POSTED: Tuesday, Feb. 02, 2010

PREP GIRLS' BASKETBALL: Lynden knocks off league-leader B-E

LYNDEN - Now that Lynden's Amanda Tapia has become a square shooter, the 5-foot-3 junior guard is helping to keep opposing defenses honest.

Having worked hard to square up on her shooting form, Tapia has emerged as one of five valuable reserves for the defending Class 2A state girl's basketball champion Lions, as she showed with vital contributions in Lynden's 42-39 win over Northwest Conference leader Burlington-Edison on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

Tapia took only four shots from the field, but connected for vital outside shots in the second, third and fourth quarters for seven points to help the Lions (14-2, 8-1) move into a tangle of four teams atop the NWC with one loss, including the Tigers (13-2, 7-1) along with Lynden Christian and Squalicum.

"Amanda has had to learn how to square up as a shooter," said Lynden coach Rob Adams. "She's the epitome of a fine program kid, one who has done her due diligence and put her sweat in the bucket. She kind of had to wait for it to be her turn."

That waiting was emotionally tough, said Tapia, who played in the first three state tournament victories last season but was limited to cheering in the final.

"It was fun to cheer for my teammates, but it was so hard to sit," said Tapia, whose 3-pointer with 5 minutes and 30 seconds remaining gave the Lions a 37-33 lead. "I've worked hard for my chance to play. I used to turn my hips and (the coaches) have worked a lot with me on my shooting form."

The Lions had to rally for the win, though, falling behind 19-12, to match their largest deficit, before 5-foot-11 junior guard/wing Hannah Shine caught fire, connecting on 6 of 13 field goal attempts and 4 of 4 free throws to finish with a game-high 16 points. That meant she scored 16 of the team's final 30 points, including two free throws with eight seconds remaining for the game's last two points.

As good as Shine was, however, Adams quickly pointed out that all 10 girls who played for Lynden made significant contributions.

"In this game, we needed every one of those contributions," he said of the likes of Riley Beard (seven points, four rebounds), Kellie Fluit (five rebounds, four points) and guard Ivanna Lomas (four assists). Junior guard Jessie Biesheuvel, playing with two broken fingers taped together, helped begin Lynden's comeback from a 7-0 deficit with a 3-pointer and an assist, seconds after checking in.

As Adams put it, "We threw out a little bit of everything defensively" to help hold Burlington scoring leaders Brenna Anderson and Kristine Thoe to a combined 19 points. They came in averaging a combined 28.

Thoe was whistled for her third foul midway through the second quarter and had to spend considerable time on the bench. The Lions held Anderson to 6 for 16 shooting for 12 points.

The Tigers received a bad break when junior guard Molly Breckenridge had to be carried off after reinjuring her knee late in the first quarter, only a moment after she connected on Burlington's only 3-pointer.

Lynden took the lead for good at 32-30 when Beard drove for a layup off an assist from Krista Groves on Lynden's final shot of the third quarter. The Lions maintained the lead in the fourth quarter on a turnaround shot by Fluit, Tapia's 3-pointer, Shine's driving layup, Beard's free throw and Shine's last two free throws kept Lynden ahead.

Shine grabbed two of her team-high seven rebounds in the final 10 seconds. Burlington's Thoe, an outstanding junior point guard, tried for a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, but her shot bounced off the rim.

Virginia Brown, who led the Tigers with eight rebounds, gave them a chance with five fourth-quarter points and Trisha Youngquist had a basket and two assists in the last period.

"Lynden's a really well-coached team and I'd like to think we both focused well on defense," said Burlington coach Mike Buckholz. "Lynden's defense was really outstanding and they got some key rebounds.

"As I told the girls, this isn't the biggest game we're going to play all year," the veteran coach said, thinking about what could be a wild district tournament. "It would be interesting if we could play a best of seven series with Lynden, wouldn't it?"

LYNDEN 42, BURLINGTON-EDISON 39

Burlington-Edison 14 8 8 9 - 39

Lynden 10 12 10 10 - 42

Burlington-Edison: Nichole Arndt 0, Kristine Thoe 7, Molly Breckenridge 3, Katlyn Mataya 6, Brenna Anderson 12, Trisha Youngquist 5, Ellary Torset 1, Virginia Brown 5, Mariah Swanson 0. Team totals: 15-41 8-14 39.

Lynden: Ivanna Lomas 3, Jessie Biesheuvel 3, Amanda Tapia 7, Kellie Fluit 4, Hannah Shine 16, Liz Webb 2, Riley Beard 7, Krista Groves 0, Alexis Whiteis 0, Laura Webb 0. Team totals: 16-44 8-9 42.

3-ptg: Burlington-Edison 1 (Breckenridge), Lynden 2 (Biesheuvel, Tapia). Rebounds: Burlington-Edison 28 (Brown 8), Lynden 25 (Shine 7). Assists: Burlington-Edison 4 (Youngquist 2), Lynden 8 (Lomas 4). Fouls: Burlington-Edison 12, Lynden 10.