Adverse winter weather conditions condensed prep schedules in all sports last week. Now that the snow has melted, Whatcom County basketball teams have less than two weeks remaining in their regular season schedules.
On the college side, Western Washington University’s basketball teams pushed through the inclement weather, playing all four of their games.
Here’s an overview of what you may have missed from the last week of winter sports.
Prep
Boys basketball
First-place Lynden (12-3, 9-0 NWC) has been off for more than a week, which means the Lions have had plenty of time to prepare for their pivotal matchup with fourth-place Anacortes (12-3, 8-2 NWC) on Jan. 24.
With the league’s top four teams all having two league losses or less, the result of that Lynden-Anacortes game will have huge implications in NWC title positioning and 2A District 1 tournament seeding.
Mount Vernon (13-2, 9-1 NWC) and Lynden Christian (5-1, 9-1 NWC) are in second and third, respectively, entering the season’s home stretch. The former won its sixth straight game on Monday, Jan. 22 with a 78-53 win over Blaine, while the Lyncs beat Lakewood in a thriller, 75-73, on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
Bellingham (9-7, 7-4 NWC) got back on track on Jan. 20, after losing its previous two games. The Bayhawks edged Squalicum, 72-67, to move into fifth place in the league hierarchy.
After playing the toughest stretch to start January, Bellingham’s schedule eases up near the end of the season, at least outside of a regular season-ending game with Mount Vernon on Friday, Feb. 2.
Nooksack Valley (11-6, 7-6 NWC) was one of the only teams to squeeze in two games since the snow cancellations and the Pioneers won both. After losing three straight from Jan. 5–13, NV’s win streak is up to three games after beating Mount Baker 66-44 on Jan. 20 and Burlington-Edison, 56-46, on Jan. 22.
The middle seeds for the 2A District 1 tournament are still wide open. Squalicum (8-9, 6-6 NWC) is in the mix despite its Jan. 20 loss to Bellingham, currently eighth place in the league and fifth among Class 2A teams. The Storm bounced back on Jan. 23, beating Oak Harbor 71-50.
Sehome (8-8, 5-6 NWC) sits in 11th place in the league, and seventh among Class 2A teams out of eight.
The Mariners haven’t done themselves any favors, losing four straight since Jan. 10 — most recently falling to Ferndale (6-9, 5-5 NWC), 58-55, on Jan. 22. Ferndale, on the other hand, has won two in a row.
Meridian (8-8, 3-7 NWC), Blaine (4-12, 2-9 NWC) and Mount Baker (3-14, 1-11 NWC) will likely be the 1A District 1 tournament’s third, fourth and fifth seeds in an undetermined order. LC has nearly clinched the bracket’s top seed, and NV would have to completely collapse late in the regular season to fall below No. 2.
Girls basketball
Like the boys team, Nooksack Valley’s league-leading girls squad played two games following snow cancellations.
The Pioneers (18-1, 13-0 NWC) keep creating more distance between themselves and the other teams in the league, beating Mount Baker 72-24 on Jan. 20 and Burlington-Edison, 56-40, on Jan. 22. NV only has three regular season games remaining.
Lynden (14-1, 8-1 NWC) also mirrored its boys team, and the Lions haven’t played since Thursday, Jan. 11. They will play their last six games over the final 11 days of the regular season and enter the stretch on a seven-game win streak.
Sixth-place Ferndale (8-7, 6-3 NWC) snapped a four-game skid with a 66-58 win over fourth-place Sehome on Jan. 22. It was Sehome’s first loss since Dec. 20, 2023, as the Mariners (10-3, 9-2 NWC) had won five in a row coming into the contest. Ferndale went on to beat Mount Vernon 57-48 on Jan. 23.
Lynden Christian (12-5, 9-2 NWC), the league’s fourth-place team, is on a four-game winning streak, most recently beating Lakewood, 71-29, on Jan. 23.
The Lyncs have greatly benefited from the return of junior guard Grace Hintz, and they will need her if they hope to challenge NV in the 1A District 1 tournament.
Squalicum (12-6, 7-5 NWC) has finally surpassed the .500 mark in league games, as the Storm has won 11 of its last 12 games. Squalicum most recently beat Oak Harbor, 51-42, on Jan. 23.
The Storm has a chance to challenge Sehome, Lynden and Burlington-Edison (12-3, 8-1 NWC) for the two state berths out of the 2A District 1 tournament, which would be its first trip to state since the 2009–10 season.
Blaine (8-8, 4-7 NWC) is coming off back-to-back wins, and the Borderites beat Mount Vernon, 56-40, on Jan. 22. However, Blaine will have its work cut out for it trying to earn one of the two 1A District 1 state tournament berths over NV or LC.
Meridian (3-12, 1-10 NWC), Mount Baker (3-14, 0-9 NWC) and Bellingham (2-13, 0-11 NWC) have still been unable to compete this season in a high-powered league.
Boys wrestling
Lynden hosted the 18-team Lynden Wrestling Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 20, and Mount Baker led all local schools with its second-place finish.
The Mountaineers (164 team points) kept up with first-place Glacier Peak (183.5) despite having four fewer wrestlers compete. Bellingham (105) finished eighth, Blaine (77) took 10th and Lynden (49) came in at 14th despite having the most wrestlers present of any of the 18 teams.
Mount Baker was led by a pair of first-place finishes and five total top-three placements. Gavin Compton defeated Bellingham’s Conor Rodriquez Stiff in the 138-pound title match for the Mountaineers, while Wyatt Freeman captured the 165-pound championship.
