YAKIMA AND SPOKANE, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Whatcom County’s high school basketball teams went three-for-three in their state championship games on Saturday, March 7.
First, the Lynden girls beat Prosser 59-49 at the Yakima Valley SunDome to win their third consecutive 2A state title. The Lions closed the first quarter with a 19-3 lead and held off a late rally by the Mustangs to notch their 75th-straight win.
Juniors Finley Parcher (who won tournament MVP) and Lexi Hermanutz each scored 17 points, and senior Payton Mills added 11 points and 10 rebounds in her final game as a Lion. Mills will go on to play D-1 basketball at the University of Hawaii, while fellow Lynden senior Rian Stephan will play volleyball for the University of Washington.
Seniors Degitu Bowler, Reese Nyhoff, Rilanna Newcomb and Jules Slayton also each closed their Lynden basketball careers on a high note. The Lions ended the season with a perfect 27-0 record in their second straight year of going undefeated. They ran through a gauntlet on their way to taking home the first-place trophy, beating 2nd-seeded Deer Park, 3rd-seeded Prosser and 4th-seeded Clarkston.
After that, the Lynden Christian boys topped Zillah 61-42 at the SunDome to win the 1A state championship. Junior Dawson Hintz led all scorers with 18 points and earned tournament MVP honors. Senior Boyce Robertson aided the dominant win by holding Zillah senior Dekker Van De Graaf to just four points, less than a day removed from him scoring 34 as one of the top players in the tournament.
Robertson finished 13 points and 10 rebounds in his final game as a Lync. 8 of his boards came on the offensive glass, adding to LC’s absurd 24 offensive rebounds. Robertson, Eli Maberry and Hayden Herwerden were the sole three seniors on the team, as the Lyncs finished the season with a 26-1 record.
The Lummi Nation boys capped off the night by handling Tulalip Heritage 61-56 at Numerica Veterans Arena in Spokane to repeat as 1B state champions. Senior Jerome Toby Jr. scored 26 points and made several key plays down the stretch on both sides of the ball. His fellow senior Chayce Waite-Keller battled through foul trouble for most of the game, but made his presence felt on the inside, finishing with five blocks and 14 rebounds. Toby, Waite-Keller and Isaiah Yrizarris were the only three seniors on the team.
Toby ends his basketball career at Lummi as the school’s all-time leader in career points, eclipsing 2,000 earlier in the season. His team finished the season with a 27-1-1 record, with their sole loss coming to 1A state champs Lynden Christian.
The Blackhawks are also the subject of a documentary being made by Cascadia Daily News, which is expected to be released in May.
Meanwhile, the Lummi girls beat Pateros 54-45 earlier in the day to claim 4th place in the tournament, their highest finish since 2009.
