While the Northwest Conference wrapped up its regular season, the Northwest 1B League began its district tournament with Lummi Nation continuing its dominance with two blowout victories.
After beating Tulalip Heritage on Tuesday in their regular-season finale, the Lady Blackhawks opened the Class 1B District 1 tournament by crushing Shoreline Christian in the quarterfinals on Thursday and Lopez Island in the semifinals on Saturday.
That puts Lummi Nation in the district championship game on Tuesday at home against Concrete in a rematch of last year’s district final. Both teams have already qualified for the next step — the District 1/2/3 tournament.
For a look back at Week 10 for our Whatcom boys teams, check out Whatcom Hoops Boys Recap.
Meanwhile, the Week 10 results completed the seeding for the Class 1A, 2A, and 3A teams, which begin their district tournaments this week.
After winning the NWC championship, two-time defending state champion Lynden will take the top spot in the 2A district and in Thursday’s quarterfinals will face the winner of Tuesday’s play-in game between ninth seed Marysville-Pilchuck and eighth seed Bellingham.
Other quarterfinal games on Thursday have sixth seed Burlington-Edison at third seed Squalicum and fifth seed Lakewood at fourth seed Sehome.
For a preview of all the boys and girls district tournaments, check out Whatcom Hoops District Previews.
In the 1A district playoffs, fifth seed Blaine is at fourth seed Meridian in Wednesday’s play-in game with the winner visiting top seed Lynden Christian in Friday’s semifinals. In the other semi, second seed Nooksack Valley will host third seed Mount Baker.
Whatcom County’s only 3A team, Ferndale, will join NWC rivals Sedro-Woolley and Mount Vernon and the top 13 teams from the Western Conference in the District 1 playoffs. The Golden Eagles are seeded 10th, which sends them on the road against seventh seed Everett on Thursday in a loser-out contest.
(NOTE: Standings are from the official WIAA website.)
Here are the girls highlights from Week 10.
GAME OF THE WEEK
It was seniors night for Meridian, but it was a couple of juniors who finished off a thrilling, come-from-behind, 54-51 victory over Sedro-Woolley on Tuesday. After trailing by as much as 14 in the third quarter and nine in the fourth period, the Trojans caught up and, after trading the lead with the Cubs the final three minutes, were still behind by one with 18 seconds left. That’s when junior Amelia Koning swished a 3-pointer and, after a Cubs air ball, junior Eden Bernardy hit a free throw with one second left to nail down the exciting victory.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Senior Grace DeHoog had 34 points for Nooksack Valley on Monday, and senior Payton Bartl had 17 points for the Pioneers on Tuesday. … Lummi Nation eighth-grader Jody Reeder had 17 points on Tuesday and in her first varsity playoff game, had 31 points on Thursday. Junior Jemma James had 18 points for the Lady Blackhawks on Tuesday, 24 on Thursday, and 17 on Saturday, including her 1,500th career point; senior Ailina Rabang had 21 points on Thursday and 15 on Saturday. … Ferndale senior Kayla Washington had 24 points and junior Brooklyn Larrabee had 18 points on Monday, and senior Abbey White had 15 points on Thursday. … Bellingham senior Mary Lockhart had 22 points on Friday. … Senior Rebeca Soares had 21 points for Mount Baker on Monday and 17 on Wednesday. … Senior Aaliyah Bowman had 20 points for Blaine on Thursday. … Lynden Christian senior Ella Fritts had 19 points and junior Tyra Dykstra had 16 points on Monday, and Dykstra came back on Thursday to score 18 more. … Lynden junior Finley Parcher had 19 points and senior Payton Mills had 16 points for Lynden on Tuesday, and Parcher had 19 more on Friday. … Meridian junior Eden Bernardy had 18 points on Tuesday and 17 on Friday. … Bellingham junior Merritt Jensen had 18 points on Tuesday … Blaine junior Kate Koreski had 16 points on Tuesday. … Junior Kate Schroeder had 16 points for Sehome on Friday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
