LYNDEN - The Lynden Christian girls' basketball team may have taken eight minutes to get rolling Wednesday night, but five minutes into the second quarter it became apparent that the Lyncs were not going to be denied a spot in the Class 1A Tri-District Tournament.
After struggling shooting from the field in the first quarter and surrendering a six-point lead to Meridian, Lynden Christian turned to its defense in the second quarter.
The Lyncs relied on their full-court pressure to begin the second frame with a 24-2 scoring run that quickly put a halt to any thought of a Trojan upset, paving the way for a 65-41 LC win in a loser-out district tournament game Feb. 8, at Lynden Christian High School.
"We tried to put some pressure on them in the first quarter, but they were getting some open looks," Lynden Christian coach Curt DeHaan said. "When we went into our full-court pressure in the second quarter, they had a tough time getting the ball up the court."
At certain times during the contest, it appeared as though Meridian and Lynden Christian were evenly matched playing a half-court game. But, during the second quarter, Meridian rarely received the opportunity to run any of its half-court sets.
The Trojans' young guards fell victim to the Lyncs' suffocating full court man-to-man defense, as Meridian committed 14 first half turnovers - 27 for the game - and attempted only its second field goal in the second quarter with 1 minute, 49 second remaining until halftime.
"That's something we've struggled with all season," Meridian coach Don McMains said. "We have a young point guard in Kira Nelson, and I hope she can learn from this one. But, she's young, and she's going to do great things for us in the future."
Although the Lyncs started the evening with their share of shooting woes, Lynden Christian's offensive struggles didn't last much longer than the first quarter.
LC's Demi Luna recorded a season-high and game-high 18 points. She scored 12 of her 18 points in the second, contributing greatly to the Lyncs' 27 point outburst in the eight minutes leading up to halftime.
"Well, I haven't really had a high scoring game like this all year," Luna said. "Haan told me to keep shooting. After I got the first (basket) to drop, I got more of a confidence boost."
In fact, DeHaan said he noticed Luna was getting tired and was about to take her out of the game, but when she started making shot after shot, he thought better of the decision to take Luna off the court.
"She's got a real nice outside shot," DeHaan said. "(Meridian) was keying on (Jasmine) Hommes a lot. Once she started knocking down a couple I knew she was getting tired, but she kept making shots so I knew I had to keep her in for another minute or two."
Despite the attention Hommes garnered from Meridian during the game, the standout senior still finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
While the win advances Lynden Christian to the Class 1A Tri-District Tournament, where the Lyncs have earned the No. 6 seed and will face the No. 11 seed (District 2's No. 4 seed), the loss ended the season for the Trojans and put a close to the high school career of Ali Wasel.
Wasel started for Meridian as a freshman, but endured a number of knee injuries during her sophomore and junior years that required four surgeries in all.
The Meridian senior has stayed healthy all season and finished the game against Lynden Christian with a team-high 17 points. She also made a team-high four steals.
"Ali just showed exactly the kind of young lady she is," McMains said. "On and off the court, she'll do anything to help the team be successful. She'll be the first one to cheer for the team when she is not on the floor. I was thrilled she was able to make it through the whole year. That's what it's all about. That's why (coaches) do this."
Even DeHaan made mention of Wasel's performance and athletic abilities.
"You have to give Meridian a lot of credit," DeHaan said. "They played real hard. Wasel played great tonight. She is such a great athlete, and it's too bad she had to miss those two years."
Meridian's 6-foot-3 freshman Sara Dougan finished with seven points and five boards. For the Lyncs, Makayla Lancaster, Courtney Hollander and Kayla Tiemersma all finished the game with six points.
Lynden Christian has two days off, before it hosts an opening round Class 1A Tri-District Tournament game at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11.
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN 65, MERIDIAN 41
Meridian 14 5 8 14 - 41
Lynden Christian 8 27 16 14 - 65
Meridian: Kira Nelson 4, Kelli Terpsma 4, Sara Dougan 7, Carly Nelson 3, Ali Wasel 17, Natasha Bachman 1, Sydney Swanson 0, Allecia Galindo 0, Tatum Garcia 5, Abbi Rautenberg 0, Kendra Holmes 0. Team totals: 14-38 10-17 41.
Lynden Christian: Makayla Lancaster 6, Courtney Hollander 6, Demi Luna 18, Jasmine Hommes 14, Kayla Tiemersma 6, Livi Vander Griend 4, Karley De Jager 5, Sally Vlas 2, Lexi Vander Griend 0, Emily Sytsma 2, Hannah Wynstra 2. Team totals: 24-53 16-22 65.
3-ptg: Meridian 1 (Garcia 1), Lynden Christian 1 (Luna 1). Rebounds: Meridian 26 (Carly Nelson 7), Lynden Christian 29 (Tiemersma 6). Assists: Meridian 3 (three players with 1), Lynden Christian 9 (Hollander/Luna 3). Fouls: Meridian16, Lynden Christian 12. Turnovers: Meridian 27, Lynden Christian 20.
