LC girls only county team to play regional close to home
Only one of the seven Whatcom County basketball teams to punch tickets to the regional round of their respective state tournament managed to win a district title this year.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the Lynden Christian girls were the only Whatcom County team to see their name listed on the bottom half of a regional pairing when the WIAA released the regional draws on Sunday, Feb. 21, meaning the Lyncs are the only local team that earned the opportunity to play close to home. The Lyncs will play at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, at Mount Vernon High School.
One team — the Squalicum boys — will face the tall task of playing the top-ranked team in its classification in the single-elimination regional round, while the top-ranked Lynden Christian boys will face the team that was ranked right behind it in the Class 1A rankings.
Here’s a quick look at what lies ahead for each Whatcom County team, as they hope to move on to the state quarterfinals the first weekend in March:
Squalicum boys
The Storm (19-4) finished No. 4 in the final Associated Press Class 2A poll and enter as the No. 2 seed out of the Northwest District after falling 62-56 in overtime to Shorecrest in the district title game on Saturday, Feb. 19.
They’ll travel to face River Ridge (21-2), who finished No. 1 in the final poll and enters as the No. 3 seed out of the SeaKing/West Central Bi-District after it beat Steilacoom 70-57 in the bi-district’s third-place game on Saturday.
Time: 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26
Site: Puyallup High School
Lynden boys
The Lions (22-2) finished No. 2 in the final 2A poll, but had to beat Archbishop Murphy 64-45 on Saturday in the third-place game of the Northwest District Tournament just to earn a trip to the regional round.
They’ll travel to face unranked Issaquah Liberty (13-11), which enters as the No. 2 seed out of the SeaKing/West Central Bi-District after it lost 86-76 to North Kitsap in the bi-district title game on Saturday.
Time: 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27
Site: Renton High School
Lynden Christian boys
Lynden Christian (22-2) finished No. 1 in the final 1A poll, but had to beat Mount Baker 65-56 in a hard-fought third-place game of the Northwest/SeaKing Bi-District Tournament to secure a trip to state.
The Lyncs’ reward is a trip to face No. 2 Zillah (21-1), which won the Yakima Valley Interscholastic Activities Association title with a 69-42 victory over La Salle on Saturday.
Time: 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27
Site: Yakima Eisenhower High School
Lummi boys
The defending state champion Blackhawks (17-8), who finished tied for 10th in the final poll, squeeked into the regional round as a fifth seed out of the Northwest/SeaKing/West Central Tri-District with a 66-54 win over Tulalip Heritage in the tri-district’s fifth-place game.
They’ll travel to face unranked Sunnyside Chrsitian (19-5), which won the Yakima Valley Interscholastic Activities Association title with a 75-61 win over Yakima Tribal in the district title game on Friday, Feb. 19.
Time: 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27
Site: Sunnyside High School
Lynden girls
The Lions (20-3) finished No. 3 in the final 2A poll but lost 51-41 to Ancortes in the Northwest District title game on Friday to enter as the district’s No. 2 seed.
They’ll travel to face unranked Liberty (10-14), which enters as the No. 3 seed out of the SeaKing/West Central District after it beat Port Angeles 39-33 in the bi-district’s third-place game.
Time: 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27
Site: Renton High School
Lynden Christian girls
The Lyncs (21-2) finished No. 1 in the final 1A poll and claimed the Northwest/SeaKing Bi-District title with a 59-38 win over Seattle Academy on Friday.
They’ll host unranked Charles Wright (15-6), which claimed the No. 2 seed out of the West Central District following a 48-37 loss to Bellevue Christian in the district title game.
Time: 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26
Site: Mount Vernon High School
Nooksack Valley girls
The Pioneers (18-9) played their way to the No. 4 seed out of the Northwest/SeaKing Bi-District by beating University Prep 41-18 in Saturday’s winner-to-state game.
They’ll face La Center (21-1), which finished No. 7 in the final 1A poll and grabbed the top seed out of the Southwest District by beating Kalama 56-53 in the district title game on Friday.
Time: 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27
Site: Battle Ground High School
This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 8:23 AM with the headline "LC girls only county team to play regional close to home."