Once the snow cleared enough to get some games in, the Northwest Conference wrapped up its regular season, and the Lummi Nation girls won their first two games in the Class 1B District 1 tournament.
In the 1B district hosted by Lummi Nation, the Lady Blackhawks opened with impressive victories over Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) in the quarterfinals on Thursday, 88-17, and Grace Academy in the semifinals on Saturday, 66-24.
The wins not only propelled them into Tuesday’s district championship game but guaranteed them a spot in the District 1/2/3 tournament. Assuming Lummi Nation will get a top four seed in the tri-district tourney, it would only need a win in its first game on Feb. 18 to qualify for the 1B state regionals.
For a look back at Week 10 for our Whatcom boys teams, check out Whatcom Hoops Boys Recap.
For a preview of the upcoming postseason tournaments, check out Playoff Preview.
Although the Northwest Conference squads managed to finish a snow-shortened week, there was little movement in the final regular-season standings.
Lynden remained undefeated with a pair of convincing wins to earn the league title and will be the favorite when the Class 2A district tournament begins Monday.
Lynden Christian won its only game to finish second in the conference and earn the top seed in the 1A district tournament, which opens with Blaine at Mount Baker in a play-in game on Monday night.
Here are the girls highlights from Week 10.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Sehome and Squalicum squared off for the mythical Bellingham city championship on Wednesday and in a back-and-forth battle, the visiting Mariners finished with the last run to upset the Storm, 37-34. Squalicum led, 32-31, before freshman Taylor Turrell hit a 3-pointer to give Sehome a two-point margin. The Mariners then withstood several chances by Squalicum in the final two minutes to tie it up before sophomore Kate Schroeder gave Sehome a bit of breathing room by making three free throws in the final 18 seconds.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Finley Parcher had 30 points for Lynden on Wednesday and 26 more on Friday. …Sophomore Jemma James had 24 points for Lummi Nation on Saturday, and Ailina Rabang had 20 points and fellow junior Kashlyn Mack had 19 points for the Lady Blackhawks on Thursday. … Freshman Melanie Short had 19 points for Meridian on Wednesday. … Sophomore Lexi Robbins had 17 points for Squalicum on Friday. … Senior Allison Shumate had 17 points for Lynden Christian on Friday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
LUMMI NATION (RPI ranking: No. 6, Class 1B): defeated Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) on Thursday, 88-17, and Grace Academy on Saturday, 66-24. In Thursday’s district quarterfinal, the Lady Blackhawks were at full strength and overpowered the CPC Eagles, holding them to their second-lowest point total of the season. (The first was nine points in the two teams’ regular-season meeting.) Rabang and Mack each outscored the whole CPC team with 20 and 18 points, respectively, junior Brianna Metteba had 14 points, James had 11 points, and senior Robyn Jones and freshman Laraya Dennis had 9 points each. In Saturday’s semifinal, Lummi Nation quickly shot down the Grace Academy Eagles, jumping to a 23-6 first-quarter lead and holding them without a field goal in the second half. James led the way with 24 points and three 3s, Rabang had 12 points, Metteba had 11, Mack had 9 points, and Dennis had 6 points.
LYNDEN (No. 1, 2A): beat Anacortes on Wednesday, 71-23, and Nooksack Valley on Friday, 63-27. On Wednesday, the Lions’ defense limited the Seahawks to 10 first-half points and one fourth-quarter point to easily take the road win. Parcher had 24 of her 30 points in the first half when Lynden took a 33-point lead. Ten other Lions scored with junior Payton Mills added 13 points and 9 rebounds, and sophomore Lexi Hermanutz handing out 6 assists. On Friday, the Lions avenged last year’s only loss by outscoring the Pioneers, 41-14, in the second half. Parcher nearly outscored the Pioneers with 26 points and three 3-pointers, Mills had 11 of her 15 points and all three of her 3s in the decisive third period, and Hermanutz and junior Degitu Bowler had 6 points each with Bowler’s coming on a pair of 3-pointers.
