In the highly competitive, high-stakes pressure of high school basketball, we sometimes forget it should be fun.
Some of the best players in the state reminded us of that at the John Clark Whatcom County Seniors Classic at Lynden’s Jake Maberry Gymnasium on Friday night, March 13.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Nooksack Valley’s Payton Bartl. “We’ve grown up playing against them. It was nice to be able to just have fun.”
No one brought as much fun to the night as Bartl, who made 14 — yes, 14! — 3-pointers to lead the County Girls to a 93-56 victory over the City Girls.
“It was really fun,” said Ferndale’s Jilly Fox, who sat on the bench with the City Girls. (More on that later.) “We were even cheering for Payton at the end. You can’t get mad at 14 3s.”
If the girls game was a 3-point contest — and there actually was a 3-point contest — then the boys game was a dunk contest — and, yes, there was one of those, too.
And although the scoreboard and scorebook didn’t match, the City Boys did come from behind to win either 106 or 104 to 94 or 96 … which shows you how serious everybody takes defense and, for that matter, the score.
When asked if there was much defense, Nooksack Valley’s Jayden Anderson said, “Half and half.” Then after a moment’s thought, “Not really much defense. We didn’t really care who wins.”
Well, Jayden, some of the City Boys did. Inspired by coach Rick “Knute Rockne” Todd telling them at halftime that the City team hadn’t won for 15 years — whether true or not, doesn’t matter — they outscored the County Boys, 17-2, to start the second half on the way to ending the losing streak.
“We were having fun, but I’m super competitive,” said Bellingham’s Joe Harward. “I was watching it (the score) like an eagle. Our goal was to score 100 and win. We haven’t won in 15 years, so it was important.”
OK, Joe, winning might have been important, but it still took second place to enjoying the night as shown by two of most unusual assists of the year — both by Harward.
The first came in the final minutes when the County Boys were trying to give Blaine’s Landon Melton and Lynden’s Spencer Adams — both of whom were unable to suit up because of injuries — chances to make 3-point shots. Melton missed his, but Adams made his … thanks to a pass from Harward, who played for the City.
Then to finish a game filled with dunks by tall jumping jacks like Harward, Lynden’s Ty Jorgenson, and Lummi Nation’s Chayce Waite-Kellar, Harward lifted up 5-foot-10 Rhys Knowlton of Squalicum for a final slam.
Speaking of slams, Jorgenson would edge Waite-Kellar to win the pre-game dunk contest and would show off his hops with several more in the game. But it was the Blackhawks’ star who would be the recipient of a Lummi Nation highlight reel thanks to teammate Jerome Toby.
The Lummi Nation point guard showed why he was the two-time Class 1B state player of the year by taking over in the second half. He had a quiet 16 points but was responsible for dishing off to Waite-Kellar and Harward so they could slam their way to 23 and 16 points, respectively.
“It was awesome playing with them,” said Harward. “Jerome and Chayce have a chemistry that’s something special.”
Also scoring in double figures for the City squad were Ferndale’s Mantaj Singh with 18 points and Bellingham’s Barrett Johnson with 10 points. Sehome’s Nolan Wright finished with 9 points.
The County team was led by Jorgenson with 20 points, Lynden Christian’s Boyce Robertson with 18 points, Nooksack Valley’s Owen Wichers with 16 points, and Meridian’s Daniel Larsen with 12 points. Anderson, who won the boys 3-point contest, finished with 8 points.
While the girls game had less drama, it started and ended with more emotion. Fox, who was still on crutches after knee surgery ended her season, was permitted to start the game and score an uncontested basket for the City.
“My (Ferndale) teammates brought it up to the whole team,” she said. “I didn’t want to slow the game down. We talked to the other team and the coaches and they said, ‘That’s perfect.”’
What she didn’t know is that they would ask her to come onto the court just before the final buzzer and score the last bucket of their senior year. “I didn’t know I was going to do it at the end,” she said. “It almost made me cry.”
But there was no crying in basketball, at least on this Friday night. That was especially true for one player.
“It was fun…at least while it was close,” said Lummi Nation’s Brianna Metteba, who was celebrating her 18th birthday. “They told us, ‘Just have fun and shoot.’”
As it turned out, no one shot better than Bartl, who would finish with 44 points. “Have fun and shoot the ball,” Bartl said of the brilliant coaching strategy. “There’s no defense, so if you’re open, shoot it.”
All eight of her teammates would get in the scoring column with Lynden Christian’s Ella Fritts scoring 14 points, and Nooksack Valley’s Grace DeHoog adding 8 points. It was Fritts who beat out Bartl and Blaine’s Aaliyah Bowman to win the 3-point contest.
For the City Girls, Lummi Nation’s Ailina Rabang had 18 points, Ferndale’s Abbey White and Kayla Washington had 10 points each, and Squalicum’s Jolie Paz added 8 points.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Organizers Brady Bomber and Ryan Dykstra deserve a big thank you, along with the Lynden High support staff, for not only putting on this special event but for doing their part in serving our community. Proceeds went to benefit Open Hands, a non-profit helping to fight hunger in elementary-age children in Whatcom County by providing weekend meals during the school year.
County Girls 93, City Girls 56
City 32 24—56
County 55 38—93
City: Mary Lockhart (Bellingham) 2, Kayla Washington (Ferndale) 10, Abbey White (Ferndale) 10, Jilly Fox (Ferndale) 4, Brianna Metteba (Lummi Nation) 2, Ailina Rabang (Lummi Nation) 17, Aspen Barge (Sehome), Keira Reeves (Sehome) 2, Jolie Paz (Squalicum) 8.
County: Aaliyah Bowman (Blaine) 5, Brietta Sandell (Blaine) 5, Ella Fritts (Lynden Christian) 14, Estela Hernandez (Lynden Christian) 5, Sara Van Loo (Lynden Christian) 7, Payton Bartl (Nooksack Valley) 44, Chayleigh Davis (Nooksack Valley) 3, Grace DeHoog (Nooksack Valley) 8, Natalie Van Liew (Nooksack Valley) 2.
City Boys 106, County Boys 94
City 46 60—106
County 55 39— 94
City: Joe Harward (Bellingham) 16, Barrett Johnson (Bellingham) 10, Mantaj Singh (Ferndale) 18, Jerome Toby (Lummi Nation) 16, Chayce Waite-Kellar (Lummi Nation) 23, Xavier Kelley (Sehome) 4, Cole Turrell (Sehome) 4, Nolan Wright (Sehome) 9, Ansen Asbjornsen (Squalicum), Rhys Knowlton (Squalicum) 6.
County: Kai Kerwin (Blaine) 6, Landon Melton (Blaine), Spencer Adams (Lynden) 3, Ty Jorgenson (Lynden) 20, Brody Price (Lynden) 3, Boyce Robertson (Lynden Christian) 18, Daniel Larsen (Meridian) 12, Jordan Bailey (Mount Baker) 6, Jayden Anderson (Nooksack Valley) 8, Cole Coppinger (Nooksack Valley) 2, Owen Wichers (Nooksack Valley) 16.
