The race for Northwest Conference basketball championships has begun with only three days remaining in the regular season, and it’s going to be a close one.
On the college side, Western Washington University men’s basketball dropped a pair of games in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, while the women’s team picked up a big win. The Vikings’ track and field team also posted new program records.
Here’s an overview of what you may have missed from the last week of winter sports.
Prep
Boys basketball
It’s going to be a close finish for top teams chasing the NWC title.
Lynden (16-3, 13-0 NWC), Lynden Christian (19-1, 13-1 NWC) and Mount Vernon (16-2, 12-1 NWC) are all within one game of each other as the league’s top three teams. Better yet, Lynden has to face both LC and Mount Vernon in its final two games of the season to decide the victor.
Mount Vernon visits Lynden at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1 before the Lions face LC at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3. If Lynden beats Mount Vernon, the Lions-Lyncs matchup will be for the league title on the regular season’s final day.
Lynden has crammed three games since Jan. 27, beating Sehome, Burlington-Edison and Ferndale.
In the most recent game, senior guard Anthony Canales led the Lions to a 61-52 win over the Golden Eagles, as he finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. Junior forward Brant Heppner also tallied 11 points and nine rebounds. Lynden’s win streak is now at nine games.
LC has won six in a row, most recently beating Squalicum, 70-41, on Jan. 30. The Lyncs have recovered from their first loss of the season on Jan. 13 when they fell to Anacortes.
Bellingham (11-8, 9-5 NWC) lost to Meridian on Jan. 24 before beating Mount Baker, 63-49, on Jan. 26. The Bayhawks remain in fifth place in the NWC standings with their solid league record.
Squalicum (9-10, 7-7 NWC) beat Oak Harbor, 71-50, on Jan. 23 and the Storm went on to edge Lakewood 47-46 on Jan. 25. The back-to-back wins have the Storm in seventh place in the league standings ahead of the postseason.
After winning three in a row, Nooksack Valley (11-9, 7-7 NWC) has lost three in a row. The Pioneers fell to King’s, 70-58, in a non-league game on Jan. 26 before falling to Anacortes 76-50 on Wednesday, Jan. 31. Despite the skid, NV is in position to be the 1A District 1 tournament’s second seed.
Girls basketball
League-leading Nooksack Valley (19-1, 15-0 NWC) has locked up its third consecutive NWC title after defeating Anacortes, 83-36, on Jan. 31.
Lynden (18-1, 12-1 NWC) is a close second, but the Lions’ only league loss was to the Pioneers on Dec. 19, 2023. Thus, NV owns any potential tiebreaker over Lynden.
NV’s win streak overall is now at 10 games following a 74-24 win over Mount Vernon on Jan. 25, and the Pioneers haven’t lost to a team in Washington since Dec. 27, 2022 (40 games).
Lynden beat Burlington-Edison 62-39 on Jan. 29 before crushing Ferndale, 70-20, the next day. The Lions are averaging a league-high 42.5-point margin of victory in league games this season.
Lynden Christian (15-5, 12-2 NWC) has continued to storm back with a healthy Grace Hintz, winning each of its last seven games. The Lyncs beat Sehome 68-34 on Jan. 29 and went on to steamroll Squalicum, 63-28, on Jan. 31. LC joins NV as the shoo-in candidates to make state out of 1A District 1.
Sehome (11-5, 10-4 NWC) and Squalicum (13-6, 8-5 NWC) are in a curious position, especially in relation to district seeding. The Mariners are in fifth place in the league, but will likely be the third seed in the 2A District 1 tournament with only two berths to give. The Storm are in seventh, and will likely be the fourth seed.
Squalicum has won 12 of its last 13 games, getting hot at precisely the right time. Its last game was a 63-32 win over Lakewood on Jan. 25. Sehome snapped a three-game skid with a 58-26 win over Blaine on Jan. 30 after going through a tough late-season gauntlet.
Ferndale (9-9, 8-5 NWC), which has lost back-to-back games, will be interesting to watch as it enters the 3A District 1 tournament. Its most recent game was the Jan. 30 loss to Lynden.
WWU
Track and field
Juniors Kevin McDermott and Sophie Wright each broke Western indoor school records in the mile run during the UW Invitational Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Dempsey Indoor athletics facility on the University of Washington campus.
McDermott, who placed 18th overall out of 322 runners, set the men’s mile record with a time of 4:02.13, breaking Mac Franks’ previous record of 4:02.28 set in 2022. It was McDermott’s second indoor program record of the meet, as he also broke the 5,000-meter run record one day earlier on Jan. 26 with his time of 13:50.77.
