Whatcom County teams begin chase for state tournament trophies

Seven Whatcom County high school basketball teams will chase trophies this week at the state tournament, starting with four elimination games Wednesday at the Hardwood Classic in Yakima.

They bring a good mix of youth and experience, especially in the Class 1A girls bracket – the Lynden Christian girls are seeking to defend their title (and 12th overall), while Meridian and Mount Baker will play at state for the first time since 2004 and 2005.

The Lynden Christian boys and girls – both seeded No. 2, according to the state’s latest RPI rankings – won their regional-round matchups Feb. 25 and have a first-round bye. They will play Thursday in Yakima, site of the Class 1A and 2A tournaments.

The Lummi boys also won their regional, beating Yakama Tribal last weekend, and await the winner of Tacoma Baptist-Muckleshoot Tribal for their game Thursday at the Class 1B tournament in Spokane.

Here’s a look at Wednesday’s games:

BOYS BASKETBALL

Class 2A – Lynden

Top-seeded Lynden faces No. 16 seed Lindbergh in a 2A state tournament elimination game.

Time: 2 p.m. Wednesday

Site: Yakima Valley SunDome

What’s at stake: The winner will play No. 2 Anacortes at 2 p.m. Thursday in Yakima. Lynden lost its only meeting with Anacortes, 52-44 on Dec. 15.

Scouting the Eagles

Coach: Robert Graham

State tournament appearances (record): Three (2-5)

State titles: None

RPI ranking: No. 42

League: South Puget Sound (second, 11-3)

Road to state: Finished fourth in the West Central District Tournament after going 1-2. Lost to Kingston 73-60 on Feb. 19 but beat Kingston 58-43 in the regional round Saturday. Lindbergh is making its first trip to state since 2012, when it finished fifth. The Eagles’ leading scorer is junior Jalen Green, who is averaging 19.2 points, while senior Kelton Williams is averaging 12.9.

Scouting the Lions

Coach: Brian Roper

State tournament appearances (record): 49 (113-62)

State titles: Eight (1961, ’62, ’68, ’81, ’91, ’92, ’07, ’12)

RPI ranking: No. 2

League: Northwest Conference (second, 10-2)

Road to state: Finished third in the District 1/2 Tournament after going 3-1. Lost 56-47 to Olympic in the regional final, missing a chance for a first-round bye. Lions senior Andrew Kivlighn had a team-high 21 points against Olympic. Sophomore Christian Zamora leads the team in scoring with 16.3 points per game.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Class 2A – Lynden

The fourth-seeded Lynden girls look to avoid elimination in a 2A state tournament matchup with Olympic of Bremerton.

Time: 7:15 p.m. Wednesday

Site: Yakima Valley SunDome

What’s at stake: The winner faces White River at 7:15 p.m. Thursday in Yakima.

Scouting the Trojans

Coach: Laurie Shaw

State tournament appearances (record): Eight (6-10)

State titles: None

RPI ranking: No. 17

League: Olympic (third, 10-3)

Road to state: Olympic was the last team to reach state out of the West Central District Tournament, defeating Fife 48-38 on Feb. 17. The Trojans beat Renton 45-36 in the regional round. Olympic had been bounced from the state tournament in regionals in six consecutive appearances and now gets its first title shot since 1994, when it finished seventh. The Trojans are led by seniors Danielle Monzon, Kahlishia Grant and Katie Campana.

Scouting the Lions

Coach: Rob Adams

State tournament appearances (record): 13 (23-21)

State titles: One (2009)

RPI ranking: No. 4

League: Northwest Conference (fourth, 9-3)

Road to state: Beat Anacortes 45-32 in the winner-to-state third-place game of the District 1/2 Tournament. Lost to Burlington-Edison 51-50 in the regional Saturday.

Lynden, which placed second in the state in 2015, is making its fourth straight trip to state. The Lions are led by Elisa Kooiman, who is averaging a Whatcom County-high 14.5 points per game. Adams said his team would be mentally preparing for the matchup with Olympic. “At this point in the season, it really comes down to if we can get things right between the ears,” Adams said. “If we fix that, we’re great. And if we don’t, we’ll come home on Wednesday.”

Class 1A – Meridian

The No. 13 seed Trojans, making their first trip to state since 2004, will look to upset No. 5 seed Montesano in a 1A state tournament elimination game.

Time: 12:15 p.m. Wednesday

Site: Yakima Valley SunDome

What’s at stake: The winner will meet Granger at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in Yakima.

Scouting the Trojans

Coach: Mark Gilmore

State tournament appearances (record): Five (6-9)

State titles: None

RPI ranking: No. 16

League: Northwest Conference (fifth, 9-4)

Road to state: Finished fourth in the Class 1A Northwest District Tournament and earned a regional round berth with two wins in the tri-district tournament: 61-35 over Annie Wright and 48-42 over King’s in the District 1/2 Tournament. Meridian beat Seattle Academy 78-73 in a regional elimination game, erasing a 14-point deficit. Two Trojans are averaging double figures in points: Ellesse FitzGerald with 10.7 and Kyrin Baklund with 10.5.

Scouting the Bulldogs

Coach: Julie Graves

State tournament appearances (record): Nine (2-14)

State titles: None

RPI ranking: No. 5

League: Evergreen (first, 8-0)

Road to state: Lost the District 4 championship game 66-64 to La Center on Feb. 18. Lost 66-40 to Okanogan in the regional Saturday. The Bulldogs have lost in the regional round five straight seasons but will have a chance to play for a title this season because of a top-eight seed. Montesano is a veteran squad with half of its roster consisting of seniors.

Class 1A – Mount Baker

The Mountaineers narrowly missed upsetting No. 1 seed Cashmere in the regional round and now face elimination against Zillah.

Time: 2 p.m. Wednesday

Site: Yakima Valley SunDome

What’s at stake: The winner will battle No. 2 seed Lynden Christian at 2 p.m. Thursday in Yakima.

Scouting the Leopards

Coach: Brandie Valadez

State tournament appearances (record): 20 (33-33)

State titles: None

RPI ranking: No. 9

League: South Central-West (second, 10-2)

Road to state: Beat No. 3 seed Granger 57-54 to win the South Central-West District title Feb. 18. Eliminated Elma in the regional round with a 79-38 rout.

Zillah has the 10th-highest strength of schedule, .427. Seniors Maci Favilla, Trista Takes Enemy and Megan True lead the veteran-laden Leopards, who have no freshmen on the roster. Zillah uses a fullcourt pressure defense that will try to cause problems for Mount Baker point guard Danielle Tyler.

Scouting the Mountaineers

Coach: Kim Preston

State tournament appearances (record): 13 (23-22)

State titles: None

RPI ranking: No. 8

League: Northwest Conference (second, 11-2)

Road to state: Finished third in the Class 1A Northwest District Tournament and beat University Prep 61-28 in the District 1/2 Tournament to advance to the regional round of state. Lost to top-seeded Cashmere 36-34 in the regional round of state.

The Mountaineers are making their first appearance in the state tournament since 2005, when they placed fourth. Mount Baker is led by 6-6 Stephanie Soares, who is averaging 13.7 points. The Mountaineers will attempt to use high-low action on offense with Soares distributing in the middle.

This story was originally published March 1, 2017 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Whatcom County teams begin chase for state tournament trophies."