Lynden Christian girls knock out Meridian in OT
Bouncing back from a tough loss the day before, the Lynden Christian girls beat Northwest Conference rival Meridian, 52-46, in overtime Friday morning at the Class 1A girls basketball tournament.
The Trojans, who lost to the Lyncs by a combined 39 points in two games this season, did not go easily in the loser-out game. Meridian had lost two previous games to Lynden Christian by a combined 39 points, but was determined from the start to put up a fight, trailing only 23-21 at halftime.
Led by sharpshooters Kyrin Baklund and Ellesse FitzGerald, Meridian stormed back from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter to force the extra period. But Lynden Christian’s defense and the inside dominance of post player Sam Van Loo made the difference, holding Meridian to a pair of free throws in overtime.
The Lyncs, 24-3, play Bellevue Christian at 8 a.m. Saturday for a chance to finish fourth in the tournament, a year after winning it all.
Van Loo finished with a game-high 21 points and 17 rebounds. She said the win was a satisfying one after a tough loss to Mount Baker in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
“Yesterday was a hard one,” Van Loo said. “We really wanted one more day to play together as a group. It means a lot to try to finish out with a win,” especially for Emily Bailey, the team’s lone senior.
Lynden Christian coach Brady Bomber was impressed with his team’s resiliency.
“There were many times when Meridian hit a tough shot every time we tried to put them away,” he said. “There were many moments we could have waved the white flag but we didn’t.
“We had girls who put so much time in since last April to now. They wanted it so bad. It still hurts, but the girls understand they get another chance to play together and that’s special.”
Baklund scored a team-high 16 points and FitzGerald added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Trojans.
The loss ended Meridian’s season at 20-9. It was the Trojans’ first trip to state since 2004.
Lynden Christian 52, Meridian 46
Meridian | 12 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 2 | 46 |
Lynden Christian | 11 | 12 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 52 |
MERIDIAN — Ryley Zapien 3-10 1-3 8, Kyrin Baklund 6-15 2-4 16, Ellesse FitzGerald 3-8 2-2 10, Stuth 1-2 0-0 2, Gray 1-2 2-2 4, Tutterrow 1-1 0-0 2, Harrison 0-2 0-0 0, Sipma 0-4 2-4 2, Magunesson 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 15-44 11-17 46.
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN — Hommes 3-8 0-0 6, Hernandez 2-14 2-4 7, Sam Van Loo 8-11 5-8 21, A. Dykstra 4-12 0-0 8, Bailey 1-8 0-0 3, Bocci 0-1 0-0 0, R. Dykstra 0-5 0-2 0, Van Hulzen 0-0 0-0 0, Brandsma 0-1 0-0 0, Sterk 1-2 5-6 7. Totals 19-62 12-20 52.
3-point goals - Meridian 5-17 (Ryley 1-3, Baklund 2-7, FitzGerald 2-6); Lynden Christian 2-15 (Hernandez 1-6, Bailey 1-5). Rebounds - Meridian 25 (Baklund 16, FitzGerald 10); Lynden Christian 43 (Van Loo 17, Bailey 5, Sterk 5). Assists - Meridian 4 (Ryley 3, Baklund 1); Lynden Christian 5 (Bailey 4, Van Loo 1). Turnovers - Meridian 7, Lynden Christian 8. Total fouls - Meridian 18, Lynden Christian 16. Fouled out - Gray.
This story was originally published March 3, 2017 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Lynden Christian girls knock out Meridian in OT."