 2, Billy Holtzinger 4, Caden McCollaugh 8, Danny Freeman, Sean Sollars, Daniel Balof, Remy Arceo.
CLASS 1B BOYS STATE REGIONALS
Tuesday, Feb. 21
#16 Orcas Island 63, #17 Inchelium 42 (winner to second round, loser out)
#15 Pomeroy 69, #18 Muckleshoot Tribal 62 (winner to second round, loser out)
#19 Columbia Adventist 52, #14 Summit Classical Christian 49 (winner to second round, loser out)
#13 Riverside Christian 71, #20 Mary Walker 58 (winner to second round, loser out)
Saturday, Feb. 25
#1 Wellpinit 83, #8 Oakville 46 (both to state tournament)
#2 Sunnyside Christian 56 vs. #7 Cusick 45 (both to state tournament)
#3 DeSales 74, #6 Lummi Nation 56 (both to state tournament)
#4 Willapa Valley 48 #5 Moses Lake Christian/Covenant Christian 34 (both to state tournament)
Orcas Island 73, #9 Neah Bay 65 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#10 Mount Vernon Christian 65, Pomeroy 40 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#11 Mossyrock (18-6) 59, Columbia Adventist 45 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#12 Sound Christian Academy 61, Riverside Christian 52 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
Class 2A girls
Cold Shooting Dooms Lynden In 51-45 Loss To White River
A frigid shooting night left Lynden out in the cold as the second-seeded Lions only managed 19 points in the second half and were upset by seven seed White River, 51-45.
Junior Haylee Koetje led the Lions with 17 points, but Lynden lost an eight-point first-half lead when the Hornets (19-6) went on a 14-2 run to start the second half and trailed by 10 in the fourth quarter. Lynden closed to within 48-45 with 2:15 left but missed two chances to tie the game and didn’t score again.
Despite the loss, Lynden (20-5) moves on to the Yakima SunDome, where the Lions (21-4) play a loser-out game against Othello on Wednesday, March 1, at 5:30 p.m.
Our other Class 2A girls team, the Sehome Mariners, had their season end Friday night with a 45-38 loss to Sammamish.
White River 51, Lynden 45
White River 12 10 22 7—51
Lynden 15 11 8 11—45
White River: MacKenzie Hinson, Sophie Ross-Sole, Morgan Greene, Lexie Banks, Ava Bright, Ally Green, Josie Jacobs, Ella Klemkow, Dakota Sprouse, Jadyn Olson, Vivian Kingston, Emma Voellger.
Lynden: Mallary Villars 2, Adia Newcomb 3, Haylee Koetje 17, Kalanie Newcomb 9, Payton Mills 10, Chloe Wittenberg, Mya VanderYacht 3, Rian Stephan 1.
CLASS 2A GIRLS STATE REGIONALS
Friday, Feb. 24
#4 Prosser 57, #5 Tumwater 31 (both to state tournament)
#10 Othello 45 #15 Mark Morris 39 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#11 Renton (18-4) 47 #14 Port Angeles 40 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#16 Sammamish 45, #9 Sehome 38 (winner to regionals, loser out)
#1 Ellensburg 59, #8 Sequim 35 (both to state tournament)
Saturday, Feb. 25
#3 Burlington-Edison 55, #6 WF West 48 (both to state tournament)
#12 Enumclaw 58, #13 Columbia River 47 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#7 White River 51, #2 Lynden 45 (both to state tournament)
Class 2A boys
Sehome Falls Behind Early In 84-72 Loss To Mark Morris
Mark Morris of Longview came out hot and left Sehome behind by 10 after the first quarter and while the Mariners played the Monarchs even after that it was too late as the Mariners lost their Class 2A state regional, 84-72, in Chehalis.
Sehome seniors Grant Kepley and Grey Garrison had 20 points each, but it wasn’t enough to offset Mark Morris’s 84 points, which was by far the most points the Mariners have given up all season.
The fifth-seeded Mariners (18-5) still get to go to the Yakima SunDome, but will have to play a loser-out game on Wednesday, March 1, at 12:15 p.m. against North Kitsap. The Vikings defeated Sehome last year at state.
Our other Class 2A boys team, the Lynden Lions, notched a 70-52 victory over Renton on Friday, Feb. 24, and will advance to the SunDome to play the winner of the Sehome-North Kitsap game in the state quarterfinals on Thursday, March 2, at 12:15 p.m.
Mark Morris 84, Sehome 72
Sehome 15 17 18 22—72
Mark Morris 25 16 19 24—84
Sehome: Grey Garrison 20, Mathew Storms 11, Dane Dominguez 6, Grant Kepley 20, Isaac Lawrence 8, Eli Daheim, Austin McKay, Kai Swanson 2, Braddock Duckworth 1, Nathan Eisses 2, Tommy Funk, Nolan Wright 2.
Mark Morris: Deacon Dietz 5, Kobe Parlin 27, Malakai Gray 9, Braydon Olson 34, Dalton Stevens 3, Carson Bogner 2, Dossen Morrow 4.
CLASS 2A BOYS STATE REGIONALS
Friday, Feb. 24
#6 Lynden 70, #3 Renton 52 (both to state tournament)
Saturday, Feb. 25
#1 Pullman 67, #8 RA Long 55 (both to state tournament)
#7 Prosser 74, Anacortes 69 (both to state tournament)
#4 Mark Morris 84, #5 Sehome 72 (both to state tournament)
#10 Enumclaw 49, #15 Ridgefield 33 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#13 North Kitsap 58, #12 Sammamish 50 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#9 West Valley (Spokane) 64, #16 Clover Park 47 (winner to state tournament, loser out)
#11 Tumwater 63, #14 Foss 48 (winner to state tournaments, loser out)
