YAKIMA – One year after the Lyncs knocked the Knights into the consolation round of the 1A girls basketball tournament, King’s returned the favor by drilling a 23-footer at the buzzer to take the 45-44 win over Lynden Christian.
The Lyncs got the early advantage when senior guard Danya Dykstra hit a pair of deep balls, but the Knights would stay with LC and were down by just one after the first quarter.
The second quarter was a defensive struggle as the first points by either team took place more than halfway through the quarter, a free throw by senior forward Allison Shumate, and the Lyncs went into the locker room with a 21-17 lead.
King’s jumped out fast in the third quarter, and after three quick buckets the lead changed hands to the Knights who began the second half on a 10-0 run. It was interrupted by a foul shot from junior guard Ella Fritts, and that was when Lynden Christian was able to start its comeback.
Sophomore center Jocelyn Eshuis hit a left-handed baby-hook shot, junior guard Estela Hernandez hit a deep ball and Shumate had an offensive putback to help stop the bleeding and cut the Knights lead to just one point.
Fritts then buried a 15-footer which gave the Lyncs a one-point lead, but King’s knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to finish the third quarter and the Knights went into the final period with a 36-31 lead.
Freshman guard Tyra Dykstra hit a mid-ranger jumper to kick off the scoring in the fourth, and that was followed by both teams hitting from point-blank range, but Shumate’s make underneath drew a foul, and she was able to convert the extra point at the line which cut the King’s lead to 38-36.
After a little bit of an offensive lull from both sides, Hernandez grabbed an offensive rebound and got the ball to Fritts who knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Lyncs a 39-38 lead with 3:15 to go.
The Knights answered with an 8-footer to recapture the lead, but another offensive board from Hernandez allowed for another bucket from Fritts and LC was back out in front, 41-40.
King’s then banked in a shot to grab back the lead, and the Lyncs quickly called a timeout with 1:05 left. Both teams followed with empty possessions, but Danya Dykstra drilled her third three-ball of the game to give Lynden Christian a 44-42 lead with nine seconds remaining.
After a timeout, the Knights finished the game with their own deep ball that concluded one of the most thrilling back-and-forth games in recent history.
Fritts and Shumate each finished with 10 points to lead the Lyncs (22-4) who will now play either Bellevue Christian or Annie Wright tomorrow morning at 11:15 in the third-place game.
King's 45, Lynden Christian 44
KI 13 4 19 9 - 45
LC 14 7 10 13 - 44
King's: N/A.
Lynden Christian: D. Dykstra 9, T. Dykstra 8, Hernandez 3, Fritts 10, Scott 2, Shumate 10, Yun 0, VanLoo 0, Pierce 0, Eshuis 2.