LUMMI NATION (No.6, 1B) topped Tulalip Heritage on Tuesday, 65-25, and then began the Class 1B District 1 tournament with a 96-19 shellacking of Shoreline Christian on Thursday and a 72-18 dismantling of Lopez Island in Saturday’s semifinal. On Tuesday, the Lady Blackhawks used a 21-2 run to finish off the first half and finish their league schedule undefeated. James had 18 points, two 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, and 6 steals; Reeder had 17 points and four of Lummi’s nine 3s to go along with 5 steals and 4 assists; Rabang had 14 points, a pair of 3-pointers, 8 steals, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists; sophomore Celestine James had 7 points and a game-high 11 rebounds; and senior Bri Metteba had 6 points, 6 steals, and 4 assists. In Thursday’s district quarterfinal, the top-seeded Lady Blackhawks went up by 13 after the first quarter and never let up, holding the eighth-seeded Chargers to 11 points in the final three quarters. Three Blackhawks outscored the entire Shoreline Christian team with Reeder hitting 31 points and three 3-pointers to go along with 10 rebounds and 4 steals, Jemma James scoring 24 points and hitting two 3s and finishing with a remarkable 14 steals, 12 assists, and 8 rebounds, and Rabang going for 21 points, 9 steals, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Metteba added 7 points and Celestine James had 6 points. On Saturday, the Blackhawks scored the first 10 points and after a Lobos’ bucket, ran off 17 more in a row to end any doubt and coast to the semifinal victory. Jemma James led four Blackhawks in double figures with 17 points and a pair of 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, and 6 steals; Rabang had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 steals; Reeder had 14 points, 8 steals, and 5 assists; Metteba had 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals; and Celestine James added 7 points. For the story and photos from Tuesday’s game, click on Lummi Nation Girls.
LYNDEN (No.1, 2A) annihilated Anacortes on Tuesday, 71-13, and crushed Nooksack Valley on Friday, 64-13. On Tuesday, the Lions shut out the Seahawks in the first quarter and were up at the half, 55-2. Eleven Lions scored with Parcher leading the way with 19 points. Mills had 16 points after making all eight of her shots and 8 rebounds, junior Lexi Hermanutz made all six of hers and had 13 points and 3 steals, senior Degitu Bowler added 9 points, and senior Reese Nyhoff had 4 assists. On Friday, the Lions won their 67th game in a row against the last team to beat them by shutting out the Pioneers in the second and fourth quarters and rolling to a 44-8 halftime lead. Parcher led the way with 19 points and two 3-pointers, Nyhoff had three 3s and 11 points, Mills had 9 points, and junior Izzie Stephan had 8 points.
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN (No.3, 1A) defeated Lakewood on Tuesday, 77-29, and Ferndale on Thursday, 79-37. On Tuesday, all 10 Lyncs scored as LC led by 20 at the half and then outscored the Cougars, 24-1, in the third quarter to take the home win. Fritts had nine of her game-high 19 in the first quarter, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 assists; Dykstra had 16 points thanks to four 3-pointers as well as 6 rebounds and 5 assists; senior Sara Van Loo and junior Jocelyn Eshuis had 10 points each with Van Loo adding 6 assists and Eshuis pulling down 7 rebounds; junior Grace Russell had 7 points; and freshman Jess DeJong had 6 points. On Thursday, the Lyncs erupted for 58 points in the first half and with nine different players scoring, coasted past the Golden Eagles. Dykstra had all of her game-high 18 points and four 3-pointers before intermission; Fritts had 13 points and three 3s, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists; Eshuis and Russell had 12 points each with Eshuis adding 6 rebounds and Russell collecting 3 steals; Van Loo had 8 points; and DeJong and fellow freshman Daylin Dykstra had 6 points each.
MERIDIAN (No.34, 1A) stopped Sedro-Woolley on Tuesday, 54-51, and Bellingham on Friday, 44-41. On Tuesday, the Trojans used a 20-point fourth quarter to rally for the win. Bernardy had eight of her game-high 18 points in the fourth period and also had 8 rebounds and 6 assists, junior Maddy Swanson had three 3s and 11 points, senior Taya Benson had 7 points, Koning finished with 6 points on two 3-pointers, Storgaard had all 6 of her points in the final period and had 7 rebounds as did sophomore Madyn Cline-Malarz. On Friday, the Trojans were held to just 15 points in the first half but came up with 14 in the third quarter and 15 in the thrilling fourth-period comeback. Bernardy had 17 points and was clutch from the line making eight of 10 free throws, Koning had 9 points including the game-winning 3-pointer, Cline-Malarz had 8 points and 7 rebounds, junior Sierra James had 9 offensive rebounds, and Swanson had a team-high 4 steals.
