Meridian boys basketball is on to the 1A state quarterfinals after winning their Round-of-12 matchup, while the defending state champion Nooksack Valley girls were eliminated in their Round-of-12 game during Wednesday, March 5 action at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Meridian boys
No. 7 Meridian has advanced to the double-elimination portion of the bracket after defeating No 15 Overlake 65-52 in the Round of 12.
Meridian (18-8) will face top-seeded Annie Wright (21-2) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6. If the Trojans win, they’ll play in the semifinals at 7:15 p.m. Friday, March 7. If they lose, they play in a loser-out game at 12:15 p.m. Friday.
In Wednesday’s game, the Trojans and Owls were tied at 10-10 until Meridian’s Matthew Blankenburg hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to take the lead.
Despite having a smaller squad, Overlake (15-10) tried to shut down Talon Jenkins and the larger Trojans inside the paint. But Jenkins and James Hedahl helped extend the lead into the second quarter by a few possessions.
By the second half, Meridian was shooting nearly 50% and finished on a hot streak to knock out the Owls.
Nooksack Valley girls
No. 9 Nooksack Valley was eliminated with a 41-37 loss to No. 8 Naches Valley in the Round of 12. It is the first time since 2021 that Nooksack Valley did not place at state.
Nooksack Valley started on a 7-2 run with four points from Grace DeHoog. The Rangers spread the ball around, forced a few turnovers and hit a couple of 3-pointers to take an 8-7 lead. Payton Bartl and Chayleigh Davis responded to give the Pioneers a 14-13 lead after the first quarter.
Both teams had a slow start scoring while also piling up fouls in the first three minutes of the second quarter, and the two teams were tied at 16-16. A couple of late steals from Naches valley guards gave the Rangers a 24-20 lead at halftime.
Naches Valley (21-6) opened the third quarter with a 5-0 run to make it 29-20 within the first couple of minutes. Nooksack Valley answered back to make it a single digit game in the fourth quarter. DeHoog fouled out with about three minutes remaining and the Rangers took advantage until the buzzer sounded.
Bartl led with NV 16 points, four rebounds and two assists. DeHoog had 12 points and 14 rebounds. The Pioneers end their season with a 17-9 overall record.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
