Ten weeks of Northwest Conference basketball now seems like it went by in about five minutes. We turn the page to the post-season, and here is a preview of what is around the corner. 1A BOYS   GAME #1 #5 Mount Baker Mountaineers (1-14/3-15) at #4 Blaine Borderites (2-13/4-17) Wednesday, Feb. 11, 700pm, Loser Out Winner at #1 Lynden Christian, Friday, Feb 13, 730pm   The Mountaineers have lost 12 straight games and the Borderites have lost ten straight games.  But that’s the

The dust has settled and the brackets have spoken on the 2025-26 Northwest Conference basketball season.  There were no earth-shattering events that happened on the conference’s final evening, but it is worth a review.   Squalicum broke a six-game losing streak with a win at Oak Harbor, 49-44.  The Wildcats had been eliminated from the post-season the day before with Mount Vernon’s win over Mount Baker.  It was a big win for the Storm to stop the losing streak before the 2A d

The number of streaks of consecutive points I have seen teams put on each other, many in the same game, has become very noticeable.  Even in the final week of the regular season, between teams discernable by just a basket or two.    Anacortes and Lynden put runs on each other in their game on Tuesday.  Lions Get Past Seahawks...   Then on Wednesday, Burlington-Edison turned around a 21-4 deficit to Bellingham (coming up here), then Anacortes and Lakewood turned the tide on ea

The Lynden Lions passed their first exam of finals week, with a 61-51 win over the Anacortes Seahawks, Tuesday night, at Jake Maberry Gym.    This battle between two of the 2A heavyweights meant the inside track to the top seed in next week’s district tournament.  But as I have said before, I think seed placement in this year’s tournament means less than in most years due to the depth of the entire field.   This game took on a heavy dose of a defensive focus from both benches

As of Monday, it’s Finals week.  Has your team kept their grades up all season, and is ready for Finals Week exams, or have they been daydreaming in class and in need of learning two semesters of geology in three hours?  Fortunately, either way, they are all still in line for a passing grade.   The Lynden Christian boys finished rivalry week by locking up the conference championship with a 72-54 win over Lynden.    On the girls’ side, Lynden took sole possession of first plac

Sedro-Woolley’s 76-60 win over Sehome on Monday keeps the Cubs in the race for second place in the Northwest Conference, and solidifies their #6 RPI toward the 3A district tournament.   Tuesday’s 70-62 win by Meridian over Ferndale pushes the Trojans closer to the #2 seed heading into the 1A district tournament.  The Trojans NWC record is now 4-8, with Nooksack Valley and Blaine at 2-10.  The Trojans need one more win, or a loss by both the Pioneers and Borderites, to secure

Last week in the Northwest Conference, there were five games in which teams of the same classification went head-to-head.  Three of those were between teams who were no more than one game apart in the standings.   In Burlington on Monday, Lakewood, with a 6-3 NWC record, was at Burlington, who was 6-2.  The offenses were not up to the challenges that their respective defenses offered.  The Cougars got a 54-43 win, despite being held to their third lowest point total of the se

With three weeks left in the regular season, Lynden Christian continues to lead the standings on the boy’s side with a perfect 9-0 record.  One length behind are the Anacortes Seahawks.  The Seahawks will host the Lyncs on Wednesday.   Lynden has forged their way into third place after wins over Sehome and Burlington-Edison this week, as the 2A’s continue shuffling like a deck of cards on a Las Vegas blackjack table.   Sehome responded to their loss to Lynden by winning at La

In the upcoming week, we will pass through the mid-point of the conference season.  No matter what your team’s record is now, you are still in the hunt.   Here is some of what went on in the Northwest Conference race since Wednesday.    Lynden 79, Sedro-Woolley 71   Wednesday at Lynden, the Lions broke open a close game in the final seconds of the third quarter and the opening seconds of the fourth to get past the Sedro-Woolley Cubs, 79-71.   In a sharply played offensive fir

The first event of the new year was a battle of two of the final four unbeatens in the Northwest Conference boy’s race.  The Lynden Christian Lyncs (4-0/9-1) at the Burlington-Edison Tigers (3-0/7-1).  This race was over quickly, as the Lyncs sprinted to a huge early lead and beat the Tigers, 79-52.   The Lyncs are known for their sharp shooting from beyond the 3-point arc, but on this night, they did their early damage near the rim.  Their first nine field goals were 2-point

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

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

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

I’m not calling this a down year for the entity of the Northwest Conference when it comes to the 2024-25 basketball season, but when you set the bar so high, others would love to have your “down year.”   There are four championships given in the Yakima SunDome each March, and in tournaments held in 2022, 2023, and 2024, teams from the NWC came home with three each year.  So, this year’s total of one is, of course, fewer than three, but there’s no reason to panic.   The Lynden

(This Week In (The) State Tournament)   Yes, that number says a lot about the depth of the Northwest Conference over the past 18 years. ...