There were a lot of blowouts in Week 2 as Whatcom County’s best showed they were among the state’s best.
Lynden, Lynden Christian, and Nooksack Valley each notched three victories, Ferndale and Lummi Nation opened their seasons with two impressive victories each, and Sehome won both its games to give the county six undefeated teams.
For a look back at Week 2 for our county boys team, check out Whatcom Hoops boys recap.
Here are the girls highlights from Week 2.
HONORING TWO INSPIRATIONAL COACHES
Two Whatcom coaches — Blaine coach Gracie (Castaneda) Phelps and former Mount Baker coach Jim Freeman — will soon be honored for their accomplishments and for their character.
Phelps, who finished her basketball career at Western Washington University last spring, will be honored with a 2023 NCAA Inspiration Award at a ceremony on Jan. 11 in San Antonio.
The award is given to those who used perseverance, dedication, and determination to overcome a life-altering situation and become role models, giving hope and inspiration to others. You can read how she overcame a childhood of abuse to become an outstanding and inspirational athlete at Gracie’s story.
Freeman, who passed away at the age of 80 on Nov. 28, will be honored with a celebration of life this Saturday, Dec. 17, at 2 p.m. in the Mount Baker High School auditorium.
Freeman coached the Mounties for 19 seasons (1977-98) during the early years through their glory years. Thanks to his 281-180 record, 10 state appearances, seven state trophies and two third-place finishes at the Class 1A state tournament he was inducted into the Washington State Girls Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018.
He also led the Mounties to five cross country state titles and three boys track state crowns, was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Whatcom Community College, and taught at Lummi Nation High School.
GAME OF THE WEEK
On Monday, visiting Sehome held Squalicum to two fourth-quarter points to pull off a second-half comeback and remain undefeated with a 46-42 victory. Behind senior Callie McEachran, the Storm held a 13-point lead at intermission. But Sehome junior Emmy Hart hit seven 3-pointers to fuel the Mariners’ rally and Sehome’s defense held Squalicum to 12 points after halftime to secure the win over their cross-town rivals. “It was a huge win for the Mariners,” said first-year coach Kim Stensgar.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Grace Hintz had 27 points on Tuesday in Lynden Christian’s big win over Burlington-Edison and followed that with 32 points in the bigger win over Woodinville on Saturday. Senior Demi Dykstra added 20 points for LC and freshman Ella Fritts had 17 against Woodinville. … Mount Baker senior Maddie Barter had 24 points on Wednesday and 17 points on Friday. … Sehome junior Emmy Hart hit seven 3-pointers and had 23 points in Monday’s victory over Squalicum and junior Madi Cooper had 18 points in Sehome’s win Thursday. … Nooksack Valley junior Devin Coppinger had 21 points on Monday. … Junior Kalanie Newcomb had 20 points in Lynden’s victory over Lake Stevens. … Eighth-grader Jemma James had 20 points to lead Lummi Nation to victory on Saturday. … Squalicum senior Callie McEachran had 19 points Monday against Sehome. … Sophomore Malia Hanks and freshman Mary Lockhart had 17 and 16 points, respectively, in Bellingham’s victory over Blaine on Tuesday. … Blaine junior Deja Dube had 17 points against Bellingham on Tuesday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
LYNDEN shut down Oak Harbor on Monday, 70-28; topped Lake Stevens on Wednesday, 61-55; and clobbered Lakewood on Thursday, 52-23. On Monday, the Lions held the Wildcats to one point in the third quarter and one field goal in the second half. Junior Haylee Koetje’s 15 points and three 3-pointers led a balanced Lions attack with junior Mallary Villars adding 11 points and senior Adia Newcomb and junior Mya VanderYacht scoring 10 points each. On Wednesday, Kalanie Newcomb hit four 3-pointers among her 20 points and was 6-for-8 from the line in the fourth period as the Lions held off the Class 4A Vikings in the non-league road win. Sister Adia added 13 points, including three of Lynden’s 10 3-pointers, and Koetje tossed in 10 points. Lynden’s defense and balanced scoring were on display Thursday. The Lions held the Cougars to 13 points through three quarters and nine different Lions scored with Koetje and Villars leading the way with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN defeated Burlington-Edison, 68-51, on Tuesday; Sedro-Woolley on Friday, 69-13; and Woodinville on Saturday, 83-73. On Tuesday against last season’s Class 2A state runners-up, Lynden Christian jumped to an 18-9 first-quarter lead and never let up. Ten different Lyncs scored with Hintz’s 27 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and two 3-pointers leading the way and senior Reganne Arnold adding 15 points. LC surrendered only one point in the second and third quarters on Friday to rout the Cubs. All 12 Lyncs scored with Fritts leading the balanced attack with 12 points and a pair of 3-pointers, Dykstra collecting 10 points with two more 3s, and sophomore Allison Shumate scoring 8 points. In Saturday’s non-league contest between defending state champions, 1A Lynden Christian took a 20-point lead into the fourth quarter and after 4A Woodinville rallied to cut the margin to four with two minutes to go, Dykstra hit six free throws and Fritts two more to secure the victory. Hintz had 32 points despite playing with a sprained foot, and Dykstra and Fritts combined for 37 points and four 3-pointers.
