It’s hard enough to beat the first-place Lynden Christian girls and boys basketball teams when you’re at full strength, but Squalicum found out it was nearly impossible when you’re depleted by sickness as the host Storm lost both ends of a doubleheader Saturday night, Jan. 18.
The LC girls only led by one after the first quarter but then wore down the Storm on the way to a 73-29 victory. The win raised the Lyncs’ record to 13-2 overall and 8-0 in the Northwest Conference.
“You could tell we were sick,” said Squalicum coach Jenalyn Brown, whose team fell to 7-6 overall and 5-4 in league play. “I was impressed how well we held it together as long as we did. But no excuses. They’re a good team that will go far.”
The LC boys jumped out to a 13-0 lead but needed a barrage of 3-pointers to finally put away the Storm, 80-52. The Lyncs improved to 14-1 overall and 9-0 in the NWC, while Squalicum dropped to 6-8 overall and 2-7 in league.
“I felt we competed and being that we didn’t have two of our best players, I was happy with our performance,” said Squalicum coach David Dunham, who had to dip into his JV and C teams for players. “They’re a really good team with a great coaching staff. The fact that we kept it close for much of the game was a plus for us.”
The Storm are up in arms against LC’s Sara Van Loo.
LC Girls Prove Too Deep, Too Much For Storm, 73-29
It almost wasn’t fair for Lynden Christian to unleash its depth against the short-handed Storm, but the Lyncs bench was a big reason they outscored Squalicum by 43 points after the close first quarter.
Sophomore Jocelyn Eshuis came off the bench to lead LC with 14 points, and another reserve, junior Sara Van Loo, joined her in double figures with 11 points.
Sophomore Kortnee Tolsma, who only played the final minutes but outscored three starters with her 6 points, got the biggest celebration from the team with her two 3-pointers, and freshman reserve Tyra Dykstra also added 5 points.
“One of the strengths of our team is depth; to have 10 or 11 girls that can contribute makes us harder to play against,” said Lynden Christian coach Brady Bomber. “It was fun to see games like this where they get to score a little more.”
“We knew they were one of the better teams,” said Van Loo of the Storm, which had won five straight league games all by double figures. “So it might give us (the reserves) an opportunity to play. We’re starting to play together more.”
Of course, the Lyncs’ two leading scorers — senior Allison Shumate and junior Ella Fritts — also got in the act, tossing in 13 points apiece.
For Squalicum, the healthy bodies were as hard to come by as points against the stingy Lyncs defense. Two of the team’s top reserves sat out the game and the Storm’s only senior and normally starting center, Loretta Murphy-Kangas, managed to get in the game for a few minutes after being sick all day.
“I got a little worried when they were gasping for breath,” said Brown of her players, “but they seemed to enjoy it.”
That was mainly because the coach emphasized having fun even in the midst of sickness and adversity. It started with the opening tipoff when Squalicum sent out their shortest starter, 5-foot-5 junior Jolie Paz, for the jump ball.
“We had a lot of fun,” said Paz, who didn’t win the jump ball but did score 8 points. “The girls out there gave 100 percent. I wish we could have brought more. But we’re doing amazing, playing for each other. I’m hoping we make it far.”
Tiana Thompson, one of nine sophomores on the team, led Squalicum with 9 points, and another sophomore, Lexi Robbins, had 5 points. No one else managed more than two points, but Brown wasn’t discouraged by Saturday’s result — especially after the recent winning streak.
“I’ve been surprised at their rapid maturity,” she said of her young squad. “I was a little scared (after a 46-point loss to Lynden). But nothing is easy in this league. You have to work for everything. And they’ve really been fun.”
Squalicum is back in action on Tuesday when the Storm hosts Sedro-Woolley before visiting Anacortes on Friday. Lynden Christian is at Anacortes on Wednesday before hosting Nooksack Valley in an important Class 1A clash on Friday.
Lynden Christian 73, Squalicum 29
Lynden Christian 11 26 19 17—73
Squalicum 10 10 5 4—29
Lynden Christian: D. Dykstra 2, T. Dykstra 5, Hernandez 5, Tolsma 6, Fritts 13, Scott 4, Shumate 13, Van Loo 11, Pierce, Eshuis 14.
Squalicum: Murphy-Kangas 2, Paz 8, Thompson 9, Kiesau 2, Robbins 5, Harper 2, Kettman 1.
Gunnar Dykstra drives to the basket when he wasn’t shooting 3s.
Younger Dykstra Ties Record As LC Boys Roll, 80-52
Four days after his older brother just missed tying the school record for 3-pointers, sophomore Gunnar Dykstra did Gannon one better by making nine 3s to put himself in the LC record books with former Lyncs sharpshooter Andrew DeVries.
“I had no idea,” Gunnar said of the record. When asked if he would rub it in to his older sibling, Gunnar shook his head. “No. He’s my older brother … as long as he passes when he’s not open.”
It was only appropriate that Gannon was the one who assisted Gunnar on his record-tying shot, which came with 5:45 left in the game. What was just as remarkable as his nine made 3-pointers was that he only missed two 3-point attempts.
“He’s a Dykstra so he can shoot,” said Lynden Christian coach Tim Zylstra of the Dykstra family legacy that includes Gunnar’s dad, who was the school’s all-time leading scorer, and Gunnar’s grandfather, who was the MVP of LC’s first state championship team. “He makes it look effortless, but he’s put a lot of work in.”
Although he took a backseat to his younger sibling on Saturday, senior Gannon Dykstra still did just fine with 18 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds.
Senior Luke Van Kooten and sophomore Kaden Veldman added 12 points each with Van Kooten hitting two 3s and collecting 4 assists and 3 steals, and Veldman pulling down 11 rebounds. Sophomore Dawson Hintz led LC with 6 assists, and junior Boyce Robertson had 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
In all, the Lyncs would finish with 26 assists. “The game was slow at first, but then we started moving the ball better and played really well,” said Gunnar. “We’re getting ready for the playoffs.”
Although the outcome might have been disappointing for the Storm, their effort wasn’t. Despite having half the varsity roster either out or suffering from the sickness that has affected much of the student body, Squalicum battled to the end.
“I thought with missing guys, we played hard,” said sophomore Blake Elston, who led Squalicum with 14 points. “Not looking at the scoreboard, I felt it was closer than it actually was.”
Another sophomore, Orion Granberg-Kiddle, who was brought up from JV, added 10 points; senior Jaxon Hofer had 9 points on a trio of 3-pointers; and senior Ty Hoffman and sophomore Hunter Calloway had 6 points each.
Dunham especially praised Calloway, one of the league’s top guards, for even playing despite being sick.
“Hunter fought through it,” said Dunham. “I was proud of him.”
Squalicum is on the road against Sedro-Woolley on Tuesday and then hosts Anacortes on Friday. Lynden Christian has a big week, hosting Anacortes on Wednesday and then hosting Nooksack Valley in a key 1A showdown on Friday.
Lynden Christian 80, Squalicum 52
Lynden Christian 18 22 23 17—80
Squalicum 6 17 12 17—52
Lynden Christian: Hintz 4, Gu. Dykstra 27, Ahlers, Maberry 2, Robertson 2, Howell 3, Ga. Dykstra 18, Kamphouse, Van Kooten 12, Veldman 12
Squalicum: Nichols 4, Calloway 6, Knowlton 3, Hoffmann 6, Hofer 9, McAlister, Granberg-Kiddle 10, Elston 14.
