3/5/2026
(Yakima, WA) Our Yakima reporter Sandy Ringer has put together some additional coverage from the Yakima SunDome with a Semifinal preview. Here’s a further breakdown for Friday’s round of semifinals.
2A Girls Semifinal Preview #1 (1) Lynden vs (4) Clarkston 3:45pm on Friday
The winning streak continues for Lynden.
The top-seeded Lions hope their championship streak will, too. They are looking to become the first to sweep three consecutive Class 2A state girls basketball titles this week at the Yakima SunDome.
But there’s still work to be done to get to the Saturday final.
Lynden (25-0) clashes with No. 4 Clarkston (22-3) in the semifinals Friday at 3:45 p.m. The Lions dispatched No. 2 Deer Park in the quarterfinals Thursday, 58-33, to get there. It was their 73rd consecutive victory – the second longest current streak in the nation.
Clarkston advanced with a lopsided, 63-30 win over No. 11 Nathan Hale, holding dynamic Zia-Daye Anderson to 14 points after she went off for a tournament-record 52 Wednesday.
The Bantams missed last year’s tourney after taking third in 2024, when they fell to Lynden in the semis.
Deer Park (21-4) and Nathan Hale (15-10) play Friday at 9 a.m. in a loser-out game.
2A Girls Semifinal Preview #2 (3) Prosser vs (7) Ellensburg 5:30pm on Friday
The semifinals haven’t been kind to Prosser the past four seasons.
Could the fifth time be the charm?
The third-seeded Mustangs (23-3) earned the opportunity to find out by spanking No. 5 Archbishop in Thursday’s quarterfinals, 76-41.
They play No. 7 Ellensburg (21-5) Friday at 5:30 p.m. with a chance to get back to the championship game, which they won in 2011.
Ellensburg moved along after beating No. 8 Selah Thursday, 57-48.
It will be their fourth match-up of the season. The Mustangs have won the previous three – most recently 67-56 on Feb. 18.
Prosser has pulled up short in each of the last four semis. Last year it was Lynden. Ellensburg played spoiler in both 2024 and ’23, while Burlington-Edison ended the title hopes in 2022.
The Bulldogs won titles in 2022 and ’23, then lost in the final to Lynden the last two years.
Archbishop Murphy (19-7) and Selah (20-8) meet Friday at 10:30 a.m. in the consolation round, where the winner is assured of a trophy (fourth or sixth) and the loser goes home.
1A Boys Semifinal Preview #1 (3) Royal vs (1) Zillah 3:45pm on Friday
There will be no repeat for Annie Wright.
Royal made sure of that Thursday with a resounding, 63-37 victory over last year’s champs in the quarterfinals of the Class 1A state boys basketball tournament at the Yakima SunDome.
The third-seeded Knights (23-4) face No. 1 Zillah (35-0) Friday at 3:45 p.m. with a spot in Saturday’s title game on the line.
The Leopards used a big second half to beat No. 7 Chelan Thursday, 68-53.
It’s the second consecutive trip to the semifinals for Royal, which lost to Lynden Christian last season and wound up fifth. The Knights have never won a state title and have played in just one championship game, falling to Lynden Christian in 1976.
Annie Wright (16-10), which lost in the 2024 final to Zillah, still has a chance to claim a third straight trophy. The Gators take on Chelan in a loser-out game Friday at 9 a.m. The winner of that one plays Saturday for fourth and sixth places.
Zillah is now assured of a fifth straight trophy. They finished third last year after losing in the semis to Annie Wright and won it all in 2024.
1A Boys Semifinal Preview #2 (6) King’s vs (2) Lynden Christian 5:30pm on Friday
There seems to be a magnetism between the Lynden Christian and King’s boys basketball programs.
Year after year, they tend to come together at state.
It happens again Friday at 5:30 p.m. as they clash in the semifinals of the 1A tournament at the Yakima SunDome.
Lynden Christian (24-1), the second seed behind undefeated Zillah, beat No. 8 Seattle Christian Thursday, 84-56, to earn its spot. No. 6 King’s (19-6) took care of No. 4 The Bear Creek School to advance, 50-29.
The Lyncs knocked off King’s in the quarterfinals both last season and in 2024. The two teams met in the ’22 and ’23 title games with L-C winning both. In 2020, the Knights topped Lynden Christian to earn the crown. That was a rematch of the 2015 finale, also won by King’s, which went on to repeat in 2016 (Freeman was the runner-up).
The Knights are hungry for more hardware after going home empty the past two seasons. L-C, which owns seven titles, was second to Annie Wright a year ago.
The Bear Creek School (19-10) plays Seattle Christian (19-6) in an elimination contest at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
1A Girls Semifinal Preview #1 7:15pm on Friday
1A Girls Semifinal Preview #2 9pm on Friday
2A Boys Semifinal Preview #1 7:15pm on Friday
2A Boys Semifinal Preview #2 9pm on Friday
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