YAKIMA — Then there were five.
The Sehome boys and Lynden girls were eliminated Wednesday in the opening round of the 2A state tournaments at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Both top-six seeds in their respective tournaments, No. 5 Sehome and No. 2 Lynden each lost to teams eight ranks lower than them in the bracket.
They were also the only two Whatcom County teams to face single elimination Wednesday of the seven total squads that made the trip to Yakima.
All county teams except the Blaine boys now have their quarterfinal matchups set for Thursday, March 2.
- 1A girls state tournament: No. 1 Nooksack Valley (24-1) vs. No. 7 Cashmere (16-5), 10:30 a.m.
- 2A boys state tournament: No. 6 Lynden (21-4) vs. No. 13 North Kitsap (19-7), 12:15 p.m.
- 1A girls state tournament: No. 2 Lynden Christian (23-3) vs. No. 9 Freeman (20-5), 2 p.m.
- 1A boys state tournament: No. 1 Lynden Christian (23-2) vs. No. 2 Zillah (23-2), 5:30 p.m.
- 1A boys state tournament: No. 7 Blaine (17-7) vs. No. 8 Overlake (16-8)/No. 16 Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls (14-10), 9 p.m.
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Lynden stunned by Othello to open state (8:40 p.m.)
YAKIMA — Anything can happen at the state tournament, including No. 2-seeded Lynden being eliminated in the round of 12 for the second-straight year.
The Lions lost their opening-round contest 33-31 to No. 10 Othello Wednesday night at the Yakima Valley SunDome, and Lynden has now failed to place at state in consecutive years for the first time since the team’s decade-long tournament appearance drought of 1996–2006.
Lynden had its chances, but the basket had a lid on it all night.
Othello finished the game 12 for 51 from the floor (23.5%) and 4 for 20 from beyond the 3-point line. Lynden was slightly more efficient, finishing 13-for-41 shooting and 3 for 13 from 3-point range. The Lions shot 5 for 23 in the second half.
“We were so proud of the work that they’ve put in to get to this point, prep for this game,” Lynden coach Vic Wolffis said. “We know how hard they worked and how much they wanted it, and it’s kind of like [regionals], we didn’t put the ball in the hole well enough to win.”
Lynden won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Othello 41-29, but committed 18 turnovers to the Huskies’ six. The Lions were sound defensively — as expected in a game where a combined 64 points were scored — but the offensive struggles sang louder.
“We played well enough defensively to win that game,” Wolffis said. “We just, on the other side, could not put enough of them in the hole.”
Lynden led 7-1 early in the first quarter, but the Lions went ice cold from the field for nearly seven minutes — spanning the end of the opening period and into the second — and opened the door for Othello to take control.
The Huskies built up a 15-9 lead midway through the second quarter, but the Lions rallied to trail 22-20 at halftime. Lynden was hampered by a mountainous pile of first-half turnovers, totaling 12 in the first 16 minutes.
Growing cold once again, Lynden generated just one point in the first five minutes of the second half, and Othello narrowly won the third quarter 7-5.
Lynden trailed 31-29 with 2:06 remaining in the game, as the Lions searched for a spark. Forcing Othello misses, Lynden took a timeout while possessing the ball with 48.7 seconds left on the clock.
The Lions missed a layup, giving the Huskies the ball back with 29.6 seconds remaining, and they were forced to intentionally foul.
Othello hit one free throw, keeping Lynden alive.
Lynden freshman post Payton Mills, who scored the Lions’ last 10 points of the game after being held scoreless in the first half, sank a floater to cut it back to one with 7.8 seconds left.
Huskies senior guard Annalee Coronado then converted two free throws, and Lynden threw up a prayer at the buzzer that missed.
Coronado stuffed the stat sheet for Othello, finishing with 15 points (5-for-27 shooting, 3 for 14 from deep), five rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks.
“[Coronado] buried three really long 3s. That’s nine points — that’s a whole lot more than they won by,” Wolffis said. “We just couldn’t bury those kinds of shots. We just couldn’t get it ourselves, and that was the difference.”
Mills led Lynden with 10 points (5-for-12 shooting) and seven rebounds, while junior forward Haylee Koetje tallied six points and 13 rebounds. Junior guards Mallary Villars and Kalanie Newcomb each finished with seven points for Lynden.
Lynden capped off its season with a 20-6 overall record. The Lions will lose three seniors to graduation before next season in Adia Newcomb, Chloe Wittenberg and Gabriella Selcho.
Othello moved to 18-9 overall, advancing to the 2A state quarterfinals against top-seeded Ellensburg.
