All four 1A prep basketball teams at the bi-district crossover advanced to regionals. Western Washington University basketball teams near the end of the regular season. The Vikings’ softball team went 2-2 to start its Hawaii trip.
Don’t miss these highlights from Whatcom County’s prep and college sports teams over the past week.
Prep
Boys basketball
After advancing to the 1A bi-district crossover, Blaine and Lynden Christian both are headed to regionals.
LC won the 1A District 1 championship over Blaine on Feb. 11, advancing a few days earlier than the Borderites.
The Lyncs faced Sultan in the crossover on Feb. 18, easily trouncing the Turks 68-32.
Junior guard Dawson Bouma led LC with 16 points, senior guard Tyler Sipma finished with 15 and junior forward Jeremiah Wright tallied 11 in the win.
The Lyncs improved to 22-2 overall and were seeded No. 1 in the 1A state bracket. They will face No. 8 Overlake (16-7) in the regional round at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Mount Vernon High School. LC is already guaranteed a spot in the round of 12.
Blaine made it to the crossover via a 68-48 win over Nooksack Valley in the 1A District 1 consolation final on Feb. 14. The Borderites defeated Northwest House 67-56 in their bi-district game on Feb. 18, advancing to regionals.
The win also propelled Blaine (16-7) to the No. 7 seed in the 1A state bracket, and the Borderites will face No. 2 Zillah (22-1) at 6 p.m. Feb. 25, at Davis High School. Blaine will be in the round of 12 at the Yakima Valley SunDome regardless of the result.
Girls basketball
The girls bi-district crossover games were far more lopsided, as Nooksack Valley will be the No. 1 seed in the 1A state tournament and LC landed the No. 2 seed.
NV made it to the crossover after defeating LC for a second time this season in the 1A District 1 championship, 55-45. The Lyncs went on to eliminate Meridian 70-41 on Feb. 14, reaching the next stage.
The Pioneers romped Overlake 71-8 on Feb. 18, heading off to regionals with ease. Junior guard Devin Coppinger scored a game-high 22 points while junior guard/post Lainey Kimball and senior guard Hallie Kamphouse each added 12.
NV (23-1) will be up against No. 8 Bellevue Christian (21-1) in the regional round at 6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 24, at Mount Vernon High School. The Pioneers are guaranteed a spot in the round of 12 regardless of the result.
LC defeated Cedar Park Christian 73-19 in its crossover game on Feb. 18, advancing to regionals. The Lyncs are facing No. 7 Cashmere at 4 p.m. Feb. 25, at Mount Vernon High School and will be at the SunDome no matter how that game plays out.
WWU
Women’s basketball
Western bounced back from a disappointing overtime loss to MSU Billings by beating Seattle Pacific 69-52 at home on Feb. 18.
Three Vikings scored nine points in junior forward Brooke Walling, senior guard Avery Dykstra and sophomore center Truitt Reilly. Sophomore guard Riley Dykstra scored a game-high 14 points, adding three assists and two rebounds.
Western, now sitting at 21-3 overall (15-2 Great Northwest Athletic Conference), remains in first place in the league ahead of a Thursday, Feb. 23, home game against Simon Fraser (10-11, 8-9 GNAC) at 7 p.m. That contest will conclude the Vikings’ regular season.
Men’s basketball
The Vikings played two overtime games last week — now having been involved in a program-record five on the season — and split the two contests.
Western defeated Northwest Nazarene 96-91 on the road Feb. 16, led by a combined 72 points from guards Daniel Hornbuckle (26 points), Kai Johnson (23 points) and D’Angelo Minnis (23 points). Junior forward Jonathan Ned added 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Vikings traveled to in-state rival Central Washington on Feb. 18, losing 86-81 in their second-straight bout with an extra period. Western has lost both meetings with the Wildcats this season.
Johnson led Western with a team-high 26 points as redshirt freshman forward BJ Kolly added 16 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Minnis finished with 14 points while Hornbuckle totaled 11.
Minnis gave the Vikings a two-point lead on a 3-pointer with 2:39 remaining in overtime, but Central Washington scored the game’s final seven points to hold on for the win.
Western (14-13, 7-10 GNAC) will need to defeat Simon Fraser (6-21, 1-16 GNAC) on Feb. 25 to stay alive in the race for a GNAC Championships spot, beginning March 2. The Vikings are currently on the outside looking in at seventh in the league standings.
Softball
Western has been busy at the 2023 Hawai’i Invitational, playing four games across Feb 18-19.
The Vikings are 2-2 over the first four and will have another doubleheader against Chaminade on Feb. 20.
It’s been an up-and-down trip for the Vikings, who won their first game over Hawaii Pacific 4-0 on Feb. 18 before losing the second, 2-1.
Western fell 9-1 in six innings to Hawaii Hilo to begin the Feb. 19 doubleheader before exploding in the second game to capture a six-inning 19-7 win.
Freshman infielder Hailey Rath — fresh off the first home run of her collegiate career the day before — belted another in the blowout win and finished 3-for-3 at the plate with six RBI and four runs scored. Senior third baseman Brooke Fesenbek went 3-for-5, adding an additional six RBI.
Junior pitcher Mareena Ramirez improved to 5-1 on the season in relief of junior starting pitcher Hanako Hirai, pitching four innings and allowing two hits and one unearned run.
Western’s first game against Chaminade Feb. 20 began at 2 p.m. PST, before playing another at 4 p.m. The Vikings (6-5 overall) will return home for a pair of games against Northwest Nazarene on Friday, Feb. 24, to begin their league schedule.
