Whatcom County prep basketball is in full swing, while swim and dive are just getting going. Local teams in both sports are already off to hot starts a little more than a week into the season.
Western Washington University’s basketball programs kicked off their Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedules last weekend and each earned wins.
Here’s an overview of what you may have missed from the last week of winter sports.
Prep
Boys basketball
All but one of Whatcom County’s prep boys basketball teams have played at least two games with the first week of the season in the books.
So far, Lynden, Lynden Christian, Bellingham and Meridian are 2-0, and all four have been dominant in their first two games.
Lynden defeated Tamanawis Secondary from Surrey, British Columbia, in its season opener on Nov. 29 by a score of 77-50. The Lions then downed Oak Harbor, 76-39, on Monday, Dec. 4, led by 33 points from senior guard Anthony Canales.
Junior forward Brant Heppner added 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while senior guard Charlie Ayres tallied 10 points.
LC began its season late, on Saturday, Dec. 2, and the Lyncs defeated King’s 69-57. It was a statement season-opening win for LC after beating King’s in the last two 1A state championship games. The Knights beat the Lyncs in the 2019 title game.
Burlington-Edison came to town to face LC on Tuesday, Dec. 5, and the Lyncs crushed the Tigers 71-41 for their second win of the season.
Bellingham has been an early surprise, defeating Granite Falls 63-39 on Nov. 29 before beating Blaine, 74-43, on Dec. 5. The Bayhawks finished last season 7-14, and they have a good chance of surpassing that finish with a strong start.
Meridian played back-to-back games on Nov. 29–30, winning both. The Trojans defeated Friday Harbor 83-50 in the first contest before beating Mount Vernon Christian, 55-34, the next day.
Local teams with one win include Sehome, Mount Baker, Nooksack Valley and Blaine. Ferndale and Squalicum are the only winless teams through the first week and a half of the season.
Girls basketball
Local girls basketball teams have each played two to four games, and Blaine, Lynden, Sehome and Nooksack Valley are all undefeated.
Blaine seems to be on a path to improve upon its 4-18 finish a season ago, and the Borderites most recently defeated Bellingham, 53-30, on Dec. 5.
Like Blaine, Sehome and Nooksack Valley are 2-0. Sehome’s most recent victory was a 47-38 win over in-city rival Squalicum, while NV beat Archbishop Murphy 63-56 on Friday, Dec. 1.
Lynden is the only local team that is 3-0, and it is currently leading the Northwest Conference.
Lynden beat King’s 49-33 on Nov. 30 before doubling up Oak Harbor in a 70-33 victory on Dec. 4 to earn their third win of the season. The Lions are coming off a 20-6 season a year ago where they reached the first round of the 2A state tournament.
A lot of other teams are in the mix. Mount Baker, which finished last season 5-15, is off to a 3-1 start. The Mountaineers beat Orcas Island 54-37 on Dec. 1, but fell to La Conner, 47-27, on Dec. 4.
Ferndale is 2-1 after winning its last two games, and the Golden Eagles most recently beat Lakewood, 65-56, on Dec. 5.
An encouraging note is that no winless teams remain in the county, as Squalicum, Meridian, Lynden Christian and Bellingham all have one victory.
Boys swim and dive
Four local teams competed in dual meets on Dec. 5, and at least three of them emerged with wins.
Squalicum, Sehome and Ferndale all earned season-opening wins, while the result of Lynden’s meet with Mount Vernon was unavailable prior to publication.
Sehome won by the largest margin, defeating Oak Harbor 116-52. The Mariners won nine of 11 possible events, propelling them to a big victory in their first meet of the year.
Squalicum defeated Anacortes in a dual meet, 95-87, for the first time in a decade. Dylan Fisk led the way for the Storm, posting a state-qualifying time in the 100-yard butterfly (52.63 seconds) and breaking the program record in the event.
Ferndale also earned a 94-57 victory over Sedro-Woolley to open its season.
WWU
Men’s basketball
Western men’s basketball played just one game last week, earning a 96-74 win over Simon Fraser on Saturday, Dec. 2 to open its conference schedule.
Five Vikings scored in double figures, led by junior guard Kai Johnson who poured in 20 points and added three rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Redshirt freshman guard Tijan Saine and junior guard Will Wilson each notched 17 points, while senior forward Jonathan Ned had 13 and senior forward Darius Gary finished with 10. Ned also had five steals — a career-high for the forward as a Viking.
Western (7-3, 1-0 GNAC) will host Langara College at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9 for its next game.
Women’s basketball
The Vikings’ women’s team also played Simon Fraser on Dec. 2, and Western emerged with a 64-57 victory at home.
Senior forward Brooke Walling finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and three steals — stuffing the stat sheet for the Vikings.
Junior forward Aspen Garrison had 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks, while sophomore guard Mason Oberg finished with 10 points, two assists and two steals.
Western (7-1, 1-0 GNAC) will travel to Dominican University of California at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14 for its next contest.
GNAC men’s basketball standings — Dec. 6
| Men’s basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Montana State Billings | 2-0 | 6-3 |
| Northwest Nazarene | 2-0 | 4-4 |
| Western Washington | 1-0 | 7-3 |
| Saint Martin’s | 1-1 | 9-1 |
| Central Washington | 1-1 | 5-3 |
| Seattle Pacific | 1-1 | 5-7 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 1-1 | 2-6 |
| Simon Fraser | 0-1 | 2-8 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 0-2 | 8-2 |
| Western Oregon | 0-2 | 3-5 |
GNAC women’s basketball standings — Dec. 6
| Women’s basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Montana State Billings | 2-0 | 8-2 |
| Central Washington | 2-0 | 8-3 |
| Seattle Pacific | 2-0 | 3-5 |
| Western Washington | 1-0 | 7-1 |
| Western Oregon | 1-1 | 4-5 |
| Northwest Nazarene | 1-1 | 4-5 |
| Simon Fraser | 0-1 | 7-5 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 0-2 | 2-5 |
| Saint Martin’s | 0-2 | 2-6 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 0-2 | 2-10 |
Boys basketball, Northwest Conference — Dec. 6
| Boys basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Mount Vernon | 1-0 | 4-0 |
| Lynden Christian | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| Bellingham | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| Lynden | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| Nooksack Valley | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| Lakewood | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| Sehome | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| Meridian | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| Burlington-Edison | 0-1 | 2-2 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| Blaine | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| Oak Harbor | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| Mount Baker | 0-1 | 1-3 |
| Squalicum | 0-1 | 0-2 |
| Ferndale | 0-1 | 0-2 |
| Anacortes | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Girls basketball, Northwest Conference — Dec. 6
| Girls basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Lynden | 1-0 | 4-0 |
| Anacortes | 1-0 | 3-0 |
| Blaine | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| Sehome | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| Ferndale | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| Burlington-Edison | 1-0 | 1-2 |
| Nooksack Valley | 0-0 | 3-0 |
| Mount Baker | 0-0 | 3-2 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| Mount Vernon | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Meridian | 0-1 | 1-1 |
| Lakewood | 0-1 | 1-1 |
| Squalicum | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| Lynden Christian | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| Bellingham | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| Oak Harbor | 0-1 | 0-2 |
