For the third straight year, the Lynden Lions are the champions of 2A basketball.  The Lions defeated the Prosser Mustangs, 59-49, in the state championship game, Saturday night, in the Yakima SunDome.    The Lions got off to a quick 8-0 start that included two 3-point shots from senior forward Payton Mills.  After a Prosser timeout, the Lions lead grew to 12-0 before the Mustangs got on the board with 2:57 left in the opening quarter.   Leading 19-3 after eight minutes, the

The Lynden Christian Lyncs breezed past the Zillah Leopards, 61-42, to capture the 1A Boys State Basketball Championship, Saturday night, in the Yakima SunDome.   It was the first loss of the season for the Leopards, and the eighth championship in program history for the Lyncs.  Both teams end the season with 26-1 records.   It was the usual stars for the Lyncs on the scoresheet, as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, junior Dawson Hintz, scored 18 points, with guard tande

3rd Place for the Seahawks in 2026 What they couldn’t do yesterday, they did today.   The Anacortes Seahawks overcame a 15-point first half deficit, and edged the Columbia River Rapids, 67-63, to capture third place in the 2026 2A State Basketball Tournament, Saturday, at the Yakima Valley SunDome.    The Seahawks never had the lead until senior guard Gunner Willoughby hit a 3-point shot from the right wing with 3:45 to play in the game.  A few seconds later, senior guard Luc

Seahawks junior Ryan Harrington The undefeated, and #2 seeded RA Long Lumberjacks got past the #6 seeded Anacortes Seahawks, 53-49, Friday night in the 2A state semifinals in the Yakima SunDome.   The Lumberjacks were on the attack as the ball left the referee’s hand on the opening tip.  Showing off their strength, speed, and aggressiveness, that brought them to the semis with a perfect 26-0 record.    The Jacks forced the Seahawks to call two early timeouts, trailing 9-3 in

The Lynden Christian Lyncs are back in the 1A state championship game for the second year in a row.  A strong second half pushed them past the Kings Knights, 63-54, in Friday night’s semifinals in the Yakima SunDome.   After losing last year’s title game to Annie Wright, this will be the Lyncs fifth championship game appearance in the last six tournaments.    After the Lyncs served up a quick 10-2 start, with junior forward Kaden Veldman responsible for eight of those points,

The Lynden Lions are down to one game away from their third consecutive 2A state championship.  They put a defensive straight jacket on the Clarkston Bantams, in a 50-30 win in the state semifinals, Friday evening in the Yakima SunDome.   After eight minutes, it would have been hard to believe that either team would reach 50 points.   The Bantams scored first, and it held up for over four minutes before the Lions tied the score on an inside bucket by senior forward Rian Steph

The Anacortes Seahawks are headed for the 2A boys state semifinals, after a 71-61 win over the Tumwater Thunderbirds.  It will be the Seahawks first semifinal appearance since their second-place finish in 2015.  They are also assured of their first state tournament hardware since 2017.   The Thunderbirds scored six quick points on two 3-point shots which prompted a Seahawks timeout just 90 seconds into the game.  That would be all the scoring Tumwater could accomplish in the

The Lynden Christian Lyncs sprinted past the Seattle Christian Warriors, 84-56, in the quarterfinals of the 1A Boys state tournament, Thursday, in the Yakima SunDome.   The win puts the Lyncs into the semifinals for the sixth consecutive year.   The Lyncs got out to a quick 10-2 lead as the Warriors didn’t net a field goal until the 4:15 mark of the first period.  But once they did, they engineered a run of their own and took a 13-11 lead.  The quarter ended with a 3-point sh

Lion senior Rian Stephan The Lynden Lions cleared their first hurdle in the race for a third straight 2A Girls state championship by dismantling the Deer Park Stags, 58-33, Thursday, in a state quarterfinal game in the Yakima Valley SunDome.    It was pitted as the “early state championship” as it was the #2 seeded Stags against the #1 seeded Lions, but the Lions ended the suspense with a 20-3 run in the third quarter.   Before that, it was a defensive chess match at the star

The Renton RedHawks defeated the Lynden Lions, 46-36, in Wednesday’s elimination round of the 2A State basketball tournament, in the Yakima SunDome.   The 36 points by the Lions was their lowest scoring game of the season by 11 points.  On the other hand, the RedHawks beat their previous low score of the season by one point.    In the first quarter ended with the Lions leading 13-12, which was the highest scoring quarter of the game.  The RedHawks were able to drive the lane

