The boys and girls Northwest Conference basketball standings are continuing to become more top-heavy, while girls wrestling teams got in some pre-holiday matches at big tournaments.
Western Washington University basketball teams wrapped up their non-league schedules, and got multiple big wins before winter break.
Here’s an overview of what you may have missed from the last week of winter sports.
Prep
Boys basketball
The top of the NWC boys basketball standings is crowded.
Lynden (6-2, 5-0 NWC) leads the league, while Lynden Christian (7-0, 4-0 NWC), Bellingham (5-1, 4-1 NWC) and Mount Vernon (7-1, 4-1 NWC) are close behind.
The Lions have two good losses — to Class 4A Jackson and 3A Mountlake Terrace — but remain undefeated in the conference, most recently beating Nooksack Valley (5-2, 3-2 NWC), 67-28, on Tuesday, Dec. 19.
What was thought to be a potentially close matchup ended up being a testament to Lynden’s strength this season.
LC is undefeated overall, even without their best player, Jeremiah Wright. The Lyncs downed Class 4A Kentridge, 69-41, on Saturday, Dec. 16 for their most recent victory.
Bellingham put up a fight against LC on Friday, Dec. 15, losing 58-47 to the Lyncs. The Bayhawks bounced back to beat Sehome (4-3, 3-2 NWC), 57-52, on Monday, Dec. 18. Bellingham has come on strong in the early season, quickly putting itself onto the list of league title contenders.
Just below the powerhouses are Sehome, Nooksack Valley, Squalicum (2-4, 2-3 NWC) and Ferndale (2-5, 2-3 NWC).
Before dropping the game against Lynden, NV defeated Lakewood 64-59 on Dec. 16 — its third straight victory. Sehome has been up and down, but the loss to Bellingham did expose some of its weaknesses.
Ferndale’s most recent win was a 59-46 victory over Mount Baker on Monday, Dec. 18, but the Golden Eagles dropped its next game to Sedro-Woolley, 69-65, on Dec. 19.
Squalicum, which has no seniors on its roster, pulled off a narrow victory over Blaine, 69-67, on Friday, Dec. 15 before falling to Burlington-Edison, 53-39, on Dec. 18.
The league has shaken out relatively expectedly thus far, with Bellingham remaining the biggest surprise thus far.
Girls basketball
Seven teams in the NWC’s girls basketball standings have at least three league wins and one or less loss.
Nooksack Valley (7-0, 5-0 NWC), Burlington-Edison (5-2, 5-0 NWC) and Ferndale (6-2, 4-0 NWC) are yet to suffer league losses. Lynden (7-1, 4-1 NWC) was a part of that club until losing to NV on Tuesday, Dec. 19.
The Pioneers have outscored conference opponents by an average of 48.6 points through five games, asserting the dominance of reigning 1A state champions on a quest to repeat.
Ferndale’s rise has been quick and impressive. The Golden Eagles’ two losses were both to Class 4A opponents — Lake Stevens and Jackson — and they are on a two-game win streak since losing to the former on Tuesday, Dec. 12. Their most recent win was a 63-46 victory over Sedro-Woolley on Dec. 19.
Lynden was rolling before its loss to NV, but the Lions remain in fourth place in the league hierarchy. Second only to the Pioneers, Lynden has beaten NWC teams by an average of 32.4 points per game through five games.
Sehome (5-1, 4-1 NWC) is a close fifth, while Lynden Christian (4-3, 3-1 NWC) sits in sixth.
The fifth-place Mariners dropped a big game against Burlington-Edison, 58-37, on Dec. 14 before bouncing back and beating Bellingham, 63-24, on Dec. 18.
LC had won three straight games before falling to Class 4A Tahoma, 44-34, on Dec. 16. The Lyncs have stayed in the title race even with their best player, Grace Hintz, out for the season.
Meridian, Squalicum, Mount Baker and Bellingham have yet to secure a victory in league play so far this season.
Girls wrestling
Mount Baker and Blaine girls wrestling attended the 27-team WIAA Santa Slam Girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Dec. 16 at Juanita High School, and each team finished within the top 12.
Blaine finished eighth, led by second-place finishes from Makenna Lausier (100 pounds), Lucyanna Dahl (155 pounds) and Analicea Ordonez (170 pounds). Claire Hume also finished eighth in the 130-pound weight class while Cheyenne Rose took eighth at 140 pounds.
