YAKIMA — Devin Coppinger converted four free throws in the final 20 seconds and Nooksack Valley girls basketball secured its second straight 1A state championship, 70-67, over Deer Park on Saturday, March 2 at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Coppinger, a University of Washington signee, led all scorers with 27 points and gave the top-seeded Pioneers the lead late after she was fouled, 68-67, with 16 seconds left.
Deer Park sent Coppinger back to the line for two more, and she made both. The scrambling, previously undefeated No. 2 Stags were unable to sink an equalizer in the closing seconds.
“Did you see my free throw percentage earlier this season? It was pretty crap,” Coppinger said laughing. “So I was like, ‘Alright, time to lock in.’ Man, I don’t even know, that was a crazy game.”
NV, coming off its first-ever title last season, erased multiple double-digit deficits throughout via key 3-pointers from senior guard Kaylee Anderson, who finished the game with 18 points — all on triples.
Perhaps Anderson’s biggest pair of moments came when NV trailed 58-54 with around four minutes left in the game. Anderson hit one 3-pointer to trim the Pioneers’ deficit to one, and after a Deer Park bucket on the other end, the 5-foot-8 sharpshooter drilled another to tie the game 60-60.
“She came ready to shoot tonight, and there’s nothing like it,” senior combo guard Lainey Kimball said of Anderson. “That girl catches fire, there’s no stopping her. She’s feeling it, bye, go home.”
Kimball, who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, gave NV its first lead since the first quarter, 63-62, with 1:32 remaining. An ensuing back-and-forth led to Coppinger’s free throws, and the Husky-to-be iced it.
“They were not holding back,” Kimball said. “They came ready to give us a fight and they did that. So much respect for those girls. They’re studs, they can shoot, they can run, they can gun. And they gave us a run for our money.”
By multiple accounts, the second championship is even sweeter than the first. NV has been in each of the last three 1A title games, losing to Lynden Christian in 2022 before beating their in-county rivals last season.
Coppinger said the differences were small but loud. After the Pioneers’ title game loss two years ago, they were put back in the same locker room at the SunDome last season. It was a slight nudge of redemption.
This season, however, the slate felt clean.
“We had a new locker room [this year]. It’s a new team. It’s a new start. This is a different beginning, different story, different team,” Coppinger added. “So I say it’s twice as sweet just to do it again and prove ourselves as seniors. That’s the way to go out.”
NV head coach Shane Wichers, now in his 28th season with the team, made 12 trips to the state tournament with the Pioneers before winning a championship. He has now won two in a row.
“It’s surreal. You play the season with these goals, these lofty goals and you’re trying to [reach] each tick mark — getting one step closer,” Wichers said. Then you get here, here we go, and then you play that game. Right now … it hasn’t probably sunken in fully how big of a deal it is.”
Even though it worked out in the end, it was far from an easy task for NV, which many thought would run away with this year’s championship.
NV appeared shocked in the first half. It’s unlikely any team the Pioneers had played the last three seasons was able to splash nine first-half 3-pointers while shooting 56% from the field.
Deer Park led 23-14 after one quarter and it built up a largest lead of 11 late in the second period.
Anderson was the Pioneers’ only hot hand from beyond the arc in the first half — drilling three of them. Anderson, Coppinger and Kimball kept NV in the game with their combined 30 first-half points.
The Stags still went to the break with a 39-34 lead led by 15 points from junior guard Brooklyn Coe and 13 from freshman guard Ashlan Bryant.
Deer Park, again, led by as much as nine in the third quarter. It wasn’t until NV embarked on a 7-0 run to close out the third that the game began to feel within the Pioneers’ grasp.
“They’re a really tough team,” Coppinger said. They’re going to be really good next season.”
Bryant finished with 20 points for the Stags (6-of-11 on 3-pointers) and Coe tallied 17 (5-of-8 on 3-pointers). Sophomore guard Emma Bryant added 13 points.
NV finished its season 26-1, and it still has not lost to a team in Washington since Dec. 27, 2022 (64-62 loss to Class 4A Tahoma). That’s a 47-game win streak for the Pioneers that will carry over into next season.
The Pioneers will lose four seniors to graduation: Tana Hoekema, Kimball, Coppinger and Anderson.
“There’s just this great love in our program. I mean, everyone gets along. It’s a testament to those [seniors] and their leadership,” Wichers said. “They’ve left an incredible legacy.”
Connor J. Benintendi is CDN’s sports editor; reach him at connorbenintendi@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
