Pre-Season Predictions: Top 1A Teams

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The high school school year is set to begin in a few weeks, which means the basketball season is on the way! Here are a handful of 2A teams to keep an eye on for the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nooksack Valley HS</strong>: 2024 State Champions - The Pioneers won the first state title in school's history last year, mostly thanks to Devin Coppinger who is the highest rated player to come out of Whatcom County since Luke Ridnour on the boys side. Coppinger and 3 other starters graduated (Tana Hoekema, Lainey Kimball, and Kaylee Anderson) all of which played big, key roles for this team. [player_tooltip player_id='1126665' first='Kate' last='Shintaffer'] will be the only returning starter with Chayleigh Davis, [player_tooltip player_id='1048793' first='Payton' last='Bartl'], Grace DeHoog, and Alayna Dykstra ready to step up in their roles. This will be a new look Nooksack team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wapato HS</strong>: 5th place finish in 2024 - Wapato shocked a lot of people and made a big run late in the 2024 season and I think they will again be a top team in 2025. Jordan Espinoza will be graduating along with Sofia Alvarado, who also played a big role off the bench. Deets Parrish is a big time player and capable of dominating the 1A level with her skill-set. Trin Wheeler will be back for her senior year, pairing with Parrish as one of the best 3 point shooting duos in the state. [player_tooltip player_id='928116' first='Kobe' last='Johnson'] was a freshman last year and carved out a big role on the team and will be relied on again to be a top option.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Lynden Christian HS</strong>: 3rd place finish in 2024 - The Lyncs were shocked at the beginning of last year to lose star player [player_tooltip player_id='580777' first='Grace' last='Hintz'] and everyone sort of assumed they were "out of it." Then came in [player_tooltip player_id='584240' first='Ella' last='Fritts'], who will be back once again. Fritts is a great ball handling guard who scores at all 3 levels and reads defenses quickly. Grace came back late in the season to provide a needed spark for the team but they will once again start the season without her as she is recovering from a new knee injury. The great news for the Lyncs is every single player on the roster will be back besides Tabitha DeJong.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kings HS</strong>: Lost in quarterfinals in 2024 - Kings will 100% be in the mix this upcoming season with the top teams. Kings will be returning ALL 5 starters PLUS everyone on the bench. They had no seniors last year and the experience trhis team gained during the state tournament will come up big. [player_tooltip player_id='585032' first='Kaleo' last='Anderson'] is one of the most skilled and talented players in the entire state and will be a fantastic leader for this squad. [player_tooltip player_id='751202' first='Bella' last='Trias-Ruiz'] has been steadily becoming more well rounded during the AAU season, along with Cat Ellard, both oh whom will play pivotal roles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->