NOOKSACK VALLEY clobbered Kamiak on Monday, 62-30; Sedro-Woolley on Wednesday, 75-6; and Bellingham on Saturday, 67-9. In Monday’s non-league victory, the Pioneers’ defense held the Class 4A Knights to less than seven points in three of the four quarters. Coppinger’s 21 points led the way on offense with senior Hallie Kamphouse adding 14 points including a pair of 3-pointers, and junior Lainey Kimball tossing in 11 points. On Wednesday, the Pioneers jumped to a 30-1 lead and shut out the Cubs in the second half. Kamphouse (16 points), Kimball (15), Coppinger (14) and junior Tana Hoekema (9) each outscored Sedro-Woolley. Against the Bayhawks, all 10 Pioneers scored with Coppinger again leading the way with 15. Kimball collected 12 points, freshman Payton Bartl had 10 including a pair of 3-pointers, and senior Taylor Lentz finished with 9.
FERNDALE opened its season and its new gym with a pair of victories, knocking off Lakewood on Tuesday, 62-25, and Squalicum on Thursday, 53-35. In the gym’s inaugural varsity game, the Golden Eagles’ defense held Lakewood to seven first-half points and rolled to victory. Senior Ashley Lang led a balanced Ferndale attack with 13 points, senior Cailyn Kessen had 10 points thanks to a trio of 3-pointers, and seniors Madisyn Butenschoen and Ellie Ochoa and junior Mallory Butenschoen all had 8 points each. Against the Storm, the Golden Eagles turned it on with a 33-13 second half. Lang had 15 points and Madisyn Butenschoen had 14, with each making a pair of 3s, and junior Maleah Singson had 12 all in the second half on four 3-pointers.
LUMMI NATION couldn’t have had a better start to the season with an 85-9 victory over Providence Classical Christian on Thursday, and a 49-37 victory over Orcas Island on Saturday. In Thursday’s opener, the Lady Blackhawks flew out to a 33-0 lead after one quarter and five different Blackhawks outscored the entire Providence team. Seniors Aliesha Solomon and Keyonee Morris and junior Serena Pantalia led Lummi Nation with 16 points each, senior Raven Solomon had 14 points, and eighth-grader Jemma James added 11 in her varsity debut. In Saturday’s non-league game against Orcas Island, the Blackhawks again used their stingy defense to hold the Orcas to less than 10 points in each of the first three quarters. James led the offense with a pair of 3-pointers and her 20 points, Morris added 11 points, and Aliesha Solomon had 10.
SEHOME defeated Squalicum on Monday, 46-42, and Meridian on Thursday, 58-14. On Monday, Hart had 14 points after halftime to fuel Sehome’s comeback and fellow junior Natalie Brewer had 9 of her 11 points in the second half and sank 6 of 7 free throws for the game. On Thursday, Sehome collected 20 offensive rebounds, had 14 steals, and gave up only nine points through three quarters in beating the Trojans. In addition to a game-high 18 points, Cooper hit two 3-pointers and was 6 of 7 from the line (the miss was because of a lane violation) as the Mariners sank 13 of 16 free throws. Brewer added 13 points, Hart had 8 points thanks to a pair of 3s, and nine different Mariners got in the scoring column.
