As the Northwest Conference teams began playing their league schedule this past week, the Class 1A teams again showed they will be battling for the crown.
Defending champion Lynden Christian, runner-up Nooksack Valley, and Meridian all won a pair of league contests. Joining them with a pair of NWC victories in Week 2 were the Class 2A Lynden Lions.
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.
GAME OF THE WEEK
In a week with few close games, Nooksack Valley and Ferndale put on quite the offensive show with the Pioneers pulling away for the 86-73 victory on Monday. The first half was memorable with both teams hitting from everywhere and going into the break with Nooksack Valley holding on to a 51-45 lead. “I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Pioneers coach Shane Wichers.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Mount Baker junior Maddy Barter had quite the week with 20 points on Monday, 27 on Thursday, and 25 on Saturday. … Blaine senior Hailey Pike poured in a game-high 23 points as the Borderites notched their first win on Saturday. … Nooksack Valley sophomore Devin Coppinger had a near triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists on Monday and then had 18 points and 10 rebounds against Anacortes on Thursday. In the Monday game, junior Hallie Kamphouse hit five 3-pointers and had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Pioneers. … Lynden Christian senior Libby Stump had 21 points on Thursday. … Lynden sophomore Haylee Koetje scored 22 points and junior Adia Newcomb had 20 against Mount Vernon. … Meridian’s Skyleigh James had 21 points on Wednesday and fellow senior Kadance Blankers had 20 points on Monday. … Senior Hannah Barlean had 17 points to lead Ferndale on Monday. … Sophomore Mari Binning had nearly half of Squalicum’s 33 points in Monday’s victory with 16 points, including three 3-pointers.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Lynden Christian stomped Sedro-Woolley on Tuesday, 93-19, and stopped Squalicum on Thursday, 79-21. All 11 Lyncs scored 4 or more points against the Cubs with senior Alli Van Kooten leading the way with 14. Also in double figures were freshman Grace Hintz (12 points), junior Demi Dykstra (11) and Stump (10). Against the Storm, Stump had a game-high 21, Dykstra had 12 points, and Hintz came off the bench to score 11 points.
Nooksack Valley outlasted Ferndale on Monday, 86-73, and clobbered Anacortes on Thursday, 67-29. In the slugfest with the Golden Eagles, Coppinger and Kamphouse led the way with senior McKenna Wichers and junior Taylor Lentz adding 15 and 10 points, respectively. Against the Seahawks, the Pioneers collected 12 steals and went 13 of 15 from the line. Coppinger led the balanced offense and was followed by sophomore Lainey Kimball (11 points), senior Tehya Moore and Wichers (10 each), and senior Ellie Van Berkum (9).
Lynden clobbered Mount Vernon on Tuesday, 71-46, and knocked off Bellingham on Thursday, 56-25. Koetje and Newcomb led the way with 22 and 20 points against the Bulldogs with junior Chloe Wittenberg adding another 16 points. Against the Bayhawks, Koetje had 16 points and Newcomb 14 with the two combining for five 3-pointers.
Meridian defeated Mount Baker on Monday, 67-34; lost to Class 2A Archbishop Murphy on Tuesday, 60-42; and bounced back to topple Sedro-Woolley on Wednesday, 73-31. Against the Mounties, Blankers had 20 points and fellow senior Ellie DeWaard had 14 points. Against Class 2A Archbishop Murphy, the Trojans kept it close until the end thanks to James’s 21 points. In the victory over Sedro, it was the Avery Neal show with the junior guard collecting 13 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, and 5 steals.
Blaine finally opened its season on Friday with a loss at Burlington-Edison, 60-28, before bouncing back to beat Lummi Nation on Saturday, 64-36. In the opener, senior Krystin Kamrath had a team-high 13 points to lead the Borderites. Against the Blackhawks, Pike had 23 points, sophomore Deja Dube had 14, Kamrath had 12, and sophomore Jordyn Vezzetti had 7 points and 9 rebounds. On Monday, the Borderites had their third game to start the season canceled because of COVID and so far no makeup date with Sehome has been announced.