Mount Baker, which took 11th, got third-place finishes from Lauren Valum (130 pounds) and Tyla Olson (140 pounds). Karalyn Cook (sixth, 115 pounds), Sadie Schenck (eighth, 125 pounds) and Sophia Moa (sixth, 135 pounds) also turned in nice performances for the Mountaineers.
WWU
Women’s basketball
Western won two of three games on a road trip to California Dec. 14–18, and the Vikings now head into the winter break with a 9-2 record (1-0 GNAC).
The Vikings dropped the first game before winning the final two. In the most recent contest, a 77-59 win over Cal State San Bernardino, junior guard Olivia Wikstrom notched a team-high 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Senior post Brooke Walling had 10 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals — stuffing the stat sheet as she often does.
Two other Vikings (Mason Oberg and Stephanie Peterson) added 10 points.
Western is off on winter break until Thursday, Jan. 4 when it travels to Alaska Anchorage at 8 p.m. PST.
Men’s basketball
The Vikings wrapped up their non-league schedule on Sunday, Dec. 17 with a 119-105 win over George Fox — a top-end NCAA Division III school.
Five Western players scored at least 10 points, led by junior guard Kai Johnson’s career-high 36, and three notched 25 or more. Johnson bolstered his night with an additional six rebounds and six assists.
Junior guard Will Wilson finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, while senior forward Jonathan Ned tallied 25 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Junior forward Nic Welp also had a double-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.
Western’s next game will be at home versus Western Oregon at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 4.
GNAC men’s basketball standings — Dec. 20
| Men’s basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Montana State Billings | 2-0 | 8-4 |
| Northwest Nazarene | 2-0 | 5-4 |
| Western Washington | 1-0 | 9-3 |
| Saint Martin’s | 1-1 | 11-1 |
| Central Washington | 1-1 | 8-3 |
| Seattle Pacific | 1-1 | 8-7 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 1-1 | 3-7 |
| Simon Fraser | 0-1 | 2-10 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 0-2 | 10-3 |
| Western Oregon | 0-2 | 3-7 |
GNAC women’s basketball standings — Dec. 20
| Women’s basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Montana State Billings | 2-0 | 11-3 |
| Central Washington | 2-0 | 10-3 |
| Seattle Pacific | 2-0 | 4-7 |
| Western Washington | 1-0 | 9-2 |
| Western Oregon | 1-1 | 6-5 |
| Northwest Nazarene | 1-1 | 4-5 |
| Simon Fraser | 0-1 | 8-6 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 0-2 | 6-5 |
| Saint Martin’s | 0-2 | 2-7 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 0-2 | 2-10 |
Boys basketball, Northwest Conference — Dec. 20
| Boys basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Lynden Christian | 5-0 | 8-0 |
| Lynden | 5-0 | 6-2 |
| Mount Vernon | 4-1 | 7-2 |
| Bellingham | 4-1 | 5-2 |
| Anacortes | 3-1 | 4-1 |
| Nooksack Valley | 3-2 | 5-2 |
| Sehome | 3-2 | 4-3 |
| Lakewood | 2-3 | 3-4 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 2-3 | 3-4 |
| Squalicum | 2-3 | 2-4 |
| Ferndale | 2-3 | 2-6 |
| Mount Baker | 2-3 | 3-6 |
| Meridian | 1-3 | 3-3 |
| Burlington-Edison | 1-4 | 4-5 |
| Blaine | 1-4 | 2-5 |
| Oak Harbor | 0-5 | 2-6 |
Girls basketball, Northwest Conference — Dec. 20
| Girls basketball | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Nooksack Valley | 5-0 | 7-0 |
| Burlington-Edison | 5-0 | 5-2 |
| Ferndale | 4-0 | 6-2 |
| Lynden | 4-1 | 7-1 |
| Sehome | 4-1 | 5-2 |
| Anacortes | 3-2 | 5-3 |
| Lynden Christian | 3-2 | 4-4 |
| Oak Harbor | 3-2 | 3-4 |
| Blaine | 2-2 | 4-2 |
| Lakewood | 2-3 | 4-3 |
| Sedro-Woolley | 1-4 | 4-4 |
| Mount Baker | 0-3 | 3-6 |
| Squalicum | 0-4 | 2-5 |
| Mount Vernon | 0-4 | 1-4 |
| Meridian | 0-4 | 1-4 |
| Bellingham | 0-5 | 2-6 |
Standings were updated at 11:37 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 21 to reflect the outcomes of Wednesday’s games.
