Class 1A girls semifinals: Top-ranked Nooksack Valley, defending state champion Lynden Christian for all the marbles
YAKIMA - The season-series score has waited three weeks to be settled.
And now it will - No. 1 Nooksack Valley and No. 2 Lynden Christian will play for the Class 1A girls basketball championship Saturday night in the SunDome.
That was all set up by two convincing state semifinal victories on the girls court Friday - Lynden Christian's 57-32 win over Montesano, followed by Nooksack Valley's 60-38 triumph over 2020 state runner-up Cashmere.
The Pioneers and Lyncs split their regular-season matchups - with Nooksack Valley winning 74-68 in mid-December, and Lynden Christian returning the favor Feb. 11 with a 54-51 win.
So what will decide the Whatcom County grudge match Saturday?
Nooksack Valley girls coach Shane Wichers thinks it will be a game decided in the final couple of minutes.
"They're good. We're good," Wichers said. "It's who can get either a stop or make a big bucket."
The Pioneers were involved in a tussle for much of the first half against Cashmere - until the final 21/2 minutes.
Lainey Kimball knocked down a 3-pointer to start a half-ending 10-0 run to give Nooksack Valley a 28-21 lead.
During that span, and the first six minutes of the third quarter, standout Devin Coppinger was unstoppable for the Pioneers. She scored 18 points in nine-plus minutes, including 11 in the third quarter as Nooksack Valley extended to a 45-24 lead.
"It was a lot better, from last night to tonight," Coppinger said. "Defensively, it was just clicking tonight."
LYNDEN CHRISTIAN 57, MONTESANO 32
Junior Demi Dykstra, left, scored eight of the team's 13 unanswered points to close the first half against Montesano.
Photo by Todd Milles
Same thing for the Lyncs - a crushing spurt to end the first half put this game out of reach.
In the middle of the action was Demi Dykstra, a junior known for her defensive prowess. This time, she sank a pair of bookend 3-pointers, scored another bucket in transition and got a steal that led to Grace Hintz free throws.
It added up to a 13-0 Lyncs' run - and a 33-14 halftime advantage.
"In the last few weeks, she’s really started to build her confidence (as a shooter) and really started to have some success," Lynden Christian girls coach Brady Bomber said.
Libby Stump led the reigning 1A champions with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Dykstra added 14, and Hintz had 13. McKynnlie Dalan paced the Bulldogs with 13 points and nine rebounds.