SQUALICUM (No.7, 2A) defeated Sehome on Wednesday, 46-31, and Oak Harbor on Friday, 57-21. On Wednesday, the Storm’s defense limited the Mariners to only 21 points in the final three quarters to claim the unofficial Bellingham city title. Juniors Tiana Thompson and Lexi Robbins had 12 points each with Thompson pulling down 10 rebounds and Robbins sinking a pair of 3-pointers, nabbing 5 steals, and dishing out 4 assists; junior Addison Kettman had 10 points, two 3s, and 11 rebounds; and junior Colee Harper had 8 points, 5 rebounds, and went 4-for-4 from the line as the Storm hit all six of their free throws in the fourth quarter. On Friday, the Storm stormed out to a 19-3 lead and never looked back. Eleven different players scored with Addison Kettman and freshman sister Avery leading the balanced attack with 10 points each and combining for 10 rebounds with Addison also grabbing 6 steals. Robbins had 8 points with two 3s and 6 assists; junior Blakely Cecka had 7 points; Thompson had 6 points and 4 rebounds; senior Jolie Paz had 5 rebounds and joined Harper with 5 steals each.
NOOKSACK VALLEY (No.17, 1A) overpowered Oak Harbor on Monday, 62-26, and defeated Ferndale on Tuesday, 55-43, before losing to Lynden on Friday, 64-13. On Monday, the Pioneers overcame a slow start by scoring 23 points in the second quarter to take an 18-point lead and blow past the Wildcats. DeHoog dominated with 34 points, 23 rebounds, 6 steals, and 3 blocked shots. Bartl had 9 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals; senior Natalie Van Liew had 8 points and 3 steals; and freshman Mikaela Swaffield had 6 points. On Tuesday, the Pioneers scored the first 14 points of the game and would keep that margin the rest of the way. Bartl had 17 points, 13 of them in the fourth quarter to keep the Golden Eagles at bay, and also collected 9 rebounds and 7 assists; DeHoog had 14 points and 30 rebounds; and Van Liew had 10 points. On Friday, the Pioneers couldn’t do much against the Lynden defense and were held to their lowest point total of the season. Bartl was the only Pioneer with more than one field goal, finishing with 4 points.
BELLINGHAM (No.34, 2A) beat Blaine in a non-conference game on Tuesday, 38-31, and lost to Meridian on Friday, 44-41. On Tuesday, the Bayhawks outscored Blaine, 13-3, in the second quarter to go up by nine and then held off the Borderites the rest of the way. Jensen had 18 points and 8 rebounds, and Lockhart had 6 points and 7 rebounds. On Friday, the Bayhawks held Meridian to 15 points in the first half but couldn’t hold off the Trojans’ second-half comeback. Lockhart had 22 points and 6 rebounds, Jensen had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore Lucy Holland had 6 points.
SEHOME (No.12, 2A) lost to Squalicum on Wednesday, 46-31, but bounced back to beat Burlington-Edison on Friday, 52-33. On Wednesday, the Mariners only managed one field goal in both the second and third quarters and finished with their second lowest point total of the season against the Storm. Senior Aspen Barge and juniors Sadie Gustafson, Elyse Panagos, and Schroeder each had 6 points with Schroeder grabbing a team-high 6 rebounds. On Friday, the Mariners turned up the defense, holding the Tigers to 14 first-half points to build an insurmountable lead. Schroeder had 16 points; Turrell had 9 points; Gustafson had 8 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds and 3 assists; senior Gwen Gates had 7 points; Panagos had 6 points; and junior Stella Hogan had 7 rebounds.
