MOUNT VERNON — For a chance to play for third and a trip to state, the district matchup between No. 3 Lynden and No. 4 Sehome was bound to be a close one.
The Mariners lost the first matchup in the regular season 59-33 back in early January and Thursday night it was Lynden coming out with a win again, ending Sehome’s season in a 43-34 victory.
Coming off a dominant 63-20 win against crosstown rival Bellingham, Sehome started off slow against Lynden.
The Lions’ 2-3 zone defense caused a bit of trouble for the Mariners’ pass-and-cut offense.
With Sehome struggling to make shots early, the Mariners trailed 15-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter flew by as each team failed to capitalize off the mistakes of the other. The Lions led 20-10 near the halfway point of the quarter.
Sophomore guard Emmy Hart hit a big 3-pointer late in the quarter to pull the Mariners within five points with under a minute left. Sehome would go into the half trailing 23-15.
Senior Maddie Schumacher distributed the ball accurately to her teammates, finding the back door cutter frequently. As the third quarter progressed, Sehome’s offense started to flow harmoniously, but the shots still weren’t falling.
The Mariners failed to box out defensively and the Lions continued to grab offensive rebounds in the second half. Lynden led 33-21 at the end of the third.
As the potential last quarter of the season started for Sehome, coaches Kim Kirk and Trish Neary decided to run a full-court press to put pressure on the Lions’ offense. This caused many issues for Lynden, leading to multiple steals and fast-break opportunities for Schumacher, who scored four straight points to bring the score to 41-30 with two minutes left in the game.
With the final minutes ticking down, both teams were in the bonus and trading fouls. The Lions knocked down most of their free throws at the end of the game, extending their lead until the clock ran out.
The scoring was fairly even between the starting five for the Mariners. Schumacher led with eight points and senior Ava Lunny contributed six. Sehome’s zone defense made it difficult for Lynden to hit shots, but the Mariners failed to cash in on mistakes from the Lions.
Sehome’s 2021-22 season ends with a record of 8-11, but most of the team will be back next year as they will have 10 returning players. Lynden advances to the third-place game in the district tournament, playing Cedarcrest High School on Saturday at Mount Vernon High School.
