Class 2A/1A girls roundup: West Valley of Spokane nixes top-2 matchup by eliminating Tumwater
YAKIMA – So, about that quarterfinal showdown between top-seeded Tumwater and No. 2 Ellensburg – it ain’t happening.
Ninth-ranked West Valley of Spokane knocked off the No. 1 Thunderbirds 56-52 in the Class 2A state tournament Wednesday in the Yakima Valley SunDome.
"We’ve been top six or seven the whole year and nobody has given us respect," said Eagles coach Rick Jones, still soaking from the postgame celebration in the locker room. "I just told the girls to keep a sour taste in your mouth and let's show what we’re capable of doing. We’ve got a team very capable of making a run at it."
West Valley’s run smacks into second-seeded and unbeaten Ellensburg in Thursday’s quarterfinals at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs have given up 40 or more points just once this season.
"They’re trying to be undefeated and some have already said that they’re supposed to be playing for the title," Jones said. "We’re in a situation where nobody is expecting us to win so we can keep having fun paying and see what happens."
West Valley and Tumwater went back and forth Wednesday with neither getting the comfort of much separation.
The Eagles did a six-point advantage on back-to-back 3-pointers by sophomore Chloe DeHaro in a 13-second span early in the third quarter, but Tumwater would answer with a 7-0 run to regain the lead.
DeHaro connected from deep again to put the Eagles back in front 51-50 with 1:41 left in the game. Isabella Lund would answer to give the Thunderbirds their last lead of the game.
Tumwater missed its last two shots and had three turnovers in the final moments while West Valley made 4 of 6 free throws to seal the victory.
Senior post Aliyah Henry had a game-high 17 points and seven rebounds and DeHaro connected on all three of her 3-pointers and had 16 points to lead the Eagles, who improved to 21-2.
"It was great for West Valley because we were the underdogs so everybody kind of looked past us," DeHaro said. "But we just showed a lower seed can take down a first seed."
Lund topped Tumwater with 13 points and Aubrey Amendala added 11.
The Thunderbirds (22-3) dropped their last two games of the season. No. 8 Burlington-Edison upset Tumwater 52-47 in last week’s regionals.
NO. 11 PROSSER 61, NO. 6 PORT ANGELES 40: Halle Wright scored a game-high 22 points and Malia Cortes and Laylee Dixon each had a dozen as the Mustangs (18-6) outscored Port Angeles 34-15 in the second half to win the loser-out contest. Prosser (18-6) advances to meet No. 5 Archbishop Murphy in a quarterfinal at 9 a.m. Thursday. Eve Burke had 14 points and Bailee Larson added 12 for the Roughriders, who finished the season 17-5.
NO. 7 WASHOUGAL 47, NO. 10 WHITE RIVER 31: Jaiden Bea had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Samantha Medaros and Savea Mansfield added 11 and 10 points, respectively, as the Panthers ousted the Hornets. Washougal (17-4) advances to Thursday’s quarterfinals to face No. 8 Burlington-Edison at 10:30 a.m. Vivian Kingston had 10 points and 14 rebounds in the final game for the Hornets (20-5)
NO. 4 W.F. WEST 55, NO. 12 LYNDEN 30: Drea Brumfield tossed in a game-high 12 points and the Bearcats raced to a 20-5 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. W.F. West (20-5) advances to Thursday’s quarterfinals and will face No. 3 Hudson’s Bay. Adia Newcomb and Kiki York each had seven points for the Lions, who finished the season 16-6.
CLASS 1A
NO. 6 FREEMAN 43, NO. 11 KING’S 40 (OT): The Scotties rallied from a seven-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to force overtime and then escaped with a victory to advance to the quarterfinals. Maddy Phillips had 12 points and Sianna Gilbert added 10 for Freeman (15-5), which faces No. 4 Montesano at 3:45 p.m. Thursday. Natalie Durbin (12 points) and Ava Francisco (11) led the Knights, who ended the season 17-8.
NO. 7 COLVILLE 39, NO. 15 LA CENTER 26: The Crimson Hawks held the Wildcats to 10 first-half points to advance to the quarterfinals where they’ll meet top-ranked Lynden Christian at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Jordyn True led Colville (16-4) with 10 points and McKenna Reggear added nine points and 11 rebounds. La Center, which finished the season 16-7, got a game-high 18 points from Kylee Stephens.
NO. 5 ZILLAH 57, NO. 13 TOPPENISH 41: Brynn Widner scored 21 points and Mia Hicks had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Leopards past the Wildcats in a matchup of SCAC West rivals. Zillah (17-7) advances to meet No. 3 Cashmere in a quarterfinal at 7:15 p.m. Thursday. Jadyn Johnson had 11 points and 20 rebounds for Toppenish, which finished the season 17-7.
NO. 9 WAPATO 68, NO. 8 SEATTLE ACADEMY 58: Crystal Colin scored 15 points, Kayana Bass had 14, Trinity Wheeler added 13 and Semone Kenoras totaled 12 points and 12 rebounds as Wapato (20-4) outlasted the Cardinals to earn a quarterfinal berth against No. 2 Nooksack Valley. Katie Davis’ game-high 27 points topped Seattle Academy, which ended its season at 18-5,
