There are a lot of high school basketball rankings out there, but the one that matters most is the WIAA’s Rating Percentage Index (RPI). It is probably the most important factor in determining seedings in the playoffs, including state tournaments.
It is a complicated formula taking into account teams’ records, their opponents’ records, and their opponents’ opponents’ records (we told you it was complicated), but not margin of victory, the classification of opponents, or head-to-head results.
It is adjusted after every game, but the bottom line is the lower the number the better — just like the media rankings. In other words, you want to be No.1, not No.65.
For a look back at Week 6 for our Whatcom boys teams, check out Whatcom Hoops Boys Recap.
With that in mind, Whatcom Hoops will often use the RPI ratings whenever rankings are mentioned in game stories or, starting today, in our recaps. Keep in mind, the RPI rankings change every day depending on what your team does or what other teams do, so don’t worry if your team isn’t exactly where you think it should be.
And while RPI only really matters come playoff time, even then it is just a resource for selection committees made up of real people and not computers.
Right now after six weeks, we have five of our 11 Whatcom teams ranked in the top 10 of their classifications. In 2A, Lynden is No.1, Squalicum is No.9, and Sehome is No.10. In 1A, Lynden Christian is No.2. And in 1B, Lummi Nation is No.7.
Here are the girls highlights from Week 6 and the RPI rankings for each of our teams.
GAME OF THE WEEK
If there was any doubt as to the talent and heart of the Lummi Nation girls, it was dispelled Saturday afternoon when the Lady Blackhawks took three-time defending Class 1B state champion Neah Bay down to the wire before losing on the road, 42-38. Down by 13 heading into the final period, Lummi Nation cut the lead to 41-38 with a minute to go on Jordy Reeder’s 3-pointer but couldn’t quite pull off the comeback.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Junior Finley Parcher had 29 points, senior Payton Mills had 17 points, and junior Lexi Hermanutz had 15 points for Lynden on Tuesday; Parcher had 22, Mills 17, and Hermanutz 15 on Wednesday; and Parcher had 28 points, and Mills and senior Degitu Bowler had 15 points each on Saturday. … Mount Baker junior Rebeca Soares had 26 points on Wednesday and 25 on Saturday. … Sehome junior Kate Schroeder had 24 points on Tuesday. … Lummi Nation senior Ailina Rabang had 23 points and junior Jemma James had 19 points on Monday. … Lynden Christian senior Estela Hernandez had 21 points Friday. … Nooksack Valley senior Payton Bartl had 16 points on Tuesday and 20 on Thursday, senior Grace DeHoog added 15 points on Thursday, and senior Natalie Van Liew had 16 points on Friday. … Senior Abbey White had 15 points for Ferndale on Monday, and senior Kayla Washington had 20 points on Thursday. … Sophomore Kai Perez had 18 points for Squalicum on Monday, and junior Lexi Robbins had 18 points on Saturday. … Senior Aaliyah Bowman had 17 points for Blaine on Wednesday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
LYNDEN (RPI ranking: No.1, 2A) blasted Bellevue Christian on Tuesday, 82-37, and Sedro-Woolley on Wednesday, 91-30, but had its hands full with King’s on Saturday before winning, 64-59. On Tuesday in a non-league battle between defending state champions, the Lions burst out to a 30-5 lead to throttle the Class 1A Vikings. Parcher had 29 points; Mills had 17 points; Hermanutz had 15 points, three 3-pointers, and 6 assists; and senior Rian Stephan had 7 rebounds. On Wednesday, the Lions put up 33 points in the first quarter and 60 by halftime before subduing Sedro with a school-record 91 points. Eleven Lions scored with Parcher and Mills leading the way with 22 and 17 points, respectively. Hermanutz had another 15 points with three 3-pointers, and Izzie Stephan had 11 points with three 3s. On Friday, the Lions had an early double-digit lead but were outscored over the final three quarters before finally holding off last year’s 1A state runner-up in the non-league matchup. Parcher came to the rescue in the final quarter, scoring nine of her 28 points and one of her three 3-pointers in the fourth period. She also had 8 rebounds. Bowler had four of Lynden’s 11 3-pointers including one in the final moments to ice the win. She and Mills had 15 points with Mills adding two more 3s and 6 rebounds. For the story and photos from Tuesday’s game, click on Lynden Girls.
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN (No.2, 1A) defeated Class 1A rivals Meridian on Monday, 46-21, and Blaine on Friday, 76-19. On Monday, the Lyncs defense was impregnable, limiting the Trojans to two points in the first half and eventually leading 26-2 before the reserves took over. Senior Ella Fritts led the balanced LC offense with 13 points and 7 rebounds, sophomore Tyra Dykstra had 8 points and 10 rebounds, Hernandez had 7 points, and senior Grace Russell and freshman Jess DeJong had 6 points each. On Friday, the Lyncs led 37-3 and would eventually set a school record with 16 3-pointers as six different players hit from behind the arc. Hernandez led the way with five 3-pointers and 21 points. Fritts had 14 points and 4 assists, Dykstra had 11 points, and the two had three 3s each. Russell and sophomore Maryn Camping had two 3-pointers and 6 points each, senior Sara Van Loo had 6 assists, and junior Ellie Pierce had 5 assists.
