Have three state championships out of four tournaments each year become the norm? Well, those are the results the last three years, and is seems like anything else would be a “down year,” when any other league would see that as a great accomplishment, having done it once.
The Lynden boys won for the third straight year. The Nooksack girls won for the second straight year. The Lynden girls won for the second time in the last four tournaments.
Any repeat deserves an extra pat on the back to the coaches for maintaining that level despite the natural roster changes from year to year. Given the Lynden boys’ streak of winning five of the last six tournaments, certainly they have had their share of talented players, but the staff has remained the same and has to be the most experienced in the state.
Two other streaks are the three straight state tournament Most Valuable Player awards to the Lions Anthony Canales and the second for the Pioneers’ Devin Coppinger.
Last season there was an epic battle for the Northwest Conference boys title between eventual champion, Anacortes, along with Sehome, Lynden and Lynden Christian. This year’s foursome was Mount Vernon, Lynden, Anacortes, and Lynden Christian, who all beat each other in that order with the Lyncs handing the Bulldogs their only loss in conference play.
From there, it was a very tight squeeze on both the 1A and 2A boys district tournaments. Lynden and Anacortes got through as the two reps from the Northwest, with state caliber Cedarcrest staying home, with the dangerous squad from Lakewood also in the mix.
The 1A side also had a state-worthy team in Nooksack Valley staying home, being edged by Meridian at the buzzer for the second spot to state, behind Lynden Christian.
At this point, I must send congratulations to the 1A-2A seeding committee, for scoring the highest, based on seeds compared to the final results.
The 2A boys top three seeds were Lynden, Grandview, and North Kitsap, and that’s exactly how they finished.
Same was true for the 1A girls, as Nooksack Valley, Deer Park and Lynden Christian were the top three seeds and took the top three trophies, in that order.
In 1A boys, the top seed was Zillah, who won the title. Second seed, Lynden Christian finished third, with third seed Annie Wright taking second. Fourth seed Freeman and fifth seed Seattle Academy finished right in line.
The top two seeds in girls 2A, Ellensburg and Lynden, came out Lynden and Ellensburg.
While the Lynden boys is the first team to win three straight titles in 2A, since it’s new beginning in 1998, Rainier Beach is the only other boys’ team to win three straight championships. Those were 3A titles in 2012, 2013, and 2014. The Garfield girls just won their fourth straight 3A girls’ championship.
There were three NWC teams in the finals this year. The Lynden Christian boys and girls teams were missing from their normal Saturday night appearances, both finished third. The LC girls had been in the finals five straight years, and six of the past seven. The LC boys were in the championship game three straight years. In the semifinals this year, the girls lost by one and the boys lost by two.
Lynden’s 31-point win over Grandview was the largest margin of victory in any 2A championship game. The Lions also have the next four largest margins in championship games of 21, 18, 18, and 17. The Lyncs also have a 17-point championship win as a 2A in 2006.
Bremerton, the #11 seed, was the “Cinderella” talk of the tournament, as in the first 2A matchup they eliminated #6 Mark Morris, 51-47. The loss by Mark Morris was the final game for their long-time head coach Bill Bakamus, who is one of the great gentlemen of the game, and the winningest, active coach in the state.
Bremerton freshman guard Jalen Davis, an eventual first team all-tournament selection, made a name for himself in their win over the Monarchs, and became a “must watch” player. The Knights went on to upset #4 Renton the next day, before nearly shocking the Lions in the state semifinals.
Bremerton was beaten by league rival North Kitsap on the final day, and for the third time this season, and took home fifth place.
There were five or six teams that I could see coming out as 2A champions as the tournament started. Maybe the slight favorite out of that pack was #3 North Kitsap. They had a 17-point third quarter lead in their semifinal game against Grandview, but ended up losing by seven. Their win over Bremerton got them the third-place trophy.
Anacortes got a good start on Wednesday, eliminating Columbia River, but fell to North Kitsap on Thursday, and were eliminated by Prosser on Friday. The Seahawks certainly have a powerful group coming back in 2024-25.
The 1A boys tourney was all about three teams: Zillah, Lynden Christian, and Annie Wright. After those three, there was a sizeable difference from the rest of the field.
The Gators got past the Lyncs 48-46, then were poised to knock off the Leopards, but fell in the final seconds.
Zillah’s 6-5 sophomore Dekker Van De Graaf, had the improbable game winner, which came from creating the perfect miss.
Van De Graaf held the ball in the dribble neat center court, running the clock down in a tie game. In fact, he wasted too much time, and had to toss up a running desperation 25-footer. He followed his shot as it caromed off the backboard and the rim, right back to him. He caught his rebound in the air, and banked in a 10-footer before returning to the floor. The game winner went through with two seconds left.
The 2A girls tourney had two favorites, Ellensburg and Lynden. Both teams enjoyed double-digit wins throughout. Lynden’s 43-40 win got them their fourth state championship, all under the direction of head coach Rob Adams, and also ended the Bulldogs 75-game winning streak. That streak dated back to the 2020 tournament, in a quarterfinal win by the Lions over the Bulldogs.
Both teams have young rosters, so they both may have a streak going by the time they meet again.
Zillah, Lynden Christian, and Kings are the only 1A boys teams who have won championships over the last ten 1A boys tournaments. The Leopards now have four, while the Lyncs and the Knights have three each.
Along with three straight 2A championships, Lynden has won five of the last six titles. They have also brought home a trophy eight straight years, and in 11 of the last 12. All 11 of those trophies are third place or higher. Lynden’s regional/state record is 23-1 since 2018. Lynden Christian’s regional/state record is 20-3 during that same time.
The 1A’s reign supreme in the SunDome this year, as Zillah, the 1A boys champion, beat Lynden in the SunDome Shootout in late December. And the Nooksack Valley girls beat the Lion girls in their conference game in December.
The NWC had three teams in Saturday championship games, and went 3-0. In 2023, the NWC had five teams in the finals, and also won three titles. In 2022, five teams also won three championships, and in 2020 three finalists brought home two championships.
That adds up to eleven championships in the last four seasons, and a grand total of 25 for the “Conference of Champions” since the last classification adjustment in 2007.
Of those 25 titles, however, 21 of those were won by four teams that share the 98264-zip code. The other four are split between the Nooksack Valley girls (2023 & 24) and the Squalicum boys (2009-10).
A total of seven #1 seeds went on to win championships this year, out of the 12 state tournaments. There were nine #1’s that took home the gold ball last year.
What else happened in the SunDome?
The triple-berry lemonade is the greatest drink on earth. The concessions still fire up their grills too late and close too early. Too early, for example, is before halftime of the final games of the day. And some restaurants around town could also adjust their hours for this event.
Other than that, it was another fantastic basketball season in the Northwest Conference. I saw a new record, 98 games, and I even remember some of them.
I hope you enjoyed the content in its new home. I also hope to make it bigger and better next season, and hopefully bring in some sponsorships to help.
I hope to see you all next season, and in Yakima for #40.
~ Ted House
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