The young Lummi Nation girls basketball team took some big steps this year, but their successful season ended Wednesday evening with a 40-37 loss to Tacoma Baptist in the play-in round of the Class 1B Tri-District 1/2/3 tournament at Mount Vernon Christian.
The Lady Blackhawks (11-6) fought back from 10 points down to take a 37-36 lead with a minute and a half left. But they couldn’t overcome three turnovers in their last four possessions as Tacoma Baptist (17-7) advanced.
“We showed our heart and our grit,” said first-year coach Kevin Day. “It was a good season. Nobody expected us to be here.”
For
updates on how our Whatcom County teams are doing in the 1A, 2A and 3A tournaments, be sure to check out www
.www.whatcomhoops.com.
While the Lady Blackhawks will be losing two senior leaders — Dezirae Toby and Shelby-Rae Jacobs — Lummi Nation will have a lot of talent returning.
The coach praised the play of freshman Jordyn Casimir, who had a team-high 13 points Wednesday, as well as sophomore Connie Grant, and eighth-graders Alesha Solomon and Raven Solomon.
“I told our seniors that they started something really great,” sa
id Day.
CLASS 1B TRI-DISTRICT 1/2/3 GIRLS TOURNAMENT
Play-in games (Wednesday)
Tacoma Baptist 40, Lummi Nation 37 (loser out)
Grace Academy 43, Quilcene 24 (loser out)
Play-in games (Thursday)
Rainier Christian (10-11) at Clallam Bay (11-8) (loser out)
Lopez (10-8) at Muckleshoot Tribal School (14-9) (loser out)
First round (Thursday)
Tacoma Baptist (17-7) vs. Concordia Christian Academy (20-3) at Evergreen Lutheran HS, 6 p.m.
First round (Friday)
Rainier Christian-Clallam Bay winner at Puget Sound Adventist Academy (18-4), 5 p.m.
Lopez-Muckleshoot Tribal winner at Mount Vernon Christian (19-2), 4:45 p.m.
Grace Academy (14-4) vs.
Neah Bay (18-2) at Port Angeles HS, 5 p.m.
Consolation Round (Saturday)
First-round losers at sites to be determined (winners fifth and sixth, both to state; losers out)
Semifinals (Saturday)
First-round winners at sites to be determined (all to state)
Consolation final and championship final canceled
Lummi Boys Game Thursday Moved To Mt. Vernon Christian
The Lummi Nation boys (20-1), by virtue of their District 1 championship, will open the tri-district tournament Thursday at 6 p.m. But because of the dangerous winter conditions, the Blackhawks won’t be playing at home, but will be traveling to Mount Vernon Christian High School.
They will meet Evergreen Lutheran of Tacoma (15-9), the District 2 #3 seed and winner of Wednesday’s play-in game with Fellowship Christian.
A victory on Thursday would put Lummi Nation into Saturday’s tri-district semifinals and guarantee the Blackhawks a spot in the 1B state tournament in Spokane.
A loss would bump the Blackhawks into the consolation bracket for a winner-to-state, loser-out game on Saturday.
In another change caused by the past week’s weather postponements, the boys consolation final and championship final will not be played. All four teams will have already qualified for state, and state tournament seeding will be done by the state’s RPI rating system not by the tri-district finish.
CLASS 1B TRI-DISTRICT 1/2/3 BOYS TOURNAMENT
Play-in games (Wednesday)
Evergreen Christian 55, Fellowship Christian 48 (loser out)
Cedar Park Christian (Mountlake Terrace) 57, Tacoma Baptist 46 (loser out)
Play-in game (Thursday)
Lopez (7-12) at Crescent (8-8) (loser out)
Rainier Christian (16-6) at Tulalip Heritage (18-3) (loser out)
First round (Thursday)
Evergreen Lutheran (15-9) vs. Lummi Nation (20-1) at Mount Vernon Christian, 6 p.m.
Cedar Park Christian (MLT) (13-8) at Muckleshoot Tribal School (20-3)
First round (Friday)
Lopez-Crescent winner vs. Concordia Christian Academy (15-8), 7:30 p.m.
Rainier Christian-Tulalip Heritage winner vs. Neah Bay (14-6) at Port Angeles HS, 6:45 p.m.
Consolation round (Saturday)
First-round losers at sites to be determined (winners to state, losers out)
Semifinals (Saturday)
First-round winners at sites to be determined (all to state)
Consolation final and championship final canceled
(Full schedules and brackets at nwbathletics.com)
Jim Carberry is a former Bellingham Herald sports editor and author of several books on Whatcom County prep basketball. Follow him on Twitter @whatcomhoops and visit the Whatcom Hoops Facebook page
