YAKIMA – The Lyncs played their collective heart out, but ran into a tremendous Zillah team and the Leopards used a huge third quarter to defeat Lynden Christian 53-44 in the 1A state semifinals.
It was a fast start for the Lyncs who led 8-0 less than two minutes into the game, which prompted a quick timeout from the Zillah bench.
The Leopards must have changed their gameplan during the timeout because they came out and went on a 9-0 run to take over the lead. Zillah also hit a baseline buzzer-beater to end the first quarter and the Leopards led 16-13 after the first eight minutes.
A defensive-minded second quarter saw 14 total points scored, and Zillah led 22-21 at the midway break.
The Lyncs started the second half on a 6-2 run, and the Leopards called another one of those magic timeouts that turned into another run for Zillah who then went on a 15-3 run to finish the third, which was punctuated by another buzzer-beater, this time beyond the three-point line.
Even down nine entering the final period, the Lyncs looked to be in decent shape, but Zillah connected on a dagger deep ball with 3:36 left in the game which gave the Leopards a 46-34 lead.
It was a lead that was near impossible to catch, especially against a team with the talent of Zillah.
The Lyncs were led by sophomore guard Tyra Dykstra who had 21 points and five rebounds.
Senior guard Ella Fritts finished with 11 points and four rebounds, and junior center Jocelyn Eshuis added six points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots.
The Lyncs have a quick turnaround and will play for third place tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 against Royal.
Zillah 53, Lynden Christian 44 LC 13 8 9 14 - 44 ZIL 16 6 17 14 - 53
Lynden Christian: Fritts 11, T. Dykstra 21, Eshuis 6, Hernandez 0, D. Dykstra 2, Russell 1, VanLoo 2, Pierce 0, DeJong 2. Zillah: N/A.
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