Whatcom’s best not only dominated the recent Washington state basketball tournaments, but they also are dominating the post-season all-star awards.
First up is the Northwest Conference girls all-star game on Wednesday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon. The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children and seniors.
Those committed to play include Devin Coppinger, Lainey Kimball, and Tana Hoekema of Class 1A state champion Nooksack Valley; Payton Mills of 2A state champion Lynden; Ella Fritts and Tabby DeJong of Lynden Christian; Madi Cooper, Emmy Hart, and Natalie Brewer of Sehome; Mari Binning of Squalicum; Jordyn Vezzetti and Deja Dube of Blaine; Mallory Butenschoen of Ferndale; Brooklyn Fuller of Meridian; and Jenna Wineinger of Mount Baker.
Here are the all-state awards that have been announced:
Boys Coaches All-State Awards
The Washington Interscholastic Boys Coaches Association (WIBCA) honors the state’s top seniors and coaches each year. Brian Roper, who guided Lynden to its historic third Class 2A state championship in a row, was named the 2A coach of the year.
Dawson Bouma of Lynden Christian was named the 1A player of the year after helping the Lyncs take third at state, and Lynden’s Anthony Canales was named the 2A co-player of the year along with Cade Orness of North Kitsap.
Boys Coaches All-State Games
The annual WIBCA all-star weekend will include a series all-star games on Saturday, March 16, at Bellevue Community College. Tickets are $10 at the door for the unified game at 10 a.m., futures game at 11 a.m., 1B vs. 2B at 12:30 p.m., 1A vs. 2A at 2 p.m., and 3A vs. 4A at 3:30 p.m.
Chosen to play from Whatcom County are Canales, Bouma, Wyatt Stephan of Bellingham (2A), and Jeremiah Wright of Lynden Christian (1A).
Girls Coaches All-State Games
The annual Washington State Girls Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Games will be Sunday, March 17, at King’s High School in Seattle. The 1B vs. 2B game is at 2 p.m., 1A vs. 2A game is at 4 p.m., and the 3A vs. 4A game is at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and students with ASB cards.
Chosen to play for the 1A team are Coppinger, Kimball, Hoekema, and Vezzetti. Chosen for the 1B team was Serena Jo Pantalia of Lummi Nation.
The coaches association also will announce the players and coaches of the year for each classification at halftime of each game. The Washington state Ms. Basketball and WSGBCA Coach of the Year awards will be presented at halftime of the 3A vs. 4A game.
The games will be broadcast on Turk Pride TV on YouTube.
All-State Tournament Teams
Members of our three state championships were among those selected by the Eli Sports Network as part of its all-tournament teams.
Mills and Coppinger were chosen as the girls Class 2A and 1A MVPs, respectively. Joining Mills on the first team was Finley Parcher of Lynden, and the Lions’ Rob Adams was selected as coach of the 2A tournament.
Joining Coppinger on the 1A first team was Lynden Christian’s Grace Hintz. Hoekema and Lynden Christian’s Allison Shumate were named to the second team.
For the boys, Brant Heppner of Lynden was named the 2A MVP and teammate Canales was chosen for the first team. Wright and Gannon Dykstra of Lynden Christian were on the 1A first and second team, respectively. Lummi Nation’s Karson Revey was named to the 1B second team.
WIAA Athletes Of The Week
Coppinger and Canales added to their list of awards by being named among the athletes of the week by the WIAA for Feb. 26-March 2. The two were selected as the girls 1A and boys 2A MVPs in an unofficial vote by the media at the state tournaments.
