RICHLAND — With the regular season winding down, the Richland girls basketball team picked a bad time to have one of its worst shooting games of the season.
The Bombers struggled shooting the ball Tuesday, dropping a CBBN 4A home game to Wenatchee 53-41.
"They played good defense, but we didn't help ourselves," Richland coach Cindy McCoy said. "We didn't set real good screens and we didn't pass the ball well. That makes shooting difficult when you are having to gather the ball."
Richland shot just 31.4 percent from the field for the game, but the second quarter was the real killer.
After a Kennedy Corrigan jumper pulled Richland within 12-10 with 37 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Wenatchee went on a 16-0 run to blow the game open.
Wenatchee's Michaela George had four points, Kylie Buter-baugh had a layup and two 3-pointers and Alissa Sealby had four points in the run.
"We have done that a couple of times this season," McCoy said. "We need to get settled down a little quicker. We dug a hole that made it tough to get out of."
While Wenatchee's offense was having its way with the Bombers, the Richland offense continued to struggle, scoring just two second quarter points on a jumper by Kayla Catone.
"I think it was just an off shooting night for us," Richland's Britney Pringle said. "They played good pressure defense, but it was more of a mental thing for us."
Pringle led the Bombers with 16 points, while Corrigan added 15 points.
Richland must shake off the tough loss and get ready for Moses Lake and Davis this weekend.
The Bombers fell into fourth place in the conference with the loss. If they want to host a first round district tournament game, Richland must sweep this weekend.
"We are learning from it and moving on," Pringle said of Tuesday's loss. "We have a few days of practice to clean everything up. We plan on winning both games this weekend."
Richland did play better in the second half, outscoring Wenatchee 29-25. Richland pulled within 48-37 on a Charlene Manning layup with 2:39 left in the game, but it was too little too late.
Manning finished with nine rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass.
George's 21 points and 13 rebounds led Wenatchee, while Buterbaugh added 14 points and five rebounds and Emilie Holzerland had nine points.
The Panthers remain in third place with the victory, two games behind Walla Walla. Both teams have clinched a spot in the CBBN 4A district tournament.
WENATCHEE -- Katie Kansky 0 0-1 0, Blake Parker 0 0-0 0, Kara Rockstad 0 0-0 0, Caitlyn Miller 2 0-0 4, CiCi Stone 0 0-0 0, Kylie Buterbaugh 5 0-0 14, Emilie Holzerland 2 5-6 9, Alissa Sealby 2 1-2 5, Michaela George 9 3-3 21. Totals 20 9-12 53.
RICHLAND -- Anna Croskrey 0 0-0 0, Kayla Catone 1 0-0 2, Charlene Manning 2 0-2 4, Kennedy Corrigan 6 0-0 15, Britney Pringle 5 2-3 16, Macey Weitz 0 0-0 0, Hailey Turner 2 0-0 4. Totals 16 2-5 41.
Wenatchee 14 14 16 9 -- 53
Richland 10 2 17 12 -- 41
3-point goals -- Wenatchee 4 (Buterbaugh 4), Richland 7 (Pringle 4, Corrigan 3). Total fouls -- Wenatchee 10, Richland 14. Fouled out -- Richland, Croskrey. Rebounds -- Wenatchee 28 (George 13), Richland 25 (Manning 9). Turnovers -- Wenatchee 19, Richland 15.