Compton and Freeman have a combined record of 65-7 this season.
Daniel Washburn (second, 150 pounds), Vance Lawrence (second, 175 pounds) and Andrew Montieth (third, 126 pounds) also finished top-three for Mount Baker.
Rodriguez Stiff’s second-place finish at 138 pounds was Bellingham’s top finish, followed by Pavel Shintar’s third-place finish at 150 pounds. The Bayhawks also notched six other top-six placements.
Blaine had the second-least wrestlers present with four, and the Borderites that did compete excelled. Victor Gervol captured the 285-pound title, while Blake Goltz (190 pounds) and Cal Fitzgerald (144 pounds) each finished second in their respective weight classes.
Christian Velasquez led Lynden with his second-place finish in the 126-pound weight class.
WWU
Men’s basketball
Western followed up its crucial win over Alaska Anchorage on Thursday, Jan. 18 with a lopsided 119-92 victory over Alaska Fairbanks on Jan. 20.
The Vikings responded to their three-game losing streak Jan. 6–13 by winning two in a row.
Junior guard Kai Johnson led Western in the latter game once again, pouring in 29 points and poking away three steals. Fellow junior guard Will Wilson tallied 23 points, four rebounds and three assists, and redshirt freshman guard Tijan Saine rounded out the Vikings’ 20-plus-point scorers with his 20 points.
Senior forward Jonathan Ned added 16 points, nine rebounds and two steals, and defensive stalwart Nic Welp finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Next up for Western (12-6, 4-3 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) is a four-game road trip, beginning at Central Washington (11-5, 4-3 GNAC) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 25.
Women’s basketball
The Vikings’ win streak is now at five games following a pair of wins last week. Western narrowly beat Saint Martin’s 52-49 on Jan. 18 before downing Western Oregon, 77-61, on Jan. 20.
In the most recent game, senior forward Brooke Walling led Western with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Junior forward Aspen Garrison added 15 points and five rebounds, while junior guard Riley Dykstra totaled 11 points and four rebounds.
Junior guard Olivia Wikstrom continued to stuff the stat sheet with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Western (14-3, 6-1 GNAC) will host Seattle Pacific (6-11, 3-4 GNAC) for its next game at 7 p.m. on Jan. 25.
GNAC men’s basketball standings — Jan. 23
GNAC women’s basketball standings — Jan. 23
| Men’s | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Montana State Billings | 7-1 | 13-5 |
| Saint Martin’s | 6-1 | 16-1 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 4-3 | 14-4 |
| Central Washington | 4-3 | 11-5 |
| Western Washington | 4-3 | 12-6 |
| Northwest Nazarene | 4-3 | 8-7 |
| Seattle Pacific | 4-4 | 11-10 |
| Western Oregon | 1-6 | 4-11 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 1-6 | 3-12 |
| Simon Fraser | 1-6 | 3-15 |
| Women’s | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Montana State Billings | 7-0 | 16-3 |
| Western Washington | 6-1 | 14-3 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 5-2 | 11-5 |
| Central Washington | 5-3 | 14-6 |
| Northwest Nazarene | 4-4 | 7-8 |
| Seattle Pacific | 3-4 | 6-11 |
| Simon Fraser | 2-5 | 10-10 |
| Western Oregon | 2-5 | 9-9 |
| Saint Martin’s | 2-5 | 4-10 |
| Alaska Fairbanks | 0-7 | 2-15 |
Boys basketball, Northwest Conference — Jan. 23
| Boys | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Lynden | 10-0 | 13-3 |
| Mount Vernon | 10-1 | 14-2 |
| Lynden Christian | 9-1 | 15-1 |
| Anacortes | 8-3 | 12-4 |
| Nooksack Valley | 7-5 | 11-6 |
| Bellingham | 7-5 | 9-8 |
| Lakewood | 6-5 | 9-7 |
| Sedro- Woolley | 6-6 | 9-8 |
| Squalicum | 6-6 | 8-9 |
| Sehome | 5-6 | 8-8 |
| Ferndale | 5-6 | 6-10 |
| Meridian | 4-7 | 9-8 |
| Burlington- Edison | 3-7 | 7-9 |
| Blaine | 2-9 | 4-12 |
| Mount Baker | 1-11 | 3-14 |
| Oak Harbor | 0-11 | 2-14 |
Girls basketball, Northwest Conference — Jan. 23
| Girls | League | Overall |
| Team | W-L | W-L |
| Nooksack Valley | 13-0 | 18-1 |
| Lynden | 9-1 | 15-1 |
| Burlington- Edison | 9-1 | 12-3 |
| Lynden Christian | 9-2 | 12-5 |
| Sehome | 9-2 | 10-3 |
| Ferndale | 8-3 | 9-7 |
| Squalicum | 7-5 | 12-6 |
| Oak Harbor | 7-5 | 10-7 |
| Anacortes | 5-6 | 9-7 |
| Blaine | 4-7 | 8-8 |
| Sedro- Woolley | 4-8 | 8-8 |
| Lakewood | 4-8 | 8-8 |
| Mount Vernon | 2-9 | 4-10 |
| Meridian | 2-10 | 4-12 |
| Mount Baker | 0-12 | 3-14 |
| Bellingham | 0-12 | 2-14 |
Connor J. Benintendi is a former CDN sports reporter, send tips and information to newstips@cascadiadaily.com.