The late season run by the Nooksack Valley Pioneers came to an end to the hands of the Seattle Christian Warriors, 78-44, in the elimination Round of 12, in the 1A Boys State Tournament, Wednesday, in the Yakima SunDome.   The #8 seeded Warriors paid no attention to the seeding of the #16 Pioneers, or their 11-14 record as the Pioneers set foot in the SunDome for the first time since 2011.   Through the first few minutes, both teams suffered through missed shots and turnovers

(This Week In (the) State Tournament) The long and winding, definitely windy, and sometimes snowy, road to the Yakima County SunDome began right after Thanksgiving, 2025.  There are four tournaments and 48 teams remaining from all those that had this dream, months ago.    The remaining Northwest Conference representatives include the Lynden and Lynden Christian boys and girl’s teams, along with the Anacortes and Nooksack Valley boy’s teams.   Wednesday Games   1A Boys, 200pm

The Northwest Conference took five boys and three girls teams into regional play of the 2026 state basketball tournaments.  And when the weekend was over, six of the eight will play on in the Yakima County SunDome, and two are done for the season.   The headline on Friday was the Nooksack Valley boys win over Fort Vancouver.  The #16 Pioneers eliminated the #9 Trappers, 52-45, in a game played at Camas High School, in Vancouver, just a 285-mile trip, each way.   The Pioneers

We are just one day away from the start of regional play in the 2026 state basketball tournaments. Here is look at what to expect on the boys floor through next week. 1A Boys State Tournament Preview   #16 Nooksack Valley Pioneers (10-14) vs #9 Fort Vancouver Trappers (20-3) Camas High School, Vancouver, Friday, February 27, 600pm   The Trappers broke through last year, appearing in their first state basketball tournament since the 1990 4A state tournament.  Their stay as t

I didn't see many girls games, but I can give you some matchup perspectives, and a little history along the way. Please read on for information on the 1A and 2A Girls State Basketball Tournaments. 1A Girls State Tournament Preview #16 King’s Way Christian Knights (16-6) vs #9 Nooksack Valley Pioneers (14-10) Lynden High School, Saturday, February 28, 200pm   The Knights are making just their third state tournament appearance, and second consecutive.  They lost in the regiona

Pioneer senior Cole Coppinger Before we get deep into what we will expect by the end of the day, let’s get caught up on what happened on Friday and Saturday.   The 1A teams were the focus, as they played their loser out games on Friday at Lynden High School, then their winner to state games on Saturday.   On Friday night, Meridian eliminated Blaine, 49-42.  The Trojans led by nine points at halftime, and by 15 at the end of the third quarter.    The Borderites rallied in the

Seahawks celebrate their District Title Two district championships were awarded Friday night at Mount Vernon High School.  The 2A girls title goes the Lynden Lions, as they defeated a tough Archbishop Murphy team, 58-40, for their third straight district title.  On the boy’s side, the Anacortes Seahawks edged the Lynden Lions, 50-47, in the 2A district championship game.   2A Boys: Anacortes 50, Lynden 47   Senior forward Micah Dickison led a Seahawk charge by scoring ten fou

With a bunch of basketball teams still involved in district tournament games, here is the remaining schedule, and how to watch and listen.   (NFHS requires a subscription)   Thursday                                                                                                                 2A Girls: Archbishop Murphy vs Lynden, at MVHS, 530pm           NFHS 2A Boys: Anacortes vs Lynden, at MVHS, 730pm                              NFHS, KPUG1170am, KPUG1170.com , KBRC 10

Cougar sophomore Carter Langum The 2A Boys District 1 Tournament has always been the utmost of challenges to squeak through the mass of quality talent and competitive teams, but this year there was an extra element added.   The days of sending three or four teams to state ended in the 2023-24 season when the district’s number of teams fell over the years from twelve teams to ten, then finally to the current count of nine teams in the 2A classification in District 1.    The co

Coaches Kesti and Swanson The Sedro-Woolley Cubs are one win away from a state tournament berth, after their 63-45 win over Mount Vernon, in the consolation round of the 3A Boys District 1 Tournament.   This was a rivalry game in a post-season elimination situation, so the Sedro-Woolley gym was packed with a standing room only crowd, with student sections filling the end zone bleachers.    The Bulldogs zone defense was geared to slow down the league’s top scorer, and in my op