MERIDIAN (No. 9, 1A): shocked Sedro-Woolley on Wednesday, 45-42, and beat Bellingham on Friday, 45-21. On Wednesday, the Trojans were down by 11 midway through the fourth quarter but held the Cubs to three points the rest of the way in the comeback win. Short came up big with 19 points to spark the rally, senior Sofia Brooks had 8 points, and junior Kinsley Neal had 6 points. On Friday, the Trojans did it with defense, not allowing the Bayhawks to score in double figures in any quarter and holding them to six field goals for the game. Nine different Trojans scored with Short collecting a team-high 11 points, sophomore Eden Bernardy coming back from an injury to score 8 points, and Kaitlyn Storgaard recording 3 blocks, all in the first half.
FERNDALE (No. 33, 3A): wrapped its regular season by beating Mount Baker on Friday, 56-23. The Golden Eagles broke away from an 8-8 tie by outscoring the Mounties, 37-8, heading into the fourth quarter. Junior Jilly Fox had a game-high 16 points, and sophomore Brooklyn Larrabee had 13 points and 11 steals, including nine in the first half as Ferndale built an 18-point lead. Junior Abbey White and sophomore Kayla Lee added 9 points each. The Golden Eagles game with Lynden Christian on Thursday was cancelled because of the weather. For the story and photos from Friday’s game, click on Ferndale girls.
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN (No. 2, 1A): trounced Lakewood on Friday, 85-33. The Lyncs took a double-digit lead in the first quarter and salted the game away by outscoring the Cougars, 41-15, in the second half. It was a team effort as Shumate had 17 points and 5 rebounds; junior Ella Fritts had 16 points and 6 rebounds; sophomore Jocelyn Eshuis had 10 points; junior Estela Hernandez had 9 points and 6 assists; senior Alisa Scott had 8 points and two 3-pointers; senior Danya Dykstra had 7 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks; and sophomore Ellie Pierce had 6 points on a pair of 3s. The Lyncs’ game at Ferndale on Thursday was cancelled because of the weather.
NOOKSACK VALLEY (No. 11, 1A): defeated Oak Harbor on Wednesday, 62-27, but lost to Lynden on Friday by almost the same score, 63-27. On Wednesday, the Pioneers’ defense held the Wildcats to two points in both the first and fourth quarters to easily take the road victory. Senior Kate Shintaffer and junior Chayleigh Davis had 14 points each to lead Nooksack Valley with Shintaffer hitting a pair of 3-pointers and Davis dishing out 8 assists and nabbing 5 steals. Junior Payton Bartl had 11 points and two 3s; junior Grace DeHoog had 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 steals; and sophomore Peyton Duque had 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. On Friday, the defending 1A champion Pioneers held their own in the first half against the defending 2A champion Lions, but Lynden’s 26-point third quarter was too much for Nooksack to overcome. Davis had 11 points thanks to hitting 9 of 10 free throws, but no other Pioneer managed more than four points. DeHoog did have 6 rebounds and 3 steals to lead the Pioneers. Nooksack Valley’s non-league game on Tuesday with King’s was cancelled because of the weather.
SEHOME (No. 27, 2A): beat Squalicum on Wednesday, 37-34, but lost to Burlington-Edison on Saturday, 60-28. On Wednesday, the Mariners held Squalicum to four points in the last three and a half minutes to rally for the win. Sophomore Kate Schroeder and freshman Turrell each had a 3-pointer during the comeback and Schroeder had three free throws in the final 18 seconds. The two also led the Mariners with 12 points each. Junior Keira Reeves came off the bench to score 6 points, making all six of her free throws as the Mariners went 10 of 13 from the line. On Saturday, the Mariners never did get their offense going as only four players managed to score against the physical Tigers. Turrell had 12 points and Schroeder had 10 points. For the story and photos from Wednesday’s game, click on Sehome girls.