BELLINGHAM beat Blaine, 45-40 on Tuesday and lost to Nooksack Valley on Saturday, 67-9. Against the visiting Borderites, the Bayhawks used a 14-7 fourth quarter to break open the tight contest. Lockhart had six of her 16 points and Hanks four of her 17 in the crucial final period. Against the Nooksack Valley defense, the Bayhawks only managed five points through the first three periods on Saturday.
MERIDIAN lost to Anacortes on Monday, 64-24, and to Sehome on Thursday, 58-14. On Monday, senior Avery Neal had 15 points, but the Trojans couldn’t come back after falling into a 21-4 first-quarter hole. On Thursday, the Trojans’ offense never got going with only three field goals through the first three quarters and having only two players score in the game. Neal again led the way with 11 points, including all seven of Meridian’s second-half points.
MOUNT BAKER fell to Mount Vernon on Wednesday, 56-38, and Anacortes on Friday, 37-26. On Wednesday, the Mounties only managed 25 points over the final three quarters, 18 of which were from Barter. Sophomore Faith Wilson added 6 points for Mount Baker. Against the aggressive defense of the Seahawks, only four Mounties scored and Barter was the only one who managed more than four points. Mount Baker’s own defense kept the Mounties in the game as they collected five blocks, three of them by Wilson.
SQUALICUM lost to Sehome on Monday, 46-42, and to Ferndale on Thursday, 53-35. On Monday, the Storm held the Mariners to 17 first-half points but couldn’t hold off Sehome in the second half. McEachran had three 3-pointers and hit all four of her free throws, and junior Mari Binning had 8 points, but the Storm only managed 12 points after halftime. On Thursday, the Storm took a two-point lead into halftime but only managed 13 points in the second half and couldn’t hold off the Golden Eagles. Junior Makayla Heaton had 9 points, Binning had 8, and McEachran 7 for Squalicum.
BLAINE fell to Bellingham on Tuesday, 45-40; to La Conner on Thursday, 69-20; and to Oak Harbor on Saturday, 47-18. In Tuesday’s season opener, Dube led the Borderites with 17 points and three 3-pointers and fellow junior Jordyn Vezzetti added 10 points, but Blaine only managed seven fourth-quarter points and couldn’t hold off the Bayhawks. On Thursday, the Borderites never got their offense going and fell to Class 2B power La Conner. Vezzetti’s 8 points led the Borderites. In Saturday’s loss to the Wildcats, Blaine only managed four first-half points with Vezzetti again leading the way with 10 points.
WEEK 3
TOP GAME
In a battle between two Class 2A teams with state aspirations, Burlington-Edison is at Sehome to take on the Mariners on Thursday night.
SCHEDULE
Monday, Dec. 12: Ferndale at Meridian, Mount Vernon at Lynden Christian
Tuesday, Dec. 13: Sedro-Woolley at Bellingham, Lynden at Squalicum, Sehome at Mount Baker, Lummi Nation at Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood)
Wednesday, Dec. 14: Blaine at Lakewood, Ferndale at Stanwood, Nooksack Valley at Oak Harbor, Darrington at Lummi Nation
Thursday, Dec. 15: Burlington-Edison at Sehome, Lopez Island at Lummi Nation
Friday, Dec. 16: Lynden Christian at Bellingham, Squalicum at Blaine, Ferndale at Jackson, Meridian at Lynden
Saturday, Dec. 17: Mount Baker at Ferndale, Lynden Christian at Liberty (Issaquah), Nooksack Valley at Lakewood
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Anacortes | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Ferndale | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Lynden | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Lynden Christian | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Nooksack Valley | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Sehome | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Bellingham | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Burlington-Edison | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Mount Vernon | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Oak Harbor | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Blaine | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Lakewood | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Meridian | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Mount Baker | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Squalicum | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lopez Island | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Tulalip Heritage | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Lummi Nation | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Grace Academy | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Shoreline Christian | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Providence Classical Christian | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
