As the Northwest Conference teams continued to vie for league and district seeding heading into the final three weeks of the regular season, the big news in Week 7 was off the court.
Lynden Christian’s Libby Stump was one of three senior girls in the state to be nominated to the McDonald’s All-American Games. Of the nearly 400 girls nominated nationwide, 24 will be selected to play in the prestigious games on March 29.
Stump earned all-state honors and was an all-Whatcom Hoops choice last season. The University of Montana signee is the leading scorer for the highly ranked and defending Class 1A state champion Lyncs this season.
This is the second year in a row an LC senior has been chosen. Last year, Emily Mellema was one of the nominees. Unfortunately, for the second year in a row the McDonald’s events were not held because of COVID.
In a surprise announcement, Anye Turner, Sehome’s coach since the 2018-19 season, stepped down last week and officially resigned on Thursday. To give the program some continuity, Kim Kirk and Trish Neary will be filling in for the remainder of the season.
Kirk has taught at Sehome for 21 years and been a big part of the Mariners girls basketball program. She was an assistant for several years before taking over as head coach for nine seasons. Since stepping down five years ago, she has helped out as a volunteer assistant.
Neary was a Sehome volunteer assistant for three years before being named the junior varsity coach this season.
For a look back at Week 7 for our county boys team, check out Whatcom Hoops boys recap.
Here are the girls highlights from Week 7.
GAME OF THE WEEK
After a week with few close games, Week 7 was filled with comebacks and thrillers. In Friday’s Bellingham-Mount Baker battle, the Bayhawks were down by seven with less than three and a half minutes to go before rallying for a 36-33 home victory. All five starters scored in the final rally with freshman Katie Knies capping the comeback with a three-point play for the winning points.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Mount Baker senior Maddy Barter had a career-high 36 points on Saturday. … Sophomore Madi Cooper had 28 points for Sehome on Monday. … Sophomore Devin Coppinger had 24 points to lead Nooksack Valley on Monday. … Senior Libby Stump had 23 points in each of Lynden Christian’s three games, and freshman Grace Hintz had 19 points in LC’s win Monday. … Sophomore Haylee Koetje had 20 points in Lynden’s come-from-behind win Saturday. … Squalicum’s Mari Binning had 17 points on Thursday. … Blaine senior Hailey Pike had 17 points on Thursday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
Lynden Christian ran its winning streak to five games by defeating Blaine on Monday, 62-12; Sehome on Friday, 73-49; and Archbishop Murphy in a non-league game on Saturday, 68-45. On Monday, the Lyncs held the Borderites to two points in the second half, while Stump and Hintz combined for five 3-pointers and 42 points. Against the Mariners, LC used a 44-point second half to pull away. Stump had 23 points, Hintz had 16 and two 3-pointers, junior Demi Dykstra had 13 and a pair of 3s, and senior Alli Van Kooten had 8 points. On Saturday, Stump’s 23 led a balanced LC attack with Hintz adding 13 points, Van Kooten 12, and Dykstra 11.
Nooksack Valley remained unbeaten in NWC play with a 73-26 victory over Squalicum on Monday and an 81-22 win over Sedro-Woolley on Wednesday. The Pioneers game on Friday with Oak Harbor was canceled. On Monday, the Pioneers held the Storm to single digits in each quarter and held Squalicum to 28 percent shooting from the field. Coppinger’s 24 led Nooksack, and senior Tehya Moore added 14 point, including four 3-pointers, junior Hallie Kamphouse added 11 points, and senior McKenna Wichers had 8 points.
Lynden shut down Oak Harbor on Wednesday, 51-18, and beat Anacortes on Saturday, 58-41. On Wednesday, the Lions’ defense held the Wildcats to less than five points in three of the four quarters. Junior Adia Newcomb hit three 3-pointers for a game-high 15 points, Koetje had 14 points and junior Chloe Wittenberg added 9 points. On Saturday, the Lions rallied from 10 points down in the first quarter and held the Seahawks to just five points in the final period to pull away. Koetje led the balanced Lynden attack with 20 points, sophomore Mallory Villars had 12 points, and senior Claire DeVries and junior Adia Newcomb added 10 points each.
Meridian defeated Ferndale on Monday, 49-34, and had its game with Burlington-Edison on Thursday canceled. The Trojans held the Golden Eagles to their lowest point total of the season. Senior Kadance Blankers made 11 free throws in a row and finished with a game-high 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals. Junior Avery Neal had 10 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Sophomore Allie Richter added 7 points and a 3-pointer off the bench.