SQUALICUM (No. 18, 2A): lost to Sehome on Wednesday, 37-34, but bounced back to beat Oak Harbor on Friday, 56-40. On Wednesday, the Storm were held to their second lowest point total of the season and only managed two points in the final two minutes. Sophomore Addison Kettman led the Storm with 8 points and 6 rebounds, freshman Kai Perez added 7 points, and sophomore Tiana Thompson had 6 points. On Friday, the Storm only led by five at the half but used a 21-point third quarter to tame the Wildcats. Robbins led the way with 17 points and three 3-pointers, Kettman and Perez had 11 points each with Perez scoring eight in the decisive third period. For the story and photos from Wednesday’s game, click on Squalicum girls.
BELLINGHAM (No. 47, 2A): lost to Meridian on Friday, 45-21. The Bayhawks struggled to score against the Trojans’ pressure, only managing four first-quarter points to fall behind early. Junior Mary Lockhart had 10 points thanks to making 6 of 8 free throws, but no other Bayhawk had more than four points and the rest of the team was only 3 of 21 from the line.Bellingham’s game on Wednesday with Blaine was cancelled because of the weather.
BLAINE (No. 46, 1A): lost to Mount Vernon on Friday, 57-36, and to Sedro-Woolley on Saturday, 53-32. On Friday, the Borderites were within a dozen at the half but couldn’t make up the difference against the Bulldogs. Eight different Borderites scores with junior Aaliyah Bowman leading the way with 11 points and junior Brietta Sandell adding 7 points and a pair of 3-pointers. On Saturday, despite playing the Cubs even in the second half, the Borderites couldn’t make any ground after falling behind by 18 at intermission. Freshman Kate Koreski had 11 points to lead Blaine and Bowman added 10 more. Blaine’s game on Wednesday with Bellingham was cancelled because of the weather.
MOUNT BAKER (No. 34, 1A): lost to Ferndale on Friday, 56-23, and to Mount Vernon on Saturday, 55-27. On Friday, the Mounties were struggled without two injured starters and found themselves in a 29-point hole after totaling only eight points in the middle two quarters. Junior Reace Brown led Mount Baker with 10 points and senior Faith Wilson had 6 points. On Saturday, the Mounties played the Bulldogs tough in the second half but an eight-point first half put them in a 17-point hole from which they couldn’t recover. Brown and Wilson again led the way with 8 and 7 points, respectively. For the story and photos from Friday’s game, click on Mount Baker girls.
NOTE: A big thank you to the coaches and Tyler Anderson of WhatcomPreps.com for providing statistics.
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE (final regular-season standings)
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lynden | 13 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| Lynden Christian | 12 | 1 | 17 | 3 |
| Burlington-Edison | 11 | 2 | 18 | 3 |
| Nooksack Valley | 10 | 4 | 13 | 7 |
| Meridian | 10 | 5 | 14 | 6 |
| Mount Vernon | 9 | 6 | 13 | 6 |
| Squalicum | 9 | 6 | 11 | 8 |
| Ferndale | 8 | 6 | 10 | 9 |
| Anacortes | 8 | 7 | 12 | 7 |
| Lakewood | 6 | 9 | 9 | 12 |
| Sehome | 6 | 9 | 8 | 12 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 5 | 10 | 9 | 11 |
| Bellingham | 2 | 10 | 5 | 13 |
| Mount Baker | 2 | 13 | 6 | 13 |
| Blaine | 1 | 11 | 4 | 14 |
| Oak Harbor | 1 | 14 | 4 | 16 |
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE (final regular-season standings)
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lummi Nation | 10 | 0 | 17 | 3 |
| Lopez Island | 8 | 2 | 9 | 4 |
| Providence Classical Christian | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| Grace Academy | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) | 2 | 8 | 3 | 13 |
| Tulalip Heritage | 2 | 8 | 5 | 11 |
| Shoreline Christian | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
