Just as Chiawana coach Steve Davis was calling out an offensive play with his team holding a slim 36-32 fourth-quarter lead over host Kamiakin, Riverhawks guard Sierra Perez had a different idea about how the play might go.
The 5-foot-4 sophomore pulled up in front of Braves guard Holly Ellison and drilled a 3-pointer — her fifth of the night — from 22 feet out to put Chiawana up 39-32 with 3 minutes to go in the game.
“I was feeling it,” Perez said.
That feeling overcame her inner voice that tells a player to always listen to the coach. “When that happens, it’s a great play if you make it, but if you miss it, please run the play I call,” Davis said. “It turned out to be a great play.”
Perez finished with 15 points off the bench, and Delaney Hodgins led all scorers with 17 points to lift the Riverhawks to a 45-34 road win Saturday in Kennewick.
The win allowed Chiawana to avenge a 63-49 loss to Kamiakin in Pasco on Dec. 15. “We wanted to be first in league,” Riverhawks post Molly Sullivan said.
The win put Chiawana (9-5 overall, 7-1 Mid-Columbia Conference) alone atop the MCC after four teams came into the weekend with a chance to lead the league.
Kamiakin (11-3, 6-2) fell into a three-way tie for second along with Hanford (8-6, 6-2) and Walla Walla (10-2, 6-2).
The Braves opened the game on a 14-2 run, using a halfcourt trap to force five turnovers before Perez hit her first 3 to stop the run with 25 seconds left in the first quarter.
But Kamiakin had to abandon their attacking style after the foul count on guards Courtney Nelson and Sira Toure began to add up.
“We usually do that for a lot longer stretches, but we were getting into some foul trouble,” Braves coach Lane Schumacher said. “After that, they did a good job clamping down on defense and containing Courtney.”
Nelson, a two-time all-league guard, hit just 2 of 11 from the floor in the first half and was held to just one shot in the second half. She fouled out with 5:39 left in the fourth quarter with just four points.
Toure drew her fifth foul with 40 seconds remaining.
“I want them to foul out. I like competition, but at the end of the game I don’t want to face those two,” Davis said. “That’s all about respect.”
Davis credited Sullivan with helping turn around Chiawana’s fortunes when she came in to battle Kamiakin’s Amanda Miller in the low post. Sullivan didn’t start, but she certainly got starters minutes, playing over 25 of the game’s 32 clicks.
Sullivan, a 5-11 sophomore, finished with six rebounds and five points, but gave the Riverhawks a much-needed boost on the floor.
“She’s all about effort. She just comes in with this energy. When you play like that it makes the whole team better,” Davis said.
Perez cut into Kamiakin’s lead with a pair of second-quarter treys that helped cut the Braves’ lead to 18-17 at the half. Her next one came with 26 seconds left in the third quarter and gave Chiawana the lead at 27-26.
“She’s just a shooter. She has that mentality where she doesn’t care if she misses,” Davis said.
Hodgins scored 11 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter, going 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the final frame to help ice the win. Under her cool-headed leadership, the Riverhawks forced five turnovers in the fourth quarter while committing just one.
Her 3-pointer with 5:02 left in the game started a 12-4 run that helped put the game away.
CHIAWANA — B.Gonzales 8, Delaney Hodgins 17, Alferness, J.Gonzales, Cartwright, Sierra Perez 15, Sullivan 5. Totals 12-43 14-20 45.
KAMIAKIN — Nelson 4, Ellison 4, Sira Toure 12, Lindsay Schauble 12, Miller 2, Oord, Hanson. Totals 15-58 4-6 34.
Chiawana 5 12 10 18 — 45
Kamiakin 12 6 8 8 — 34
Highlights — 3-pointers: C 7-22 (Perez 5, D.Hodgins, B.Gonzales), K 0-8; Rebounds: C 38 (Bianca Gonzales 7), K 40 (Amanda Miller 12); Turnovers: C 18, K 17; Steals: C 9 (D.Hodgins 4), K 11 (Courtney Nelson 4); B.Gonzales 2 blocks.
HANFORD 46, SOUTHRIDGE 44: Colette Gall scored 20 points to lead visiting Hanford to an MCC victory over Southridge.
Emma Sanders led Southridge with 13 points, while teammate Kaetlyn Wormington added 12 rebounds.
The Suns had a chance to tie the game in the waning seconds, but couldn’t get any of the three shots to go down.
HANFORD — Stewart 5, Hall 9, Shintaffer 9, Thompson 3, Colette Gall 20, Roueche, Foraker, Winsor. Totals 13-49 17-28 46.
SOUTHRIDGE — Haberling 5, Sullivan 9, Harris 8, Emma Sanders 13, Lyons 6, Edwards 1, Wormington 2. Totals 14-58 14-20 44.
Hanford 7 13 10 16 — 46
Southridge 7 10 15 12 — 44
Highlights — Kaetlyn Wormington 12 rebounds, Nicole Edwards 8 rebounds.
Richland 63, Pasco 31: Hailey Turner had a big night in the Bombers’ MCC road win over the Bulldogs, collecting 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead both sides.
“She just had a monster night tonight,” Pasco coach Aaron Barcot said. “She works so hard. She had a lot of shots off offensive rebounds. She’s a very good basketball player. She had a great game. We just had no answer for her.”
