Coppinger's big night leads to Nooksack Valley district title

LYNDEN — The Nooksack Valley Pioneers girl's are the 1A Northwest Conference district champions after a 54-44 win over Lynden Christian on Saturday, Feb. 11.

Nooksack Valley completed the sweep of every NWC team, as they finished with a 17-0 overall record in the league. It is also their first district championship since 2010.

Pioneer junior Devin Coppinger finished with a game-high 24 points and put on an offensive show with her pure shooting. Senior Hallie Kamphouse was dynamite from beyond the arc and finished the game with 10 points.

Coppinger said they are thrilled with the district championship and the support shown by the Nooksack Valley community.

“It was really just playing as a team on both ends of the court tonight,” Coppinger said.

The Pioneer's defensive effort may have been more impressive than their offense. They hounded the LC offense and kept the best Lync shooters at bay. LC had five players score all of their points and the rest were shut out. Freshman Ella Fritts led the way for the Lyncs with 14 points followed by sophomore Grace Hintz with 13. Hintz normally scores 20 or more points per game, but the lengthy Nooksack Valley defense rendered her ineffective.

Nooksack Valley head coach Shane Wichers said they knew it would be a battle playing LC again.

“I thought our kids did a great job down the stretch, people made big baskets at big times,” Wichers said.

The first quarter was the highest scoring for either side. Nooksack Valley jumped out to an early 23-15 advantage in the first, led by Coppinger with eight points and Kamphouse with six.

Nooksack Valley junior Kaylee Anderson lofting up a shot. The Pioneers won their first district since 2010 after the win over LC. (Nathan Schumock/Lynden Tribune)

The second quarter was the exact opposite. It was a defensive master class from both sides. Nooksack Valley held LC to just five points in the second quarter and LC held Nooksack Valley to 10. The Pioneers went into halftime with a 33-20 lead over the Lyncs.

Wichers said their biggest focus on defense was to control who they were guarding.

It was another low-scoring quarter in the third. The offensive production took a nosedive following the beginning of the game. Nooksack Valley had a game low of eight points in the third quarter and it gave LC the opportunity to edge their way back in. Dykstra and Hintz led the way in the third quarter as they scored four points each. The Lyncs were trailing by 10 heading into the final quarter of play.

LC played a good quarter in the fourth, but they could not slow down Nooksack Valley enough to pull ahead. Coppinger scored six points in the fourth, followed by Kamphouse and senior Taylor Lentz with four each. The Pioneers prevailed and defeated LC 54-44.

LC Sophomore Grace Hintz shooting a fade away field goal. Hintz had 13 points in the loss to Nooksack Valley on Saturday, Feb. 11. (Nathan Schumock/Lynden Tribune)

Despite the loss, Lynden Christian still has a solid chance at advancing to state the path is just a bit longer. LC plays Meridian on Tuesday, Feb. 14 and the winner advances to the bi-district tournament. If they advance to the bi-district tournament and win, they will have secured a spot in state.

Nooksack Valley is in a similar scenario, but they do not have to play an extra game. They advanced to the bi-district game that will be held on Saturday, Feb. 18, against a district two school that is unknown at this point.

Coppinger said they are prepared for the bi-district tournament and they will not have any rest till then.

“We are ready, we are going back to practice after this and we will probably have a shoot around tomorrow. We are ready,” Coppinger said.