The Northwest Conference and Northwest 1B League ended their regular seasons last week with familiar names at the top.
Nooksack Valley won its second straight NWC title finishing just ahead of Lynden Christian. And Lummi Nation also successfully defending its crown by running roughshod over the rest of the Northwest 1B League.
But now come the district playoffs starting Monday with the Class 1A tournament’s play-in game. Blaine is at Mount Baker with the winner moving on to face the Pioneers in the double-elimination portion of the tournament on Wednesday. In the other semifinal, Meridian is at Lynden Christian.
For a preview of all the district tournaments involving our Whatcom boys and girls teams, check out district previews.
The Class 1B tournament actually has already started, but Lummi Nation’s regular-season title gave it a bye into Tuesday afternoon’s semifinals. The Lady Blackhawks will host Orcas Island with both teams already guaranteed to advance to the tri-district tournament.
All four of Whatcom’s Class 2A teams qualify for district with Bellingham hosting Cedarcrest in a play-in game on Wednesday. Win that and the Bayhawks would advance to a quarterfinal matchup at Lynden on Friday. In another quarterfinal, Sehome will host Squalicum also on Friday.
Our only 3A team, Ferndale, will host Shorewood in a play-in game on Wednesday. Should the Golden Eagles win, they would play at Stanwood in a quarterfinal on Friday.
For a look back at Week 10 for our Whatcom boys teams, check out Whatcom Hoops boys recap.
Here are the girls highlights from Week 10.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Sometimes the most meaningful games aren’t the closest or the ones between ranked teams. On Thursday, Mount Baker faced Lakewood in what would be Mounties senior Maddy Barter’s last regular-season home game. Unfortunately, the all-star guard was injured last week and unable to play … except coach Tiffany Martinez honored Barter one last time by starting her.
In a wonderful show of sportsmanship, the Cougars allowed Barter to score a layup before being subbed out, and even allowed her to come in at the end to attempt a 3-pointer. “Alaina Jones on Lakewood was super sweet and passed the ball back out to Maddy so she could get another shot,” said Martinez. Barter made one final layup and left the crowd and all the Baker fans who have watched her these past three years with wonderful memories.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Nooksack Valley’s Devin Coppinger had 24 points on Wednesday and 29 on Friday, and fellow junior Lainey Kimball had 17 on Saturday. … Lynden Christian sophomore Grace Hintz had 24 points on Wednesday and 27 on Saturday. … Lummi Nation’s Raven Solomon had 24 points and fellow senior Aliesha Solomon had 15 points on Monday. … Meridian senior Avery Neal had 20 points on Monday, and senior Maris Baklund had 15 points on Monday and 15 more on Friday. … Blaine junior Deja Dube had 20 points on Tuesday. … Lynden freshman Payton Mills had 19 points on Tuesday and 21 on Saturday, and junior Kalanie Newcomb had 17 points for the Lions and junior Haylee Koetje had 15 on Tuesday. … Senior Mari Binning had 17 points for Squalicum on Friday. … Mount Baker freshman Natalie Van Liew had 16 points on Monday. … Sehome junior Madi Cooper had 15 points on Tuesday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN stopped Squalicum on Wednesday, 53-29, and beat Lynden on Saturday, 58-50. On Wednesday, the Lyncs outscored the Storm, 28-10, in the second half to cruise to victory. Hintz took a quarter to get warmed up, hitting 22 of her 24 points in the final three periods. Senior Demi Dykstra added 8 points for LC. In Saturday’s big game, the Lyncs fought off Lynden’s comeback by outscoring the Lions, 17-7, in the final period. Hintz had 10 of her game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter, and Dykstra had the other seven points in the final period and finished with 14 for the game.
NOOKSACK VALLEY blasted Anacortes on Wednesday, 61-23, and then shocked Sehome on Friday, 82-31. On Wednesday, the Pioneers’ defense held the Seahawks to 12 points through the first three quarters and Coppinger outscored them by herself with 24 points and a pair of 3-pointers. Senior Hallie Kamphouse was deadly from outside with four 3s and 14 points, and junior Tana Hoekema had 8 points. On Friday, the Pioneers shockingly had a 30-point lead at the half and never let up against the Mariners. Coppinger had 23 by halftime and finished with 29 and a pair of 3-pointers. Kimball had 17 points, and Hoekema added 11 points as nine Pioneers scored.
LUMMI NATION wrapped up its regular season and an undefeated league season with a 79-12 win over Tulalip Heritage on Monday. On Seniors Night, cousins Raven Solomon and Aliesha Solomon led the way with 24 and 15 points, respectively. Juniors Keyonee Morris and Serena Pantalia added 11 and 10 points, respectively, as the Blackhawks held the rival Hawks to four points in the second half.
LYNDEN beat Ferndale on Tuesday, 69-41, but lost to Lynden Christian on Saturday, 58-50. On Tuesday, the Lions trailed by two after one quarter but then busted out with 45 over the next two periods to shoot down the Golden Eagles. Mills led a balanced attack with 19, Newcomb had 17 points and five 3-pointers, Koetje had 15 points, junior Mallary Villars had 10 points and three 3s, and senior Adia Newcomb had 8 points. In Saturday’s rivalry game, the Lions rallied from an early deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t hold off the Lyncs. Mills had 21 points, including all seven of the team’s points in the final period, and junior Mallary Villars had 11 points.
