Lynden Christian takes out Lakeside

YAKIMA – The Northeast A League has the reputation for being a physical defensive league but it was 1A powerhouse Lynden Christian putting on a clinic on stopping an opponent Friday in the SunDome.

The top-ranked Lyncs (28-0) smothered Lakeside’s Eagles in the first half – allowing just three field goals en route to a 29-9 halftime lead – and cruised to a 49-29 semifinal win in the State 1A girls basketball tournament.

The Eagles (17-12) will play Granger in the game for third and sixth places today at 5 p.m.

Lynden Christian will try for its record ninth championship tonight against Columbia Burbank at 9.

The game effectively ended for Lakeside when Lynden Christian went on a 19-0 run across a stretch of 11:12 spanning the second and third periods.

“We watched them play and we knew they were a really good team,” Lakeside coach Jeff Pietz said. “Great teams like Lynden Christian make good runs. We just couldn’t match their run in the second period.”

But Lakeside didn’t quit, actually playing LCS to a 20-20 standstill in the second half.

“We decided to take the attitude that we were gonna fight rather than just be glad to be here,” said Pietz.

Kelli Tikker led Lakeside with seven points and five rebounds. Brianne Ryan led Lynden Christian with 13 points.

Colfax 53, Connell 36: The Bulldogs eliminated the Eagles, riding a 20-5 first-quarter surge to advance to today’s game for fourth and seventh places at 1:30 p.m. against Nooksack Valley.

After forcing 10 turnovers and limiting Connell to two field goals in the opening period, Colfax’s defensive intensity waned, but that was not unexpected in the aftermath of Thursday’s emotionally wrenching quarterfinal loss to Lynden Christian.

“I don’t know why we are having these lulls,” Colfax coach Corey Baerlocher said. “I think part of the problem is that we are so worried about it, it’s making it worse.”

The truth is the Bulldogs were never challenged. The Eagles cut a 3-0 deficit to 3-2, then Colfax reeled off 12 straight points and was never slowed.

The opening run did assuage a concern Baerlocher had in the aftermath of Thursday’s loss – the mental state of his team.

The six Colfax seniors spent time after Thursday’s loss holed up in their suite at the team hotel. After a cathartic evening that involved a lot of tears and a vow to stick together for their final two days – it lasted well into the early hours of the morning – they agreed collectively that they weren’t ready to go home.

“We didn’t want to go out of this today,” Sadie Lazzarini said. “We wanted to show people we’re still here.”

Jordan Harazin noted that even with the loss and a chance to finish no better than fourth, the team still had a chance to leave a mark on the tournament.

“We started really, really strong today,” she said. “I think we were a little mad from yesterday.”

Colfax sophomore Kayla Johnson made it clear the program will be in good hands when the six seniors graduate. Johnson had 20 points to lead all scorers. Those numbers came on the heels of back-to-back 17-point games in the first two rounds.

Freeman 50, Chelan 36: It’s not a work of art, but it’s an art form that works.

Freeman’s suffocating defense was enough again for the Scotties to grind their way into today’s game for fifth and eighth places against Zillah at 10:30 a.m. The trip to the trophy round is the third in as many state visits since 2005.

The Scotties held Chelan to three field goals on 18-percent shooting from the floor in the second half, rallying from a small halftime deficit to advance.

It’s the Freeman way under Matt Gregg. The Scotties allowed more than 50 points once this season – in Wednesday’s first-round loss to Granger.

Gregg noted that with leading scorer Carly Heinen not 100 percent and another starter not feeling well, the strong contribution from the reserves came at the right time.

“We told the kids at halftime to stop being soft,” he said. “We challenged them to draw an offensive foul, to go over someone’s back. Do something that was aggressive.”

The Scotties started the second half with a 13-2 run that turned a 24-20 deficit into a 33-26 lead. Megan McIntyre – who led Freeman with 19 points and eight rebounds – had seven points in the run.

The aggression also translated on the boards, where the Scotties led 44-21MacKenzie Taylor had 10 rebounds while McIntyre had eight and Heinen seven.