Seven prep basketball teams were eliminated as the postseason began, and 1A district champions have been crowned.
Western Washington University women’s basketball is back on a hot streak as the men’s team continues to fight for a playoff spot, and the Vikings’ softball team split a doubleheader.
Don’t miss these highlights from Whatcom County’s prep and college sports teams over the past week.
Prep
Boys basketball
Six teams remain alive in district brackets after Mount Baker, Meridian and Bellingham were eliminated in the first week of the postseason.
Top-seeded Lynden Christian was crowned 1A District 1 champions after defeating Blaine 65-40 on Feb. 11.
Ferndale finished its regular season 1-19 overall and 1-14 in Northwest Conference games, which did not earn the Golden Eagles a spot in the 3A District 1 tournament.
Mount Baker, the No. 5 seed in the 1A District 1 tournament, saw its season come to an end on Feb. 6 in the play-in round, falling 61-43 to No. 4 Nooksack Valley. The Mountaineers wrapped up the year 2-17 overall and 0-15 against NWC opponents in the regular season.
No. 2 Blaine knocked No. 3 Meridian into the consolation bracket on Feb. 8, and Nooksack Valley met the Trojans there after losing 83-38 to LC that same day.
NV eliminated Meridian on Feb. 11, knocking off the Trojans 52-32 in the consolation semifinal. Meridian finished its season 11-11 overall and was 6-9 in the regular season against NWC opponents.
Blaine and NV will compete for the final 1A bi-district crossover spot when the two teams meet at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 14 at Lynden High School.
Squalicum, the No. 7 seed in the 2A District 1 tournament, is still in the hunt for a regionals berth after getting through the play-in round but falling to Lynden 64-35 on Feb. 11. The Storm will host No. 6 Burlington-Edison at 6 p.m. on Feb. 14.
No. 3 Sehome beat Burlington-Edison 60-47 on Feb. 11, moving into a semifinal matchup with Lynden at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 at Mount Vernon High School. The winner of that game secures a regional berth, while the loser will have to win two more games.
No. 9 Bellingham was eliminated in the play-in round after a 56-41 loss to No. 8 Archbishop Murphy. The Bayhawks ended their season 7-14 overall and 5-10 in NWC games during the regular season.
Girls basketball
The landscape in the girls district brackets is quite similar to the boys.
Seven teams remain, with Bellingham, Mount Baker and Blaine being eliminated in the first week of districts.
Top-seeded Nooksack Valley won its first district championship since 2010 following a 1A District 1 title game win over No. 2 Lynden Christian on Feb. 11.
Blaine, the No. 5 seed in the 1A District 1 tournament, eliminated No. 4 Mount Baker with a 48-36 win over the Mountaineers on Feb. 6. Mount Baker concluded its season 4-15 overall and 2-13 versus NWC opponents in the regular season.
No. 3 Meridian beat Blaine 54-34 on Feb. 11, eliminating the Borderites in the consolation semifinal. They conclude their season 4-18 overall and 1-14 in league play.
Meridian and LC will meet in the 1A District 1 consolation final at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 at Lynden High School. That game will be a winner-to-bi-districts, loser-out contest.
Bellingham, the No. 8 seed in the 2A District 1 tournament, fell to No. 9 Cedarcrest in the play-in round, 42-29. The Bayhawks ended their season 5-16 overall and 3-12 in the regular season against NWC opponents.
No. 3 Sehome and No. 1 Lynden each won their first-round matchups, and both will have semifinal games at Mount Vernon High School on Monday, Feb. 13.
The Mariners will face No. 2 Burlington-Edison at 5:30 p.m. while the Lions are in the late window against No. 5 Archbishop Murphy at 7:15 p.m.
Wins there would clinch a regionals berth for both teams — as they would meet in the 2A District 1 championship — and a loss sends them to the consolation semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Those, as well as the consolation final, are loser-out games.
No. 6 Squalicum lost to Sehome on Feb. 10, and the Storm will have to get past No. 7 Lakewood in the first round of the consolation bracket to keep their regional hopes alive. That game will be at 7 p.m. on Feb. 13 at Squalicum High School.
Ferndale, the No. 7 seed in the 3A District 1 tournament, began the postseason with promise, defeating No. 10 Shorewood 33-23 on Feb. 8.
The Golden Eagles since lost 80-44 to No. 2 Stanwood on Feb. 10, and they will travel to No. 3 Everett at 7:15 p.m. on Feb. 14 in a loser-out consolation first-round game.
WWU
Women’s basketball
Western is on a six-game winning streak following a 73-61 road loss to MSU Billings on Jan. 21.
The Vikings were again on the road last week, first defeating Western Oregon 87-58 on Feb. 9. Senior forward Katrina Gimmaka scored a career-high 24 points in the win, also adding six rebounds, two assists and a block.
Sophomore guard Maddy Grandbois also came up big in the Feb. 9 win, pouring in 17 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Junior forward Brooke Walling stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, six assists and four rebounds.
Western then traveled to Saint Martin’s on Feb. 11, emerging with a 67-62 win. Walling posted a 17-point, 11-rebound effort while adding three blocks.
Sophomore guard Riley Dykstra also compiled 12 points, five assists and three rebounds, as senior guard Mollie Olson finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Vikings, now 20-2 overall and 14-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference games, are back home this week with a game against MSU Billings (21-4, 12-2 GNAC) at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 16, before hosting Seattle Pacific (12-10, 7-7 GNAC) at 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18.
Men’s basketball
Following a win over Alaska Fairbanks on Feb. 9, Western fell 89-79 to Alaska Anchorage at home on Feb. 11.
The Vikings had five players score in double-digits, led by sophomore guards Matthew Mayes and Kai Johnson.
Mayes tallied 15 points and six rebounds as Johnson posted 14 points, six assists and three rebounds.
Senior guard Daniel Hornbuckle (13 points), junior guard D’Angelo Minnis (12 points) and redshirt freshman forward BJ Kolly (10 points) rounded out Western’s notable scorers.
The Vikings (13-12, 6-9 NWC) will be on the road this week with three games remaining in the regular season, first at Northwest Nazarene (11-11, 8-6 NWC) at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 16, and then at in-state rival Central Washington (9-14, 5-9 NWC) at 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18.
Softball
Western split a doubleheader against the University of British Columbia on Feb. 11, turning in two performances that couldn’t have been more opposite of one another.
The Vikings lost the first game 5-1 and were limited to just five hits. Senior utility player Kinzey Williams scored Western’s lone run in the top of the fifth inning on a two-out single by sophomore utility player Kanilehua Pitoy.
It was a much different story in the second game as Western defeated UBC 8-2 behind three-run frames in both the second and sixth innings.
Western tripled its hits from the first game, recording 15, while junior starting pitcher Mareena Ramirez allowed just five. Sophomore infielder Lexi Barcomb led the Vikings offensively, going 4-for-4 with an RBI.
Freshman first baseman Isabella Bay finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a double, while freshman infielder Hailey Rath went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a double.
Next up for the Vikings — now 4-3 overall on the season — is a trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, for a six-game slate across three days in the 2023 Hawai’i Invitational from Feb. 18–20.
Western will play two games each against Hawaii Pacific, Hawaii Hilo and Chaminade.
