Happy New Year to all!
Because the bad weather forced the cancelation of most of Week 4’s games, Whatcom Hoops has combined the last two weeks’ results into one recap to wrap up 2022.
For a look back at Weeks 4 and 5 for our Whatcom boys teams, check out the Whatcom Hoops boys recap.
With stiff competition against bigger and/or ranked schools in many of Week 5’s holiday tournaments, it was a tough stretch for even our best girls teams with Lummi Nation, Lynden, Lynden Christian, and Nooksack Valley tasting defeat for the first time.
But as we start the second half of the regular season, our Whatcom teams will begin battling again in the Northwest Conference and Northwest 1B League games.
Here are the girls highlights from Weeks 4 and 5.
GAME OF THE WEEK
It would be tempting to pick the Nooksack Valley and Lynden Christian girls’ near-upsets against ranked Class 4A teams, but we’ll go with Sehome’s exciting 54-53 victory over WF West on Tuesday in the Lynden Holiday Invite. Junior Emmy Hart sparked the Mariners with seven 3-pointers, but it was junior Madi Cooper’s 3-pointer with five seconds left that gave Sehome the victory.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK (FOR WEEK 2)
Congratulations to Lynden Christian sophomore Grace Hintz for being voted the SB Live’s WaFd Bank Washington high school athlete of the week for Dec. 5-10. She also was nominated for national basketball player of the week.
Hintz had 27 points in the Lyncs’ victory over Burlington-Edison, last season’s Class 2A state finalist, and followed that up with a career-high 32 points in LC’s win over defending Class 4A state champion Woodinville despite playing with a sprained ankle.
She would go on to break her own record with 34 points the following week against Class 3A Liberty (Renton).
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (FOR WEEKS 4 AND 5)
Junior Devin Coppinger had 33 points and senior Hallie Kamphouse had 25 points in Nooksack Valley’s near-upset of Tahoma on Tuesday. Coppinger had 23 points on Wednesday and 21 more on Thursday, when juniors Lainey Kimball and Tana Hoekema added 19 and 16 points, respectively. … Mount Baker senior Maddy Barter had 27 points on both Thursday and Friday. … LC’s Hintz had 22 points on Wednesday, 25 on Thursday, and 25 more on Friday. … Hart had 23 points in Sehome’s win Tuesday and junior Natalie Brewer had a game-high 15 for the Mariners on Wednesday. … Blaine junior Jordyn Vezzetti had a big week with 18 points on Tuesday, 21 on Thursday, and 18 more on Friday. Junior Deja Dube added 21 points for Blaine on Friday. … Seniors Maris Baklund and Avery Neal had 18 and 17 points, respectively, in Meridian’s victory on Thursday. … Junior Haylee Koetje had 17 points and junior Kalanie Newcomb had 16 in Lynden’s big win Wednesday. … Ferndale senior Ellie Ochoa had 17 points to lead the Golden Eagles on Friday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
SEHOME defeated crosstown rival Bellingham on Dec. 19, 53-30, and then won both games in the Lynden Holiday Invite, beating WF West, 54-53, on Tuesday and Port Angeles, 47-35, on Wednesday. In the nightcap of the annual BellingHome battle, Cooper had 24 points and the Mariners held the Bayhawks to 14 points through the first three quarters. In addition to her game-winner on Tuesday, Cooper had 13 points on Tuesday against WF West. Hart led the way with 23 points and Brewer had 11. On Wednesday, Brewer finished with 15 points to lead the Mariners against the Roughriders.
BLAINE picked up its first win on Tuesday, beating Friday Harbor, 49-41. Then in the Trojan Storm Winter Classic, the Borderites beat Mount Baker on Thursday, 41-38, and lost to Lakewood on Friday, 56-54. In Tuesday’s non-league game, Vezzetti led the Borderites with 18 points and added 7 rebounds, and Dube and freshman Aaliyah Bowman had 13 points and 8 rebounds each. Against the Mounties, Vezzetti had 16 of her 21 points in the first half as the Borderites took a 10-point lead before having to hang on in the final minute. Dube added 11 points for Blaine. On Friday, Dube and Vezzetti combined for 39 points as the Borderites rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit only to come up two points short in the non-league game with Lakewood.
LYNDEN won two games in its own Lynden Holiday Invite, beating Port Angeles on Tuesday, 47-35, and WF West on Wednesday, 52-42, before losing a non-league game against Class 3A Meadowdale on Friday, 66-31. On Tuesday, Lynden outscored the Roughriders, 24-10, in the second half with Koetje and Newcomb leading the Lions with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Against then No.3-ranked WF West on Wednesday, Newcomb hit four 3-pointers and Koetje had 13 of her 17 in the second half. On Friday, an off-night shooting combined with a hot Mavericks team resulted in the Lions’ first loss of the season. Koetje had 9 points, but the Lions only managed to score 19 points after the first quarter while Meadowdale made seven 3s after halftime to turn a three-point lead into a blowout.
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN won its first two games in the Lynden Christmas Classic, beating Washougal on Wednesday, 72-30, and White River on Thursday, 63-44, before losing its first game of the season to Eastlake on Friday, 54-46. On Wednesday, the Lyncs jumped to an 11-0 lead in pummeling the Panthers. Hintz hit three 3s and had 22 points, and freshman Ella Fritts came off the bench to score 13 points. On Thursday, Hintz had 25 points and made all eight of her free throws against the Hornets, and Fritts added 10 points and two 3-pointers. On Friday, the Lyncs started slow and never found their offense against the tall and talented Class 4A Wolves. Hintz had 25 points, including five 3-pointers, and senior Demi Dykstra had 7 points.