Bellingham lost to Sedro-Woolley on Monday, 48-41, and defeated Mount Baker on Friday, 36-33. On Monday, the Bayhawks led by one going into the final period, but gave up 18 points to the Cubs in the quarter. Senior Mazy Wright led Bellingham with 14 points and 10 rebounds; junior Ellie Wolverton had 13 points and 3 assists; and sophomore Genevieve Blum had 15 rebounds. In the final minutes of Friday’s comeback victory, Blum and Wolverton hit two free throws each, senior Kaycee French had a put-back, Wright sank a short shot, and Knies made her three-point play to seal the win. Wolverton had a team-high 12 points, including three 3s, and Wright and Knies had 9 points each.
Ferndale lost to Meridian on Monday, 49-34, and defeated Squalicum on Thursday, 49-46. Against the Trojans, Ferndale only managed 21 points through the first three quarters. Cailyn Kessen had 11 points and two 3-pointers, but the junior was the only Golden Eagle in double figures. Senior Hannah Barlean added 7 points for Ferndale. On Thursday, the Golden Eagles held Squalicum to two field goals in the fourth quarter to break away from a 37-all tie and pull out the victory. Junior Madisyn Butenschoen led Ferndale with 14 points and 6 rebounds, and Maleah Singson had 13 points and three 3-pointers.
Sehome defeated Lakewood on Wednesday, 66-29, and lost to Lynden Christian on Friday, 73-49. On Wednesday, the Mariners had a dozen 3-pointers to swamp Lakewood. Cooper had six 3-pointers and finished with 28 points, and senior Maddie Schumacher had 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Against the Lyncs, Cooper hit four more 3s for a team-high 12 points. Schumacher and freshman Emmy Hart added 9 points each, and sophomores Macie Aven and Natalie Brewer had 6 points each.
Blaine lost to Lynden Christian on Monday, 62-12, and beat Sedro-Woolley on Thursday, 53-19. Against the Lyncs, sophomore Deja Dube had half of Blaine’s 12 points, including the team’s only bucket in the second half. On Thursday, the Borderites wrapped up their best defensive game of the year by shutting out the Cubs in the fourth quarter. Pike’s 17 points led the Borderites’ balanced attack. Dube added 12 points, sophomore Jordan Vezzetti had 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and sophomore Alia Ball had 8 points.
Mount Baker lost to Bellingham on Friday, 36-33, and to Burlington-Edison on Saturday, 81-54. The Mounties only managed 13 second-half points and couldn’t hold on to a nine-point halftime lead. Junior Maddy Barter had a team-high 14 points, including both of Baker’s 3-pointers, and sophomore Janna Wineinger added 13 points, including all seven of the Mounties’ first-quarter points. On Saturday, Mount Baker got 36 points from Barter and 8 more from Wineinger as the Mounties had their third-highest point total of the season but struggled to stop the Tigers.
Squalicum fell to Nooksack Valley on Monday, 73-26, and to Ferndale on Thursday, 49-46. On Monday, junior Shelby Smithson led the Storm with 8 points and junior Callie McEachran added 7 points and a pair of 3-pointers. On Thursday, Binning led the Storm with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals, and McEachran had 14 points and 5 rebounds.
Lummi Nation had its game with Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) rescheduled for Friday, Jan. 21.
WEEK 8
TOP GAME
Nooksack Valley and Lynden, both undefeated in Northwest Conference play, square off at Jake Maberry Gymnasium in Lynden on Friday with first place on the line.
SCHEDULE
Monday, Jan. 17: Bellingham at Meridian, Ferndale at Oak Harbor, Lynden at Lakewood, Mount Vernon at Nooksack Valley, Lopez Island at Lummi Nation
Tuesday, Jan. 18: Mount Baker at Blaine, Anacortes at Lynden Christian, Meridian at La Conner, Burlington-Edison at Squalicum
Wednesday, Jan. 19: Sehome at Sedro-Woolley
Thursday, Jan. 20: Blaine at Meridian, Mount Vernon at Ferndale, Lynden Christian at Lakewood, Sehome at Mount Baker, Lummi Nation at Grace Academy
Friday, Jan. 21: Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) at Lummi Nation, Squalicum at Bellingham, Nooksack Valley at Lynden
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Lynden | 9 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Nooksack Valley | 8 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| Lynden Christian | 8 | 1 | 11 | 4 |
| Burlington-Edison | 5 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| Meridian | 6 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| Ferndale | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| Mount Vernon | 5 | 4 | 8 | 6 |
| Squalicum | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Bellingham | 3 | 5 | 4 | 7 |
| Sehome | 3 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| Anacortes | 2 | 6 | 3 | 8 |
| Blaine | 2 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| Lakewood | 2 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| Oak Harbor | 1 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 1 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Mount Baker | 0 | 8 | 2 | 9 |
NORTHWEST 1B LEAGUE
| League | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Grace Academy | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Lummi Nation | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Shoreline Christian | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| Cedar Park Christian (Lynnwood) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Lopez Island | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
