Lady Stags celebrate during the quarterfinals. Photo by Brandi Scott
In an electrifying clash, the Deer Park Lady Stag Basketball team engaged in a fierce battle against Lynden Christian in the state title game, emerging triumphant by the narrowest of margins. With hearts pounding and adrenaline surging, they secured a nail-biting victory.
During the introduction of the starting lineups, it was like a David vs Goliath matchup, as Lynden Christian had every starter taller than the Lady Stags’ tallest. But in the end, David would prevail as Deer Park held on for a heart-stopping 43-42 win.
An Ashlan Bryant three-pointer put Deer Park up 9-7 after the opening period, and the lead grew as Brooklyn Coe followed suit to open the second. The third-seeded Lyncs would use their size to go on a 14-2 run and had a 21-14 advantage with 1:37 until halftime. The next three possessions were a key sequence as Ashlan Bryant and Olivia Gannon connected on triples to reduce the deficit to a single point at halftime, 21-20.
A Coe three on the opening possession of the second half turned the lead back to Deer Park 23-21. The remainder of the third played out with neither side leading by more than four. Ashlan Bryant drew a foul as the clock expired and hit a free throw for a 32-31 edge heading to the final quarter.
Tied at 37 with 4:17 left, Ashlan Bryant would score the final six for the Lady Stags. Lynden Christian would score with six seconds remaining but was unable to stop the clock.
Ashlan Bryant tallied 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Brooklyn Coe had eleven points and five boards. In spite of their height advantage, Lynden Christian only outrebounded Deer Park 36-27.
The Lady Stags now face Nooksack Valley for the title tonight, Saturday, March 2nd, at 9pm in the Yakima Valley Sundome.
