Some storms strike suddenly and overwhelming. Others build up over time before leaving destruction in their wake. The undefeated and top-ranked Lynden girls and boys basketball teams displayed both in storming to a doubleheader sweep at Sehome on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
The Lynden girls scored the first 31 points of the game to claim a 69-16 victory over the Mariners. With the win, the Lions raised their overall record to 14-0 and their Northwest Conference mark to 7-0. The Mariners fell to 5-8 overall and 3-5 in NWC play.
The Lynden boys didn’t take the lead for good until early in the second quarter, slowly building the margin up to as much as 29 in beating the Mariners, 63-36. With the victory, the Lions improved to 13-0 overall and 8-0 in league, while Sehome dropped to 4-9 overall and 2-6 in league.
Lynden’s Payton Mills dominated inside with 20 points.
Lynden girls blast Mariners early in 69-16 victory
The Lions didn’t play a perfect first quarter. After all, they did miss a couple of shots and gave up Taylor Turrell’s scoop shot at the buzzer. But they also made four 3-pointers, all three of their free throws, and ended any doubt of the outcome with a 31-2 lead.
“We wanted to come out with high intensity,” said sophomore Finley Parcher, who had nine of her 20 points in the first period. “Defense is our priority. But we’re still improving and finding our groove.”
It was hard to improve on the start, when Lynden led 11-0 before a Sehome shot even hit the rim four minutes into the game. By the time Aspen Barge hit Sehome’s second field goal almost midway through the second quarter, the Lions led 40-4.
The lead was 39 at the half, and when the Lions shut out the Mariners in the third quarter, it was just a matter of letting the running clock run out — and giving both teams more experience.
“This is experience for us,” said Sehome coach Kim Stensgar, whose young Mariners have no seniors and only two players that saw much varsity action last season. “I have a lot of respect for Rob (Adams, Lynden’s coach) and what they are doing. They make every possession competitive. When we make mistakes, we have to learn from it.”
The Lions shut down the Mariners without a fullcourt press, instead relying on hard-nosed man-to-man defense with some zone thrown in for fun. The big early lead allowed Adams to try different combinations and on Wednesday, almost every move worked.
“You know me; we’re always tinkering,” the coach said of his defending Class 2A state champs. “We want to play our best basketball the last seven games of the year. We’ve been waiting for a night when we come out and shoot the ball well. The last couple of games, we’re starting to do that.”
But, as always, the emphasis for Lynden has been on defense.
“We’ve had a lot of talks about the great teams of the past,” Adams said of his four state championship squads. “Our calling card was always rebounding and defense. If we want to be like those other teams, we have to be committed. The standard is the standard. Seeing Payton (Mills) and Finley diving for loose balls when we’re up by 40 … when you see your leaders do it, it sends a clear message to the rest of the team.”
Mills and Parcher were just as committed on offensive as both finished with 20 points despite not playing in the fourth period. Parcher also had a pair of 3-pointers and was 4 of 4 from the line, while Mills dominated inside with 7 rebounds and also made a 3-pointer and all three of her free throws.
Junior Rian Stephan added 9 points for the Lions, and senior Kiki York had 6 points.
For Sehome, freshman Turrell was the only Mariner with more than four points and despite the score, she was anything but discouraged.
“We get to get better,” she said when asked what Sehome gets out of a game like Wednesday’s. “It’s fun playing really good players. They make you better.”
Both teams return to action on Friday. Sehome is at Lakewood, and Lynden is at Burlington-Edison in a matchup of the top two 2A teams not only in the Northwest Conference but, according to the latest state rankings, the top two 2A teams in the state.
And speaking for the No.1 team, one Lion is excited for Friday.
“We’re ready,” said Parcher.
Lynden 69, Sehome 16
Lynden 31 14 18 6—69
Sehome 2 4 0 10—16
Lynden: Bowler 6, Hermanutz 3, Nyhoff, Newcomb, Slayton, R. Stephan 9, I. Stephan 2, Anderson 3, York 6, Parcher 20, Mills 20, Basart.
Sehome: Gates, Hartford, Gustafso, Schroeder 4, Turrell 7, Barge 2, Panagos, Ke. Reeves, Hogan, Kingsley 3.
Gordy Bedlington (3) looks for another assist under the watchful eye of coach Roper.
Lynden boys start slow, finish strong in 63-36 win
After one quarter, it looked like a major upset might be brewing as Sehome held a one-point lead. But as they have all season, the three-time defending 2A state champion Lions found their groove on both offense and defense, eventually pulling away from the game but outgunned Mariners.
“Lynden’s really good,” said Sehome coach Brad Jackson. “They’re starting to round into shape. They are so hard to matchup with physically.”
With three starters and a key reserve all 6-foot-5 or taller, the Lions controlled the boards and the tempo against the Mariners, whose tallest starters were 6-2.
“We had a size advantage and wanted to go inside early,” said Lynden coach Brian Roper. “It just took us a while.”
Leading the way was 6-6 senior Brant Heppner, who had 22 points and three 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Juniors Ty Jorgenson and Spencer Adams, both 6-5, had 15 and 12 points, respectively, with Jorgenson adding 6 rebounds and Adams grabbing 9 boards. Sophomore point guard Gordy Bedlington had 6 points and a team-high 5 assists.
“At the start, we didn’t execute our plays,” said Adams, who also had a pair of 3-pointers. “But we kept playing hard and started hitting shots and sharing the ball. Everyone has trust in each other.”
The Mariners also played hard to the end, even outscoring the Lions in the fourth quarter.
Bruising and bruised junior Cole Turrell, who at 6-2 was called to bang inside with Lynden’s big men, had 16 points and 4 rebounds; feisty junior point guard Nolan Wright, who was the focus of Lynden’s pressure defense, had 11 points; and junior jumping jack Xavier Kelley pulled down 16 of Sehome’s 27 rebounds.
“We had a lot of energy in the first quarter and then we got comfortable, maybe too comfortable,” said Turrell, who is just returning after injuring his knee in football. “But we’re getting there.”
Jackson also was looking at the bright side.
“I thought we did some good stuff,” he said. “So many of our guys have been in and out with injuries and sickness. If we can move forward … we’ve got a chance if we can get everybody healthy.”
Roper praised Jackson, calling the longtime Western Washington University coach one of his mentors and a great man. And like Jackson, the longtime Lynden coach with seven state titles on his resume was just as excited for the future of his team.
“I love coaching this team,” he said. “Their buy-in is high. The execution doesn’t always fit the buy-in. But they’re still young kids.”
Young kids who know the standard that has been set by the past three Lynden teams.
“We can always get better; you can never be satisfied,” said Adams, whose older brother Dawson starred on the 2022 state championship team. “There are always bigger goals to chase.”
Both teams will continue chasing their goals on Friday, when Lynden hosts Burlington-Edison and Sehome hosts Lakewood.
Lynden 63, Sehome 36
Lynden 10 20 18 15—63
Sehome 11 6 10 9—36
Lynden: Navarre 3, Bedlington 6, Price, Bowman 3, Ellis, Mar. Koenen, Mal. Koenen, Broersma 2, Jorgenson 15, Heppner 22, Adams 12, Smith.
Sehome: Wright 11, Jackson 3, Tanovan, McAtee, Kelley 5, Mitchell 1, Rusk, Watson, Turrell 16.