Franks, running unaffiliated with any program, also competed at the meet and finished ninth in the mile with a time of 3:57.70.
Wright broke teammate Ila Davis’ mile record, set last season, with her time of 4:53.96. Davis’ previous record was 4:53.51.
Western’s next meet will be the UW Classic on Feb. 9–10, also at the Dempsey Indoor facility. That will be the Vikings’ final meet before the GNAC Indoor Championships on Feb. 19–20 at The Podium in Spokane.
Men’s basketball
Western’s recent struggles continued last week, dropping both of its games on Jan. 25 and 27.
The Vikings lost to Central Washington, 97-75, on Jan. 25 before losing to Northwest Nazarene 75-72 on Jan. 27, marking Western’s fifth loss in its last seven games.
In the most recent loss, junior guard Kai Johnson led Western with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Redshirt freshman guard Tijan Saine added 20 points, three rebounds and three steals.
Western (12-8, 4-5 GNAC) erased an eight-point deficit at 65-57 with 1:26 remaining in the game, bringing the game within one point with five seconds remaining. The Vikings were forced to foul and couldn’t get a last-second bucket to go.
The recent skid has dropped the Vikings down to sixth place in the GNAC standings heading into another road game at second-place Saint Martin’s (17-2, 7-2 GNAC) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1.
GNAC men’s basketball standings — Jan. 31
GNAC women’s basketball standings — Jan. 31
| Men’s | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Montana State Billings | 8-1 | 14-5 |
| Saint Martin’s | 7-2 | 17-2 |
| Central Washington | 6-3 | 13-5 |
| Northwest Nazarene | 6-3 | 10-7 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 5-4 | 15-5 |
| Western Washington | 4-5 | 12-8 |
| Seattle Pacific | 4-5 | 11-11 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 2-7 | 4-13 |
| Western Oregon | 2-7 | 5-12 |
| Simon Fraser | 1-8 | 3-17 |
| Women’s | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Western Washington | 8-1 | 16-3 |
| Montana State Billings | 8-1 | 17-4 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 6-3 | 12-6 |
| Central Washington | 5-4 | 14-7 |
| Northwest Nazarene | 5-4 | 8-8 |
| Simon Fraser | 3-6 | 11-11 |
| Western Oregon | 3-6 | 10-10 |
| Seattle Pacific | 3-6 | 6-13 |
| Saint Martin’s | 2-7 | 4-12 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 0-7 | 4-15 |
Boys basketball, Northwest Conference — Jan. 31
| Boys | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Lynden | 13-0 | 16-3 |
| Lynden Christian | 13-1 | 19-1 |
| Mount Vernon | 12-1 | 16-2 |
| Anacortes | 10-3 | 14-4 |
| Bellingham | 9-5 | 11-8 |
| Lakewood | 8-6 | 11-8 |
| Nooksack Valley | 7-7 | 11-9 |
| Squalicum | 7-7 | 9-10 |
| Sedro- Woolley | 6-8 | 9-10 |
| Sehome | 6-8 | 9-10 |
| Ferndale | 5-8 | 6-12 |
| Meridian | 5-9 | 10-10 |
| Burlington- Edison | 5-9 | 10-11 |
| Blaine | 2-12 | 4-15 |
| Mount Baker | 1-13 | 3-16 |
| Oak Harbor | 1-13 | 3-16 |
Girls basketball, Northwest Conference — Jan. 31
| Girls | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Nooksack Valley | 14-0 | 20-1 |
| Lynden | 12-1 | 18-1 |
| Burlington- Edison | 12-2 | 15-4 |
| Lynden Christian | 12-2 | 15-5 |
| Sehome | 10-4 | 11-5 |
| Oak Harbor | 9-5 | 12-7 |
| Ferndale | 8-5 | 9-9 |
| Squalicum | 8-6 | 13-7 |
| Anacortes | 5-8 | 9-9 |
| Blaine | 5-9 | 9-10 |
| Lakewood | 5-9 | 7-9 |
| Sedro- Woolley | 4-10 | 8-10 |
| Mount Vernon | 3-10 | 6-11 |
| Meridian | 2-12 | 5-14 |
| Bellingham | 1-13 | 3-15 |
| Mount Baker | 0-14 | 3-16 |
Connor J. Benintendi is CDN’s sports editor; reach him at connorbenintendi@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
