LYNDEN — Lynden advanced to the championship game in the annual Lynden Christmas Classic girls basketball tournament while Lynden Christian lost its semifinal on Friday, Dec. 29 at Lynden Christian High School.
Each team cruised to semifinal berths, but an early-season taste of one of the county’s most heated rivalries was not to be. Instead, the two teams will meet for their regularly scheduled regular-season-ender on Saturday, Feb. 3.
Lynden steamrolled Prosser, but LC fell to Class 3A Snohomish in the penultimate round.
Semifinals: Lynden 64, Prosser 35
Lynden prevailed in a battle of two of the state’s premier Class 2A teams, crushing previously unbeaten Prosser 64-35 to advance to the tournament championship.
The Lions (10-1, 5-1 Northwest Conference) proved they are not to be underestimated by nearly doubling up the Mustangs (10-1, 3-0 Central Washington Athletic Conference).
“As far as the environment, it didn’t seem too big for us, even though the opponent was really good,” Lynden head coach Rob Adams said. “We’ve tightened up a little bit about expectations and standards. The culture each week seems to be getting better.”
Lynden was led by 21 points from senior Haylee Koetje and 15 from sophomore Payton Mills. Adams said he forecasted Koetje might have a big night, and the senior veteran came through.
“Since I’ve taken this job, the knock on [Koetje] is she always seems to disappear on the big nights,” Adams said. “I challenged her getting ready for tonight about, ‘Hey, you know, depending on how they guard us, you’re going to not have one of their top defenders guarding you.”
The first half was anything but competitive. Lynden raced out to a 13-2 lead in the first quarter, as the Lions’ defense stymied a Prosser offense that entered the game averaging 74.2 points per game.
Mills, a 6-foot-2 post, powered Lynden’s offense with her eight first-quarter points and 13 total in the half.
Lynden led 17-5 after the first quarter before allowing a 4-0 run to Prosser to begin the second. The Lions scored 13 of the half’s final 18 points to secure a 30-10 advantage after two quarters.
Prosser’s offense began to find its legs in the third quarter, but it was already too late. Koetje came alive for the Lions in the third, scoring nine of her 21 total points and helping Lynden to a 51-24 advantage heading into the fourth.
The Lions cruised to the win from there, capping off a statement win over one of the state’s best 2A programs.
Adams said one of the team’s goals — reinstated this season with Adams’ return to the head coaching role — is to keep the opponent below 39 points.
“Defense always travels,” Adams said. “When you get to the postseason, there’s going to be teams that take away your best players and there’s going to be some nights that maybe you don’t shoot well.”
Freshman guard Herbie Wright led Prosser with 15 points, while sophomore forward Deidra Phillips tallied 11. Only four players scored for the Mustangs.
Lynden senior guard Mallary Villars added 10 points on a trio of 3-pointers, and freshman guard Finley Parcher matched that output. The only other Lion to score was junior forward Kiki York, who finished with eight.
The Lions will face Snohomish (6-3, 3-2 3A Wesco) in the Lynden Christmas Classic championship at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 30.
“Snohomish is a really good team, and Ken Roberts does an amazing job,” Adams said. “This next game should be a pretty good one.”
Semifinals: Snohomish 52, Lynden Christian 38
Lynden Christian fought hard but couldn’t keep up with a talented Snohomish squad, falling 52-38 in the tournament semifinals.
Snohomish junior forward Tyler Gildersleeve-Stiles notched a game-high 16 points, including 12 in the first half, and the Panthers (6-3, 3-2 3A Wesco) prevented the Lyncs from meeting in-city rival Lynden in the championship.
LC head coach Brady Bomber said the game was another step on a long season journey that is going to have its ups and downs.
After appearing in each of the last five 1A state championships, LC (6-4, 4-1 NWC) has just one senior (Tabby DeJong) and is without its best player (Grace Hintz) for the season.
“We’re really trying to build habits and continue to improve,” Bomber added. “There’s still a standard of excellence that we want our girls to be trying to pursue — being the best version of themselves regardless of what the outcome is. I see us improving.”
Sophomore guard Ella Fritts and junior forward Allison Shumate did, however, shine for the Lyncs, each scoring 11 points on the night. DeJong, the team’s leader, added six.
“Tabby’s a presence for us when we’re off the court and the way she conducts herself,” Bomber said. “She has high character. She has respect for her teammates.”
The first quarter was as close as it gets. The lead changed hands three times and LC emerged with a narrow 11-10 lead at the end of the one period.
Then Snohomish found its groove. The Panthers outscored the Lyncs 15-4 in the second quarter, led by Gildersleeve-Stiles and sophomore guard Kendall Hammer, who finished with nine points.
“We wanted to make things hard, and [Gildersleeve-Stiles] made some tough shots,” Bomber said. “[DeJong] and [Shumate], I thought, were in the same position a lot of the time … and she made some shots over them that were contested … other times you tip your cap to a really good player that made some plays.”
Snohomish led 36-27 at the end of the third quarter — trimming a point off the Panthers’ lead. LC was unable to string together effective possessions in the fourth quarter, and the Lyncs paid the price of a 14-point loss, their largest of the season thus far.
Junior Danya Dykstra, along with DeJong, scored six points for LC. Snohomish junior guard Cora Larson added nine points for the Panthers, all on 3-pointers. Sophomore guard Sienna Capelli totaled seven points.
Next up for LC is a third-place matchup against Prosser (10-1, 3-0 CWAC) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 30.
