LYNDEN

LIONS

Coach: Rob Adams (sixth season)

Last year: Finished tied for fourth in the Class 2A NWC standings with a 9-4 conference record. ... Ended season after going 2-2 during the Class 2A State Tournament and finished 19-10 overall. ... Placed fifth at state. ... Amber Stokes and Kortney Grattic were All-Whatcom County selections.

Players to watch: Stephanie Somers (Jr., G); Kelsey Bouwman (Jr., G); Maddi Hommes (Sr., F); Taylor VanDalen (Sr., G); Kaitlyn Mark (So., F); Mandy Warner (So., G)

Outlook: Although graduated players Kortney Grattic and Amber Stokes accounted for 28.7 of Lynden's 54.3 points per game last year, coach Rob Adams isn't too worried about keeping the Lions streak of six straight state appearances alive. "Well, since I've been here, we've done that every year," said Adams, of recovering from losing strong players, in a phone interview. "It seems like we have a couple key players step up the following year." This year is no different. Junior guard Stephanie Somers (6.2 points per game), junior guard Kelsey Bouwman (6.0) and senior forward Maddi Hommes (2.4) headline Lynden's returning players. Taylor VanDalen and Mandy Warner provide additional experience in the backcourt. Both logged plenty of varsity minutes on last year's state team. Adams said he is trying to split up minutes as much as he can during non-conference games to help determine a starting rotation by the start of league play. Sophomore forward Kaitlyn Mark has impressed Adams so far, and the Lynden coach said she could be another to watch during the season.

2012-13 ROSTER

No. Player Yr. Ht. Pos.

2 Mandy Warner So. 5-5 G

3 Taylor VanDalen Sr. 5-8 G

5 Maddi Hommes Sr. 5-10 F

10 Holly Mckinley Jr. 5-8 G

11 Ashlyn Morgan Jr. 5-10 F

12 Miriah Brown Sr. 5-8 G

20 Kelsey Bouwman Jr. 5-10 G

22 Tanna Benson So. 5-10 G

23 Kaitlyn Mark So. 5-11 F

33 Stephanie Somers Jr. 5-11 G

2012-13 SCHEDULE

Nov. 27 Brookswood Secondary L 55-42

Nov. 30 at White River L 58-40

Dec. 4 at Anacortes W 67-41

Dec. 7 Sehome 7:15 p.m.

Dec. 10 at Mount Baker 7:15 p.m.

Dec. 14 at Bellingham* 7:15 p.m.

Dec. 17 Squalicum* 7:15 p.m.

Dec. 21 at Burlington-Edison* 7:15 p.m.

Dec. 27 Surf n Slam TBD

Dec. 28 Surf n Slam TBD

Dec. 29 Surf n Slam TBD

Jan. 4 Anacortes* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 8 at Nooksack Valley* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 11 Lynden Christian* 5:45 p.m.

Jan. 17 Mount Baker* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 21 at Sehome* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 25 at Blaine* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 29 Ferndale* 7:15 p.m.

Jan. 31 at Meridian* 7:15 p.m.

Feb. 5 Sedro-Woolley* 7:15 p.m.

*NWC game

Reach ANDREW LANG at andrew.lang@bellinghamherald.com or call ext. 862.