Squalicum opened its season with a 33-23 victory over Oak Harbor on Monday and lost to Lynden Christian on Thursday, 79-21. Against Oak Harbor, sophomores Binning, Makayla Heaton and Corinthian Sykes-Stewart combined for 27 points and the Storm defense held the Wildcats to eight second-half points. With three players missing on Thursday, Shelby Smithson was the only Storm player to score more than 4 points as the junior transfer had 11 points.
Ferndale lost to Nooksack Valley on Monday, 86-73; lost to Mountlake Terrace on Tuesday, 54-41; and beat Sehome on Wednesday, 55-39. On Monday, seniors Barlean and Kaelee Bungard had 17 and 10 points, respectively, and sophomore Maleah Singson added 12 points. Against Mountlake Terrace, Barlean and junior Madisyn Butenschoen had 9 points each and sophomore Mallory Butenschoen added 8 points. On Wednesday, the Golden Eagles held Sehome to four third-quarter points to pull away for the big win. Mallory Butenschoen hit a pair of 3s and had 11 points, and junior Ellie Ochoa and sophomore Tia Gilday had 10 points each.
Mount Baker lost to Meridian on Monday, 67-34, and to Mount Vernon on Thursday, 61-48, before traveling to Friday Harbor for a 55-24 victory on Saturday. In addition to Barter’s big games, senior Taite Reardon had 6 points against both Meridian and Friday Harbor, and 10 points against Mount Vernon. Sophomore Lauren Valum added 10 points in Thursday’s game.
Sehome had its Monday game with Blaine canceled and lost to Ferndale on Wednesday, 55-39. Senior Maddie Schumacher led the Mariners with 10 points and sophomores Madi Cooper and Kylie Watson had 6 points each.
Lummi Nation opened its season on Saturday with a loss to Class 1A Blaine. Sophomore Keyonee Morris led the Blackhawks with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and juniors Raven Solomon and Aleisha Solomon had 9 and 8 points, respectively.
Bellingham lost to Burlington-Edison on Monday, 69-27, and to Lynden on Thursday, 53-25. Senior Mazy Wright had 15 points, a pair of 3-pointers, and 5 rebounds, but the Bayhawks had trouble getting their offense going against the Tigers as no one else managed more than 4 points. Against the Lions, Wright led the way again with 9 points and junior Ellie Wolverton added 7 points.
WEEK 3
TOP GAME
Two of the top Class 1A teams in the state will square off on Thursday when Nooksack Valley travels to Lynden Christian for a 7:15 p.m. contest. The Pioneers’ only loss last year was to the undefeated Lyncs.
SCHEDULE
Monday, Dec. 13: Anacortes at Ferndale, Lakewood at Nooksack Valley, Squalicum at Sedro-Woolley, Lummi Nation at Lopez Island
Tuesday, Dec. 14: Blaine at Bellingham, Mount Baker at Lynden, Lynden Christian at Oak Harbor, Meridian at Mount Vernon, Burlington-Edison at Sehome
Wednesday, Dec. 15: Concrete at Lummi Nation
Thursday, Dec. 16: Nooksack Valley at Lynden Christian, Grace Academy at Lummi Nation, Bellingham at Sehome
Friday, Dec. 17: Mount Vernon at Blaine, Ferndale at Lakewood, Lynden at Meridian, Squalicum at Mount Baker
Saturday, Dec. 18: Lummi Nation at Muckleshoot Tribal, Eastlake at Lynden, Lynden Christian vs. Kentwood at NW Shootout (Tahoma HS)
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Burlington-Edison | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Lynden | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Lynden Christian | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Meridian | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Nooksack Valley | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Anacortes | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Ferndale | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Lakewood | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Mount Vernon | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Squalicum | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Blaine | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sehome | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Bellingham | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Mount Baker | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Oak Harbor | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