FERNDALE (No.44, 3A) beat Mount Baker on Monday, 67-44, but lost to Nooksack Valley on Tuesday, 55-43, and Lynden Christian on Thursday, 79-37. On Monday, the Golden Eagles took command with a 21-point first quarter and never let up in downing the Mounties. Washington had 24 points and four 3-pointers; Larrabee had 18 points and another four 3s to along with 8 assists and 6 steals; junior Kenzie Dawson had 7 points; and White, junior Kayla Lee, and sophomore Ari Gilday had 6 points each with Gilday adding 11 rebounds and 6 steals. On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles came out ice cold and couldn’t score in the first period and despite outscoring the Pioneers the rest of the way, still lost by a dozen. Larrabee had 12 points, 7 assists, and 6 steals; Washington had 8 points; freshman Mia Collins had 7 points; and Gilday had 9 rebounds and 4 steals. On Thursday, the Golden Eagles couldn’t get their offense going with only three points in the first quarter and couldn’t stop the Lyncs. White had three of Ferndale’s nine 3-pointers and 15 points, all of them in the second half; Gilday had 8 points, a pair of 3s, and 7 steals; Washington had 6 points on two shots beyond the arc; and Larrabee had 5 assists.
MOUNT BAKER (No.38, 1A) fell to Ferndale on Monday, 67-44, and to Mount Vernon on Wednesday. On Monday, the Mounties struggled in the middle two quarters, only managing 18 points. Soares had 21 points thanks to hitting nine of 11 free throws and tied her own school record of 26 rebounds to go along with 4 assists and 3 steals. On Wednesday, the Mounties couldn’t hit from outside (one 3-pointer) and couldn’t stop the Bulldogs (seven 3-pointers) in losing to the 3A squad. Soares had 17 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 assists; senior Reace Brown had 6 points and 6 rebounds; and sophomore Kalyn Abitia had 5 rebounds.
BLAINE (No.46, 1A) lost to Mount Vernon on Monday, 59-35, to Bellingham in a non-conference game on Tuesday, 38-31, and to Sedro-Woolley on Thursday, 62-39. On Monday, the Borderites only managed three points in the second quarter to fall behind by 23 at the half and despite playing the Bulldogs even the rest of the way, couldn’t make up any ground. Bowman led Blaine with 14 points and two of the Borderites’ four 3-pointers, and Koreski and freshman Hailey Kruse added 7 points each. On Tuesday, another bad quarter — this time the second when they were outscored 13-3 — led to Blaine’s loss despite outscoring Bellingham in the other three periods. Koreski had 16 points and 7 steals; Bowman had 8 points and 9 rebounds; junior Marcella Bring had 7 points; Kruse had 9 rebounds and senior Bea Dickson had 3 assists. On Thursday, the Borderites led midway through the second quarter and were only down by three at the half but were outscored by 25-5 in the third period in the loss to Sedro-Woolley. Bowman had 20 points and 8 rebounds; Koreski added 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals; and Bring had 4 assists.
NOTE: A big thank you to the coaches and Tyler Anderson of WhatcomPreps.com for providing statistics.
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE (final standings)
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lynden | 13 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Lynden Christian | 13 | 1 | 19 | 3 |
| Squalicum | 13 | 2 | 17 | 3 |
| Lakewood | 11 | 4 | 14 | 7 |
| Sehome | 11 | 4 | 15 | 6 |
| Mount Vernon | 10 | 5 | 14 | 6 |
| Nooksack Valley | 8 | 6 | 12 | 9 |
| Ferndale | 6 | 9 | 8 | 13 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 6 | 9 | 11 | 10 |
| Meridian | 5 | 10 | 7 | 13 |
| Bellingham | 4 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| Anacortes | 5 | 10 | 7 | 12 |
| Burlington-Edison | 4 | 9 | 6 | 14 |
| Mount Baker | 4 | 11 | 5 | 14 |
| Blaine | 1 | 11 | 4 | 17 |
| Oak Harbor | 0 | 15 | 2 | 18 |
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE (final standings)
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lummi Nation | 10 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
| Grace Academy | 8 | 4 | 10 | 6 |
| Lopez Island | 7 | 4 | 12 | 7 |
| Tulalip Heritage | 6 | 5 | 8 | 13 |
| Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) | 4 | 9 | 6 | 11 |
| Providence Classical Christian | 4 | 9 | 6 | 11 |
| Shoreline Christian | 0 | 10 | 4 | 16 |
