Lynden boys and girls, Lynden Christian boys and girls, and Nooksack Valley girls all won their regional matchups Saturday, March 1 at Mount Vernon High and will be heading to the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Lummi boys and girls, along with Meridian boys, all advanced to their respective state tournaments after their regional games Friday, Feb. 28.
Nooksack Valley girls
No. 9 Nooksack defeated No. 16 Hoquiam 64-42 in the regional round Saturday. The Pioneers’ offense started hot in the first quarter with five 3-pointers to take a 20-8 lead. Hoquiam immediately responded in the second quarter, breaking through Nooksack Valley’s zone defense to cut the Pioneers’ lead to 30-27 at halftime.
Hoquiam had an opportunity to tie the game at halftime, but Grace DeHoog picked up one of her two blocks in the first half as the buzzer went off. Nooksack’s offense found some rhythm in the third quarter to take another double-digit lead. The Pioneers held firm to win the game in the fourth quarter.
Nooksack Valley will face No. 8 Naches Valley in a loser-out, Round-of-12 game at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 5 at the SunDome.
Lynden Christian girls
No. 1 Lynden Christian survived an upset from No. 8 Naches Valley, defeating the Rangers 57-54 in the regional round.
Naches Valley begins the game with a full court press that forced two turnovers and gave them a 6-2 lead. Naches Valley finished the first quarter with a 24-13 lead.
The Rangers survived an 8-0 run from Lynden Christian in the second quarter and held a 35-25 at halftime.
Naches Valley continued to extend its lead to 49-36 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, Lynden Christian overcame a 16-point deficit with support from Danya and Tyra Dykstra. The Lyncs took the lead with a couple minutes left with another 3-pointer to make it 56-53 and sealed the win with a free throw.
Lynden Christian will take on the winner of No. 7 Cashmere and No. 10 Montesano in the 1A state quarterfinals at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 6 at the SunDome.
Lynden Christian boys
The No. 3 Lynden Christian boys won 74-57 against No. 6 Seton Catholic. The Lyncs held a 12-8 lead after the first quarter with five points from Gannon Dykstra and Luke VanKooten each. The teams were tied at 23-23 at halftime.
Dawson Hintz took over for the Lyncs in the third quarter, scoring 10 points to give them a 50-44 lead after three quarters. Lynden Christian’s offense dominated in the fourth quarter with a handful of 3-pointers from VanKooten and Hintz.
Lynden Christian will face the winner of No. 5 King’s and No. 12 Bellevue Christian in the 1A state quarterfinals at 7:15 p.m. on March 6.
Lynden boys
The No. 1 Lynden boys won 70-50 against No. 8 Mark Morris. The Lions started with a 12-4 lead, including five points from Brant Heppner. Mark Morris had Lynden’s lead dwindled down to 13-11 by the end of the first quarter.
Lynden held a 30-22 lead at halftime with another four points coming from Heppner. Lynden’s lead was extended to double digits in the third quarter when they dropped 27 points as a team, including seven points from Jack Stapleton in that span. The Lions had a slow fourth quarter as they cruised to victory
Lynden will take on the winner of No. 7 Prosser and No. 10 Foster in the 2A state quarterfinals at 10:30 a.m. on March 6.
Lynden girls
The No. 1 Lynden girls finished the night with a dominating 58-26 win against No. 8 Bainbridge. The Spartans gave the Lions a challenge in the first quarter, holding them to 17 points and scoring a few second chance points.
Finley Parcher and Lexi Hermanutz forced numerous turnovers and led the Lions to a 36-13 halftime lead. In the third quarter, the Lions continued to score willingly, taking a 54-20 lead, before cruising through the fourth quarter to victory.
Lynden will play the winner of No. 7 Columbia River and No. 10 Port Angeles in the 2A state quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m. on March 6.
Lummi boys
The No. 2 Lummi boys won their opening game 48-43 against No. 7 Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian on Feb. 28.
The Blackhawks struggled to score against a larger, more physical Lions’ squad. Lummi trailed early in the first quarter but its defense played a pivotal role in slowing down the Lions. By halftime, the Blackhawks took a 25-17 lead.
They held onto the lead until the Lions tied it at 32-32 late in the third quarter. Both teams were trading points until Lummi took a 40-39 lead in the fourth quarter with about six minutes left. Although Lummi’s offense was stagnant, they held the Lions scoreless until about a couple minutes left.
Lummi was able to hold onto the lead with a handful of free throws, including a pair from Jerome Toby to win the game. Trevon Lee and Tony Abrams led with 10 points each.
Both teams were protected from being eliminated this round by being top-8 seeds.
Lummi Nation will move directly to double-elimination and play the winner of No. 8 Ocosta and No. 9 Wellpinit in the 1B state quarterfinals at 9 p.m. on March 6 in Spokane.
Lummi girls
Much like the Blackhawk boys, the No. 9 Lummi girls dominated No. 16 Muckleshoot Tribal with their defense, cruising for a 61-37 win on Feb. 28.
The Blackhawks, who averaged over 16 steals per game in the regular season, were able to force numerous turnovers. The Blackhawks defense led to a big offensive night for a couple players, including Ailina Rabang, who finished with over 15 points. She was able to give the Blackhawks a double-digit lead by halftime.
By the end of the third quarter, Lummi led 44-25. In the fourth quarter, Brianna Metteba and the Blackhawks defense rallied together for the final minutes and secured the victory with ease.
The Blackhawks will play No. 8 Pateros in a loser-out, Round-of-12 matchup at 2 p.m. on March 5 in Spokane.
Meridian boys
The No. 7 Meridian boys were no match for No. 2 Royal, losing 65-47 on Feb. 28, but are still alive in the playoffs.
The Trojans battled in the first quarter, leading 11-10 after a handful of minutes. However, the Knights began to limit senior standout Talon Jenkins and Jaeger Fyfe’s opportunities and took over the game shortly after.
By halftime, Royal led Meridian 29-21 and continued to extend the lead in the third quarter. Pierce Brzozowski made the first basket for the Trojans with four minutes left in the third quarter, scoring a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 38-24 Knights.
Meridian cut the deficit to single digits for a handful of seconds before Royal finished the game on another dominant run.
The Trojans will face No. 15 Overlake in a loser-out, Round-of-12 game at 5:30 p.m. on March 5 in Yakima.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