NOOKSACK VALLEY lost its first game of the season on Tuesday to eventual champion Tahoma in the Top of the Peak Tournament, 64-62, before winning the next two games against Mount Spokane on Wednesday, 55-38, and host Glacier Peak on Thursday, 75-41. In Tuesday’s tournament opener in Snohomish, the Pioneers rallied from a 13-point deficit but couldn’t overcome Class 4A Tahoma. Coppinger had four 3-pointers among her 33 points and Kamphouse had six 3s among her 25 points. The Pioneers bounced back from their first loss by going 16 for 16 from the line in shutting down Class 3A Mount Spokane. Coppinger had 23 points, Kamphouse had 13, and junior Lainey Kimball added 12. On Thursday, juniors Coppinger, Kimball, and Hoekema combined for 56 points to outscore host Glacier Peak. Hoekema had four 3-pointers in the game.
MERIDIAN beat Friday Harbor on Thursday in the Trojan Storm Winter Classic, 68-29, and on Friday lost to Lincoln (Seattle), 40-38. On Thursday, the Trojans used their press to overwhelm the Wolverines for Meridian’s first win of the season. Baklund was 7 of 7 from the line and combined with Neal for 35 points with sophomore Brooklyn Fuller adding 14 points. On Friday, Meridian’s big second-half comeback came up just short against the Lynx. Backlund and Neal each had 12 points to lead the Trojans.
MOUNT BAKER lost to Blaine in Thursday’s first round of the Trojan Storm Winter Classic, 41-38, but came back to win Friday’s game against Friday Harbor, 65-25. On Thursday, Barter led the way with 27 points as the Mounties stormed back from a 10-point deficit only to fall short in the final seconds. On Friday, Barter had another big game with 27 points, but she got a lot of help against the Wolverines. Senior Jojo Lindsey had 12 points, and junior Faith Wilson and freshman Natalie Van Lieu added 10 points each as seven of the eight Mounties scored.
SQUALICUM split its two games in the Trojan Storm Winter Classic, beating Lincoln (Seattle) on Thursday, 57-45, and losing to Bellevue Christian, 43-26, on Friday. On Thursday, the Storm only had six players but still knocked off the ranked Lynx. Junior Mari Binning had 13 points, sophomore Loretta Murphy-Kangas came off the bench to score 12 points, junior Makayla Heaton had 9 points, and senior Callie McEachran added 8 points. The Storm struggled offensively on Friday, with Binning managing 10 points to lead Squalicum.
LUMMI NATION won one of its three games at the Mount Vernon Christian Holiday Tournament. The Blackhawks lost to Mossyrock, 53-24, on Wednesday; beat Crosspoint Academy on Thursday, 60-54; and lost to Moses Lake Christian/Covenant Christian on Friday, 60-40.
BELLINGHAM lost to Sehome on Dec. 19, 43-20, and to Marysville-Getchell on Friday, 53-22. Against Sehome, the Bayhawks couldn’t get their offense going until the fourth quarter. Junior Genevieve Blum led Bellingham with 12 points. In Friday’s non-league game, sophomore Malia Hanks had a team-high 9 points and 6 rebounds, and senior Ellie Wolverton and freshman Mary Lockhart had 7 points each with Lockhart collecting a team-high 9 rebounds.
FERNDALE lost all three of its games at the Lynden Christmas Classic, falling to Eastlake on Wednesday, 56-38; to Prosser on Thursday, 54-51; and to Washougal on Friday, 60-55. On Wednesday, the Golden Eagles fell behind by 14 in the first half and couldn’t catch the Wolves. Senior Madisyn Butenschoen had 13 points and three 3s to lead Ferndale. On Thursday, the Golden Eagles let an eight-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter. Senior Cailyn Kessen and junior Mallory Butenschoen had 12 points each with Kessen sinking three 3-pointers and Mallory two. Junior Maleah Singson added 11 points on three 3s, and Ochoa had 10 points. On Friday, the Golden Eagles led the close contest until an 8-0 Washougal run in the last minute and a half ended the game. Ochoa led the way with 17 points, Kessen had 12, and Madisyn Butenschoen and Singson added 7 each.
WEEK 6
TOP GAMES
It’s showdown time when three NWC conference leaders face off this week. Nooksack Valley travels to Lynden on Tuesday, and the Pioneers will host Lynden Christian on Friday. Nooksack is ranked No.1 among Class 1A schools, just ahead of LC, and Lynden is ranked No.2 in the 2A ranks.
SCHEDULE
Monday, Jan. 2: Ferndale at Bellingham, Nooksack Valley at Blaine, Lynden at Sedro-Woolley, Mountlake Terrace at Sehome
Tuesday, Jan. 3: Nooksack Valley at Lynden, Burlington-Edison at Meridian, Mount Vernon at Squalicum
Wednesday, Jan. 4: Mount Baker at Lynden Christian, Sehome at Oak Harbor, Lummi Nation at Shoreline Christian
Thursday, Jan. 5: Bellingham at Lynden, Sedro-Woolley at Blaine, Squalicum at Anacortes, Mount Baker at Meridian
Friday, Jan. 6: Oak Harbor at Ferndale, Lakewood at Sehome, Grace Academy at Lummi Nation, Lynden Christian at Nooksack Valley
Saturday, Jan. 7: South Whidbey at Bellingham, South Delta at Lynden, Meridian at Mount Vernon, Mount Baker at Burlington-Edison
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Ferndale | 4 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
| Lynden | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| Lynden Christian | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Nooksack Valley | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Sehome | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| Anacortes | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Burlington-Edison | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Oak Harbor | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Bellingham | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Lakewood | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Mount Vernon | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| Squalicum | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Blaine | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Meridian | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Mount Baker | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Tulalip Heritage | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Lummi Nation | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| Grace Academy | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Lopez Island | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Providence Classical Christian | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Shoreline Christian | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