Richland held Pasco to just 12 field goals for the entire game and shut the Bulldogs out 18-0 in the second quarter to take a 31-10 halftime lead.
“I thought we moved the ball around pretty well,” Bombers coach Cindy McCoy said. “We looked to get the ball into our posts, and our posts did a good job with putbacks.”
Britney Pringle added 10 points, eight assists and four steals for Richland. Melissa Rodriguez led Pasco with 12 points, and Annabel Perez scored a career-high 10 on 4-for-4 shooting from the field.
RICHLAND — McCormick 7, Catone 8, Perry, Malone 2, Hiller, Corrigan 12, Pringle 10, Duckworth 6, Hailey Turner 15, Taylor 4. Totals 29-69 3-7 63.
PASCO — Gonzalez 2, Martinez 5, Perez 10, Melissa Rodriguez 12, Ayala 2, Swentik, Sullivan, Asiedu, Lopez. Totals 12-40 5-10 31.
Richland 18 13 16 16 — 63
Pasco 10 0 12 9 — 31
Highlights — Turner 14 rebounds; Taylor 6 rebs; Pringle 8 assists, 4 steals; Catone 4 steals.
Walla Walla 50, Kennewick 27: Mikayla Ferenz and Torri Crawford scored 14 points apiece to lead the Blue Devils to a dominating MCC win over the visiting Lions.
KENNEWICK — Taylor Osmundson 8, Valerio 3, Templeton, Hicks, Sanders 3, Ines, Bracher-Norwood 2, Kump 7, Nelson, Albertin, Taimani 4.
WALLA WALLA — Hodnefield 2, Greene 1, Davis, Torri Crawford 14, Molitor 2, McDaniels, Mikayla Ferenz 14, Sirmon 4, Patton, Doepker 11, Kennedy, K.Ferenz 2.
Kennewick 7 6 6 8 — 27
Walla Walla 10 18 14 8 — 50
Sunnyside 56, Ike 54: Tiana Perez blocked Destiny Sanford’s game-tying shot attempt as time expired, preserving the Grizzlies’ CBBN road win over the Cadets.
SUNNYSIDE — Celia Vargas 21, Alvarez 2, Fernandez, Trevino, Hernandez 2, Rubalcava 6, Bermudez, Rodriguez 8, Perez 6, Monique Willingham 11.
EISENHOWER — Destiny Sanford 12, Pena 9, Batten 12, Burch, Wingerter 3, Terrazas 3, Vazquez 8, Whitefoot 7.
Sunnyside 17 2 19 18 — 56
Eisenhower 14 13 12 15 — 54
Highlights — Willingham 13 rebounds; Vargas 3 3-pointers.
Kiona-Benton 66, Royal 24: Bailey Schroeder joined McKenzie Burgess and Sara Vannoy in Ki-Be’s 1,000-point club as the Bears rolled to an SCAC East home victory over the Knights.
Schroeder finished the night with 20 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and seven steals.
ROYAL — Flor Araujo 14, Hebdon 2, Guadarrama 4, Lee 2, Smith 2, Larson, Harris, Floren.
KIONA-BENTON — Holt 8, M. Calzadillas 9, Acevado 7, Pendergast 3, Thornton 2, Bailey Schroeder 20, Smith 2, Elliot 7, J. Calzadillas 8.
Royal 9 8 2 5 — 24
Kiona-Benton 23 12 13 18 — 66
Highlights — Schroeder 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 7 steals; M. Calzadillas 7 assists.
Columbia (Burbank) 38, River View 21: Rachel Roberts scored nine points for the Coyotes, who put the Panthers away with a 16-point fourth quarter in an SCAC East game in Finley.
COLUMBIA (BURBANK) — Martineau 7, Aguilar 5, Rachel Roberts 9, Cotsford 1, Idler 2, McBride 8, Mosqueda 6, Dorsey, Holst, Magallon, Lott.
RIVER VIEW — Wilhelm 6, E. Vasquez 2, Smith 2, Dickinson 4, Josie Robertson 7, Washington, Williamson, Walker, Munson, S. Vasquez.
Columbia (Burbank) 5 9 8 16 — 38
River View 2 5 5 9 — 21
Connell 70, Wahluke 28: Kody Easterday scored 16 points to lead the Eagles to the SCAC East road win.
CONNELL — Kody Easterday 16, J. Hawkins, Vickerman 6, M. Hawkins 5, Booker 10, Boyd 4, Riner 6, Kroontje 6, English 2, Schultz 6, Thompson 6.
WAHLUKE — Lilly Ramirez 12, Olivaras 4, Mendez 4, Garcia 6, Martinez 2, Torres, R. Ramirez.
Connell 20 12 19 19 — 70
Wahluke 6 5 14 3 — 28
Wapato 65, Othello 40: Stephanie Tolley scored 11 points for the Huskies in a CWAC road loss.
OTHELLO — Bullis 9, Quigley 6, Rodriguez 1, Stephanie Tolley 11, Andersen, Garza 4, Taylor 3, Begay 2, Fleshman 2, Dominguez 2.
WAPATO — Lexi Gomez 11, Darrien Gasling 11, Justine Sosa 11, Araiza 9, Cardova 9, Vela 8, Mason 4, Young 2.
Othello 4 9 17 10 — 40
Wapato 18 18 16 13 — 65