SEHOME (No.10, 2A) knocked off Nooksack Valley on Tuesday, 50-27, and Oak Harbor on Friday, 55-10. On Tuesday, the Mariners’ defense held the Pioneers to less than seven points in each of the first three quarters to build up a 25-point lead and secure the NWC victory. In addition to her 24 points, Schroeder had 10 rebounds and 6 steals. Sophomore Taylor Turrell had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals, and juniors Sadie Gustafson and Elyse Panagos had 6 points each with Panagos also collecting 9 rebounds. On Friday, the Mariners took control early, leading 31-4 at the half, and were never threatened. Turrell led the way with 15 points; Schroeder had 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals; senior Aspen Barge had 8 points; Panagos had 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals; and senior Lily Jude had 7 rebounds.
SQUALICUM (No.9, 2A) claimed NWC road victories over Ferndale on Monday, 62-47, and Mount Baker on Saturday, 52-49. On Monday, the Storm only led by two midway through the third quarter but used five 3-pointers to outscore the Golden Eagles, 32-19, to pull away. Perez had four of Squalicum’s 10 3-pointers for 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals; Robbins had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists; junior Colee Harper had 9 points, a pair of big 3s in the third quarter, and 8 rebounds; junior Addison Kettman had 8 points, a team-high 11 rebounds, and 3 steals; junior Tiana Thompson had 8 points and 7 rebounds; and freshman Avery Kettman had 6 points and 8 rebounds. On Saturday, the Storm had a seemingly comfortable 41-30 lead heading into the fourth period but had to hang on in the final seconds for the win. Robbins had 18 points, four 3-pointers, and 5 assists; Harper had 10 points and 4 rebounds; Addison Kettman had 8 points and 4 rebounds; Thompson had 7 points and 6 rebounds; and Avery Kettman had 4 rebounds. For the story and photos from Monday’s game, click on Squalicum Girls.
BELLINGHAM (No.28, 2A) made its only game of the week a good one by trouncing Oak Harbor on Tuesday, 59-23. With the score tied two minutes into the game, the Bayhawks went on a 23-2 run to overwhelm Oak Harbor and put up their highest point total of the season. Junior Merritt Jensen led the balanced Bellingham attack with 13 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds; sophomores Lucy and Elise Holland had 12 and 10 points, respectively, with Elise adding 6 rebounds and 3 assists; and seniors Mary Lockhart and Avery Manning had 8 points each. The victory was the Bayhawks’ seventh, already giving them more wins than they’ve had since 2020.
LUMMI NATION (No.7, 1B) trounced Tulalip Heritage on Monday, 78-18, and came up just short at Neah Bay on Saturday, 42-38. On Monday, the Lady Blackhawks scored enough points in the first quarter (21) to rout their rivals. Rabang had 23 points, James had 19 including three 3-pointers, sophomore Laraya Dennis had 12 points, senior Brianna Metteba and eighth-grader Jordy Reeder had 8 points each, and junior Celestine James had 6 points. On Friday, the Blackhawks used an 11-2 fourth-quarter run to battle back to within three points with a minute left but couldn’t score again against the Red Devils, whose only losses were to a 4A school and the No.1 2B team. Reeder had eight of her game-high 13 points and two of her three 3-pointers in the fourth-quarter comeback; Rabang had 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 steals; Jemma James had 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals; and Metteba had 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
MOUNT BAKER (No.13, 1A) defeated Blaine on Wednesday, 59-31, but lost to Squalicum on Saturday, 52-49. On Wednesday, the Mounties took a 23-point halftime lead and kept the Borderites at bay the rest of the game. Soares had 26 points, sophomore Rian Harkness had 14 points and four 3-pointers all in the big first half, and junior Violet Fox had 10 points. On Saturday, the Mounties mounted a comeback from 11 points down in the fourth quarter, but despite scoring 19 points in the period could only get within two in the final seconds. Soares fueled the rally with 12 of her 25 points in the final period. She also had 16 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Senior Reace Brown had 10 points and 7 rebounds, and Fox and Abitia added 6 points each with Abitia’s coming on Baker’s only two 3-pointers. Fox also had 10 assists, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals.