SEHOME beat Blaine on Tuesday, 62-36, and lost to Nooksack Valley on Friday, 82-31. On Tuesday, the Mariners sailed out to a 19-2 lead and never looked back. Cooper led the Sehome scoring barrage with 15 points and three 3s, junior Emmy Hart had 14 points and four 3s, junior Natalie Brewer had 9 points all in the first-quarter blitz, and senior Madison Hogan had 12 points. On Friday, the Mariners were never able to get their offense going and were held to a season-low 31 points. Junior Kylie Watson came off the bench to lead Sehome with 10 points, but no other Mariner had more than seven.
FERNDALE lost to Lynden on Tuesday, 69-41, and beat Blaine on Thursday, 57-34. On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles flew out of the gate with 16 points and four 3-pointers in the first quarter, but only managed 25 points and three 3s the rest of the way. Senior Madisyn Butenschoen had 12 points with a pair of 3s, and junior Mallory Butenschoen added 11 with two 3-pointers. On Thursday, the Golden Eagles used a balanced attack and a 19-point third quarter to overwhelm the Borderites. Junior Ashley Lang led the way with 12 points, senior Cailyn Kessen had 11 points and two 3-pointers, Mallory Butenschoen had 10 points, and Madisyn Butenschoen had 9 points.
SQUALICUM lost to Lynden Christian on Wednesday, 53-29, and defeated Meridian on Friday, 45-39. On Wednesday, the Storm defense kept it close in the first half but the offense couldn’t get going in the second half producing only 10 points against the Lyncs. Binning and senior Callie McEachran had 9 points each with McEachran making a pair of 3-pointers. On Friday, the Storm only managed 11 points in the first half but used a 20-point fourth quarter to earn the comeback win. Binning had 15 of her 17 points in the second half, and junior Caitlyn Richardson added 8 points.
MERIDIAN beat Lakewood on Monday, 45-40, and lost to La Conner on Wednesday, 60-41, and to Squalicum on Friday, 45-39. On Monday, the Trojans held the Cougars to six points in the first period and held on to the six-point lead through the rest of the game. Neal had 20 points and a pair 3-pointers, Baklund had 15 points with four 3s, and sophomore Brooklyn Fuller made two 3s and had 8 points. In Wednesday’s non-league contest against the Class B power, the Trojans kept it close until being outscored 18-4 in the fourth quarter. Baklund and junior Malia McCauley had 12 points each with McCauley making four 3-pointers. Fuller and Neal added 10 and 8 points, respectively. On Friday, the Trojans went up by 11 in the first quarter but couldn’t hold off the Storm’s second-half rally. Baklund had 15 points, hitting three 3-pointers in the first quarter, and all six of her free throws. Neal added 14 points and was 8 of 10 from the line.
BELLINGHAM lost to Burlington-Edison on Tuesday, 62-20, and to Mount Vernon on Saturday, 50-46. On Tuesday, the Bayhawks’ offense struggled with only four players scoring. Freshman Mary Lockhart led Bellingham with 8 points. On Saturday, the Bayhawks held a four-point lead in the final period but missed seven free throws and couldn’t hold off the Bulldogs. Lockhart had 14 points and 7 rebounds, senior Ellie Wolverton and junior Genevieve Blum 12 each with Wolverton sinking the Bayhawks’ only two 3-pointers.
BLAINE lost to Sehome on Tuesday, 62-36, and to Ferndale on Thursday, 57-34. On Tuesday, the Borderites’ slow start with only two free throws in the first quarter put them in a 17-point hole that they couldn’t dig out of. Dube had 20 points and Blaine’s only two 3-pointers, and junior Jordyn Vezzetti had 10 points, but no other Borderites managed more than two points. On Thursday, the Borderites only had 22 points through three quarters and couldn’t catch the Golden Eagles. Debu led the way with 14 points and a pair of 3-pointers, and Vezzetti had 9 points going 7 of 8 from the line.
MOUNT BAKER fell to Oak Harbor on Monday, 56-33, and to Lakewood on Thursday, 67-36. On Monday, the Mounties were within six at halftime but could only come up with 12 points in the second half. Van Liew led the way with 16 points, going 9 for 9 from the line. In Thursday’s emotional game, senior JoJo Lindsey had 11 points and Van Liew had 9 points for the Mounties.
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE (final standings)
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Nooksack Valley | 15 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| Lynden Christian | 14 | 1 | 19 | 2 |
| Burlington-Edison | 12 | 3 | 15 | 5 |
| Lynden | 12 | 3 | 17 | 4 |
| Sehome | 11 | 4 | 15 | 4 |
| Anacortes | 10 | 5 | 11 | 8 |
| Ferndale | 10 | 5 | 11 | 9 |
| Squalicum | 8 | 7 | 10 | 10 |
| Oak Harbor | 7 | 8 | 11 | 9 |
| Mount Vernon | 6 | 9 | 7 | 13 |
| Meridian | 5 | 10 | 7 | 12 |
| Lakewood | 4 | 11 | 8 | 12 |
| Bellingham | 3 | 12 | 5 | 15 |
| Mount Baker | 2 | 13 | 5 | 14 |
| Blaine | 1 | 14 | 3 | 16 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 0 | 15 | 1 | 19 |
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE (final standings)
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lummi Nation | 11 | 0 | 15 | 2 |
| Grace Academy | 7 | 3 | 8 | 6 |
| Tulalip Heritage | 8 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
| Lopez | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Providence Classical Christian | 3 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
| Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) | 3 | 10 | 3 | 11 |
| Shoreline Christian | 0 | 13 | 0 | 15 |