Final: Othello girls 33, Lynden 31 (6:55 p.m.)
Lynden gets forced into a final prayer shot that misses. The Lions don’t place at state in consecutive years for the first time since 2005–06.
End of third quarter: Othello girls 29, Lynden 25 (6:35 p.m.)
Neither team has been good offensively, so this one may come down to who can secure rebounds/second-chance points.
Halftime: Othello girls 22, Lynden 20 (6:09 p.m.)
Lynden finally got its swagger back, rallying from down six to trail by two at halftime. Lynden went 8 for 18 shooting from the field, including, 3 for 8 from long range. The Lions also committed 12 turnovers.
End of first quarter: Othello girls 8, Lynden 7 (5:55 p.m.)
Othello took advantage as the Lions went at least four minutes at the end of the period without a single point.
North Kitsap shocks Sehome in opening round of state (3:10 p.m.)
YAKIMA — The Mariners’ golden season ended short of the 2A state quarterfinals.
Fifth-seeded Sehome was eliminated by No. 13 North Kitsap, 58-55, in a round-of-12 nail-biter at the Yakima Valley SunDome Wednesday afternoon.
Nine of the Mariners’ 12 players are seniors, and six are among Sehome’s largest contributors.
“It’s hard,” Sehome coach Brad Jackson said. “It’s unfortunate because we had a good run going.”
The would-be dagger came with 30 seconds remaining in the game, as the Vikings had three chances to put the ball in the hoop and break a 55-55 tie. Sehome missed a 3-pointer on its next possession, intentionally fouling with 7.6 seconds left in the game.
North Kitsap, which had 18 second-chance points and as many points off turnovers, held on from there, as the Mariners only got one prayer attempt at the final buzzer.
“First half, we shot the ball really well,” Jackson said. “But you give up offensive rebounds, especially at key times, which we did — and foul — we’re not going to beat a good team. That’s the bottom line.”
Jackson told the team they should be proud of what they accomplished despite not reaching their goal. It’s clear, however, this was a disappointing finish for the group of seniors.
“They weren’t going to understand that,” Jackson said.
Senior center Grey Garrison led the Mariners offensively with 12 points and four rebounds, while senior guard Grant Kepley tallied 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Fellow senior guard Mat Storms tallied 10 points, four rebounds and three assists.
North Kitsap was led by Harry Davies’ 25 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Cade Orness tallied 21 points, four rebounds and two steals.
An 8-0 run to close out the first quarter gave Sehome a four-point lead after eight minutes. Early foul trouble for the Mariners allowed North Kitsap to hang around, and the Vikings eventually took a 29-28 lead at halftime.
Davies scored the first six points of the second half on back-to-back 3-pointers, exploding for 13 points in the period.
Sehome managed to shrink what was once an eight-point Vikings lead to just two by the end of the third quarter.
Kepley tied the game at 51-51 with about 3:36 remaining in the game, and Garrison swatted a Vikings 3-point attempt at the top of the arc on North Kitsap’s next possession.
With under two minutes remaining, Storms reclaimed a Sehome lead with two free throws, but the Vikings soon matched with two on the other end.
Sehome missed its next shot, and North Kitsap wound up taking the lead for good.
The Mariners finished their season 18-6 overall, graduating all but three of their current players with the campaign now closed. Garrison, Kepley, Storms, Isaac Lawrence, Dane Dominguez, Eli Daheim, Nate Eisses, Tommy Funk and Kai Swanson all played their final games in a Sehome uniform.
“It’s a privilege to be able to coach and to work with kids,” Jackson said. “I was really proud of them and what they’ve done. They’ve been fun to be with. Yeah, we would’ve liked to have done better, but you do what you can do and that’s all you can do.”
North Kitsap advanced to the 2A state quarterfinals and will face No. 6 Lynden at 12:15 p.m., Thursday, March 2.
Final: North Kitsap boys 58, Sehome 55 (1:37 p.m.)
The Mariners’ season comes to an end in the round of 12. Sehome statistical leaders: Grey Garrison: 12 points, four rebounds; Grant Kepley: 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals; Mat Storms: 10 points, four rebounds, three assists.
End of third quarter: North Kitsap boys 44, Sehome 42 (1:16 p.m.)
The Mariners closed the gap a bit towards the end of the third quarter. Sehome trailed by as much as eight in the period.
Halftime: North Kitsap boys 29, Sehome 28 (12:50 p.m.)
Neither team has really gained an edge so far in this one, each trading buckets on various runs.
End of first quarter: Sehome boys 16, North Kitsap 12 (12:32 p.m.)
The Mariners close out the first quarter on an 8-0 run.