NOOKSACK VALLEY (No.19, 1A) lost to Sehome on Tuesday, 50-27; defeated Burlington-Edison on Thursday, 51-45; and was beaten by King’s on Friday, 63-35. On Tuesday, the Pioneers came out cold, shooting just 20 percent from the field, and finishing with their lowest point total of the season in the road loss to Sehome. Bartl did her best to keep Nooksack in the game with 16 points and four 3-pointers, and DeHoog had 16 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough. On Thursday, the Pioneers only managed 27 points through three quarters and were down by two before exploding for 24 fourth-quarter points to take the comeback win. Bartl led the way with 20 points, 16 of them in the final period, and by sinking 11 of 12 field goals in the game and seven of eight in the final 50 seconds to ice the win. She also had 4 assists and 3 steals. DeHoog had 15 points and 16 rebounds, and junior Raegan Burke had 8 points and 6 rebounds. On Friday, the Pioneers only scored five points in the second quarter and couldn’t make up the difference in the non-league game. Van Liew had 16 points and three 3-pointers, DeHoog had 8 points and 10 rebounds, and Burke pulled down 5 rebounds. For the story and photos from Thursday’s game, click on Nooksack Valley Girls.
BLAINE (No.40, 1A) fell to Mount Baker on Wednesday, 59-31, and to Lynden Christian on Friday, 76-19. On Wednesday, the Borderites played the Mounties almost evenly in the second half but by then were down by 23. Bowman had 17 points, but senior Brietta Sandell with 6 points was the only other Borderite with more than two points. On Friday, the Borderites were down by 34 in the second quarter and could never get anything going against the Lyncs. Sandell had 6 points on two of Blaine’s five 3-pointers, Bowman had 5 points, and junior Kate Koreski had 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
MERIDIAN (No.36, 1A) fell to Lynden Christian on Monday, 46-21, and to Anacortes on Thursday, 49-33. On Monday, the Trojans played the Lyncs almost even in the second half but a 24-point first-half hole was too much to climb out of. Junior Lola Gibbs had a pair of 3-pointers and a team-high 8 points, and sophomore Madyn Cline-Malarz had 6 points and 4 rebounds. On Thursday, the Trojans fell behind by 10 in the first quarter and couldn’t make up any ground against the Seahawks. Junior Eden Bernardy had 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals but was the only Trojan with more than five points.
FERNDALE (No.48, 3A) lost to Squalicum on Monday, 62-47; to Everett on Tuesday, 40-20; and to Mount Vernon on Thursday, 41-33. On Monday, the Golden Eagles were within two of the Storm midway through the third quarter before coming up short. White hit four 3-pointers to finish with 15 points, junior Brooklyn Larrabee slashed her way to the hoop for 10 points, all in the second half, and junior Kayla Lee and sophomore Ari Gilday did their best battling inside for 9 and 8 points, respectively. In Tuesday’s non-league game, the Golden Eagles never found their offensive rhythm, finishing with a season-low point total. Larrabee had 10 points and a pair of 3-pointers, and Lee added 7 points, but Ferndale couldn’t muster up much offense beyond that. On Thursday, the Golden Eagles rallied from a 10-point deficit to lead by three at the half, but could only come up with 11 points in the second half in losing a key 3A battle with the Bulldogs. Washington led Ferndale with 20 points and four 3-pointers, Gilday grabbed 19 rebounds, Larrabee had 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and Lee had 5 rebounds. For the story and photos from Monday’s game, click on Ferndale Girls.
NOTE: A big thank you to the coaches and Tyler Anderson of WhatcomPreps.com for providing statistics.
WEEK 7
TOP GAME
The Northwest Conference leaders square off this week, when Sehome travels to Lynden on Wednesday and Lynden Christian hosts Squalicum on Saturday. The Class 1A teams also begin playing each other for what will turn out to be seeding in their district tournament as Nooksack Valley visits Meridian on Monday, and Lynden Christian is at Mount Baker on Tuesday. And in a key 3A contest, Ferndale is at Sedro-Woolley on Wednesday.
SCHEDULE
Monday, Jan. 12: Nooksack Valley at Meridian, Squalicum at Mount Vernon, Lakewood at Bellingham
Tuesday, Jan. 13: Lynden Christian at Mount Baker, Anacortes at Blaine
Wednesday, Jan. 14: Sehome at Lynden, Ferndale at Sedro-Woolley
Thursday, Jan. 15: Meridian at Oak Harbor
Friday, Jan. 16: Burlington-Edison at Lynden, Lakewood at Sehome, Bellingham at Ferndale, Lynden Christian at Lake Stevens
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lynden | 6 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Lynden Christian | 6 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| Sehome | 6 | 1 | 10 | 3 |
| Squalicum | 6 | 1 | 10 | 2 |
| Nooksack Valley | 4 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| Mount Baker | 5 | 2 | 10 | 3 |
| Lakewood | 4 | 2 | 7 | 5 |
| Bellingham | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5 |
| Mount Vernon | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| Anacortes | 2 | 5 | 4 | 7 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 2 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Burlington-Edison | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| Ferndale | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Meridian | 1 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| Blaine | 0 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
| Oak Harbor | 0 | 7 | 2 | 9 |
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lummi Nation | 5 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| Grace Academy | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Lopez Island | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Tulalip Heritage | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Providence Classical Christian | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Shoreline Christian | 0 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
