The SunDome Shootout is a major event in my world.  It’s the best chance in the state to see the most teams in one spot.  You can see a team play two consecutive days, so if that team struggled on day one, you could get a second read on them next day.   It caters mainly to the 1A and 2A classifications that will be a part of the state tournaments in the Yakima SunDome in March.  There were 28 teams this year.  Most are from the boys 1A and 2A classifications.  There were also

From Wednesday to Monday, I personally saw three teams reach the 90-point threshold.  Two were in the same game.  The third came on Monday night as Lakewood ran past Nooksack Valley, 91-59.   And a game the same day that I did not attend, Lynden Christian outscored Arlington 19-11 in overtime to leave with a 93-85 win.  It was the second time the Lyncs hit 90-plus in their last three games.   If I were a coach in the NWC, I have always said that Lakewood would be the most dif

For the second time in three days, the Sedro-Woolley Cubs lost a heartbreaker on overtime.  Coming off an emotional 65-63 OT loss to Anacortes at home on Monday, the Cubs were nipped again, 91-90, Wednesday night, at Lynden Christian.   The Cubs, who played the last 4:04 without leading scorer, Ethan DeJong, who fouled out in the last seconds of regulation, had a 90-85 lead with 58 seconds left in overtime.    They took the five-point lead with 1:15 left in OT, thanks to a ni

Anacortes junior guard Spencer Roberts swished a 17-foot shot from the right baseline with 3.5 seconds left on overtime, as the Seahawks won a “battle royale,” 65-63, over Sedro-Woolley, Monday night in the Cubs gym.   The rivalry between the Seahawks and the Cubs is obvious, but this one doesn’t have a cool nickname, like the “Tiger-Hawk Challenge,” or the “Battle of the Bridge,” or even my personal favorite, “Chickenfest.”  But maybe it needs one.   If I were to give it a n

There were six conference games played over Monday and Tuesday, and there was nothing close to a nail-biter.  Two games had differentials of 16 points.  Another pair had margins of 26 points.  And the last two were decided by 31 and 39 points.   The Mount Baker Mountaineers had the toughest assignment.  Their late start due to football success had them hitting the floor on Monday, in Sedro-Woolley for their first game of the year.  Not a team to go up against when your main c

While the rain fell and the rivers rose outside, inside the Bellingham High School Gym, the Blaine Borderites snapped a streak that went on way too long.   Blaine’s 67-62 Northwest Conference victory over the Bayhawks broke a 21-game losing streak in NWC games, dating back to a win over Mount Baker on January 15, 2024.   The Borderites seem to have a firm grasp on the system implemented by second-year head coach, Chas Kok, who ran the show at Burlington-Edison for five season

With week number two complete, we are down to two squads that have yet to hit the hardwood.  Mount Baker starts their season at Sedro-Woolley on Monday.  While Anacortes travels to Ferndale on Tuesday.   Speaking of Sedro-Woolley, the Cubs are one of my early pics as a “contender” to the Northwest Conference boy’s title.  (One of my 16!)   The Cubs opened their season on Thursday, as they hosted the Stanwood Spartans, who edged Mount Vernon, two days prior.    The first thing

It was a busy first Saturday of the Northwest Conference season.  I saw a lot of what I expected, and some of what I didn’t expect.   The eye-popper was Burlington-Edison.  They showed why they will be a contender in the NWC and beyond, as they had no trouble with North Kitsap in their 72-27 victory.    After winning the state 2A championship in 2020, the Vikings slipped to 7-14 last season, and judging them in warmups, they appeared to be athletic enough to make this a compe

Yes, the road to your applicable Dome starts right here, right now. If you were to play "I Spy With My Little Eye," here is what you may encounter on your trip. The Lynden girls currently hold the longest winning streak in the state in any classification.  Their last loss was at Nooksack Valley on December 19, 2023.  Since then, the Lions have won 48 straight games.  And, according to MaxPreps, the is the fifth longest streak in the United States.   Before anyone hits the f

None of the Northwest Conference schools changed classifications over the summer, so we still have four in the 3A classification, seven in 2A, and five in 1A.    It has always been extremely difficult to get through the 2A District Tournament, with only two allocations to state. Now, at least, a third team will have a chance to advance to Yakima. First, a little history, with a math minor.   The District RPI began in 2017 to try to fit teams together by ranking from two diff

When I leave the Yakima SunDome around 11pm on that Saturday night, it always seems like the start of the next season is light years away.  But eventually, we become just a turkey dinner from the first days of Northwest Conference basketball.  The 20 th  season of the NWC begins on Saturday. The Lynden girls were the only NWC team to bring home the gold ball in 2025.  They had it for the second year in a row, and it could be in their custody for another year. Annie Wright was