The scorers table sign at Mount Vernon High School. PHOTO: Doug Lange
Regionals: "Home Court" Advantage for Most Whatcom County Teams
February 19, 2019
Whatcom County prep basketball fans won't have far to travel to watch most of their teams play in the regional round of the state tournaments this weekend. 5 of the 6 qualified teams will play at Mount Vernon High School.
The Lummi Nation boys along with the Lynden & Lynden Christian boys & girls will all hit the hardwood in Mount Vernon on Saturday. All five squads are ranked in the top 4 in RPI in their respective classifications and divisions allow them to host the regionals match-ups.
The Meridian girls are the lone team that will play outside of Skagit County this weekend. As a seventh seed the Trojans will travel to Issaquah High School to battle Bellevue Christian at 2:00pm on Saturday.
In addition to a short amount of travel another advantage is familiarity. All four of the Lynden and Lynden Christian schools won district championships on the home court of the Bulldogs last week.
The Lummi Nation boys (23-1) will open things up at Mount Vernon High School. The 3rd seeded Blackhawks square off against the 6 seed Yakama Tribal (16-8) at 10:00am.
Then it's a Lynden Christian Lyncs doubleheader. The 3rd seeded LC girls (20-3) take on 6th seed Annie Wright (20-3) at 12:00pm. The top-ranked LC boys (23-0) follow at 2pm versus 8th seeded Connell (19-4).
The nightcap features the Lynden squads. Both are the top seeds in the 2A ranks. The girls (20-3) will square off with #8 W.F. West (17-6) at 6pm and the boys (22-1) will battle #8 Franklin Pierce (23-3) at 8pm.
Win or lose, all six Whatcom County schools will advance to their respective 4-day state tournament beginning February 27th in either Yakima (1A/2A or Spokane (1B/2B). Winners in the regional round earn a day one bye. Losers will have to play a loser-out contest on day one.
2/23 Schedule
10:00am Lummi Nation Boys vs. Yakama Tribal (MTVHS)
12:00pm Lynden Christian Girls vs. Annie Wright (MTVHS)
2:00pm Lynden Christian Boys vs. Connell (MTVHS)
2:00pm Meridian Girls vs. Bellevue Christian (Issaquah HS)
6:00pm Lynden Girls vs. W.F. West (MTVHS)
8:00pm Lynden Boys vs. Franklin Pierce (MTVHS)
- Doug Lange
