If defense wins championships, then the Lynden Lions will be there at the end. The Lions pulled away in the fourth quarter in defeating the White River Hornets, 53-29, in front of a big state/regional game crowd at Lynden High School, Friday night.
The Lions held the Hornets to 18 points below their previous low scoring game of the year. Their previous low was 47 points, which was also at the hands of the Lions, when the two met in December, in a Lions 58-47 win.
The Hornets were in sync defensively as well, holding the Lions to 20 points in the first half, but the Lions held a 20-10 lead at the break.
But the Lions defense held the Hornets to single digits in three of the four quarters. They also did not give up a field goal in the second quarter, and only one in the fourth quarter.
The Hornets still managed to stay within striking distance. They cut a Lion double-digit lead to eight points late in the third quarter and trailed by ten starting the fourth quarter.
The Lions pushed the lead to 14 early in the final period, before putting the game out of reach on 3-point shots by sophomore Payton Mills and senior Haylee Koetje, and a 3-point play by freshman Lexi Hermanutz to extend the Lions lead to 24 points, late in the game.
No Hornet reached double-digit scoring. Freshman guard Maggee Schmitz and junior forward Vivian Kingston led with six points each.
Hermanutz led the Lions with 14 points, with nine coming in the second half. Mills finished with 10, and freshman guard Finley Parcher scored nine. Sophomore forward Rian Stephan finished with eight.
The win sends the Lions (24-1) to the state quarterfinals, Thursday at 2pm, in the Yakima SunDome. Their opponent will be the winner of Wednesday's elimination game between Ridgefield and Columbia River.
The Hornets will play in an elimination game on Wednesday at 1030am, with their opponent yet to be determined.
~ Ted House
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