Kamiakin, Kennewick boys, Chiawana, Richland girls earn WA regional basketball berths

Five Mid-Columbia Conference high school basketball teams earned state regional playoff berths on Tuesday night.

Some were expected, others were mild surprises, and some teams that didn’t qualify were big surprises.

Here’s a quick recap of Tuesday night’s district playoff action:

4A BOYS

The Mid-Columbia Conference’s top seed, Kamiakin, held off Central Valley 65-62 to earn a state regional berth.

The Braves led the Bears 33-20 at the half and never looked back.

Tyler Bilodeau lead Kamiakin (19-2) with 28 points and 9 rebounds, while teammate Trey Arland added 15 points and 7 boards.

Meanwhile, Richland (18-4) lost 64-49 on the road to Gonzaga Prep, sending the Bombers into the losers’ bracket and battling for the No. 3 playoff berth.

The Bullpups outscored the Bombers 43-24 in the middle two quarters to put the game away, as Jayden Stevens led Prep with 22 points.

Josh Woodard led Richland with 13 points, while Luke Westerfield added 11.

So here is where we’re at: Richland plays host to Chiawana at 6 p.m. Thursday in a loser-out contest. The other loser-out game Thursday will pit Lewis & Clark at Central Valley.

The winners of those two games will meet at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the Spokane Arena in a bid for that last state regional berth.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga Prep plays Kamiakin at 8:30 p.m. Friday to determine the top seed out of District 8. Both teams will play state regional games on Feb. 25-26.

4A GIRLS

Two big upsets happened on Tuesday night, with Chiawana edging top Greater Spokane League seed Gonzaga Prep 49-48 on the road; and Richland knocking off top-ranked Pasco 53-42.

The Riverhawks were down 14 points at halftime, but they outscored the Bullpups 28-13 in the second half. A’niyah Heavens led Chiawana with 20 points, while Malia Ruud had 19.

In Richland’s win, the Bombers had 10 blocked shots, and outscored the Bulldogs 20-11 in the fourth quarter to pull off the upset.

It was Pasco’s first loss of the season, and drops the Bulldogs to 19-1. They also drop from No. 1 in the WIAA RPI rankings to No. 3.

Kylee Fox led Richland with 21 points, and Macie Milam added 14 points and 7 rebounds. Mya Groce paced Pasco with 18 points and 8 rebounds.

So, Chiawana and Richland have qualified for state regional playoffs, and will play each other at 7 p.m. Friday in Spokane Arena for the district title.

Meanwhile, Pasco must win twice to earn the district’s final state regional berth.

The Bulldogs will play host to Kamiakin at 6 p.m. Thursday in a loser-out game. The winner of that contest will take on either Lewis & Clark or Gonzaga Prep at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Spokane Arena for that final berth.

3A BOYS

The Kennewick boys have qualified for 3A state regionals after beating Mead 58-49.

Ayden Knapik scored 20 points to lead the Lions, while Charlie Tipke-Henry added 16 more.

With the victory, the Lions will meet Ferris at 5 p.m. Friday in the Spokane Arena for the 3A boys district title.

Meanwhile, Walla Walla stayed alive in the tournament Tuesday night by beating North Central 84-63 in a loser-out contest. And Hermiston saw its season come to an end, losing 88-60 to University in another loser-out game.

So Walla Walla visits Mead at 7 p.m. Thursday in another loser-out game. If the Blue Devils were to win that, they’d take on either University or Mt. Spokane at noon on Saturday in the Spokane Arena for the final 3A state regional berth.

3A GIRLS

Izzy Simmons scored 18 points to lead Hermiston past Ferris 50-48 in a district tournament semifinal on Tuesday and qualify for the 3A state regionals.

The Bulldogs actually trailed 17-2 after the first quarter. But they rallied to get it close, then outscored the Saxons 26-7 in the fourth quarter to win.

Hermiston takes on Mead at 3:30 p.m. Friday in Spokane Arena for the district 3A girls championship.

Mead advanced to the final by beating Kennewick 73-38 on Tuesday. Kennewick will play University at 5 p.m. Thursday in a loser-out contest at East Valley High in Spokane on Thursday.

If Kennewick were to win that game, the Lions would play either Ferris or Mt. Spokane at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Spokane Arena for a state regional berth.

Meanwhile, University ended Southridge’s season on Tuesday, as the Titans beat the Suns 50-48 in a loser-out game.

2A GIRLS

Grandview and Othello stayed alive in the Central Washington Athletic Conference district tournament with victories on Monday night.

Grandview eliminated Ephrata 60-36, while Othello ousted East Valley 41-25.

So on Wednesday, Grandview visits Othello at 7 p.m. in a loser-out game.

Prosser visits unbeaten Ellensburg at 7 p.m. Wednesday for the district title and a state regional berth. The loser of that game will play the Grandview-Othello winner on Saturday for the district’s second state regional berth.

2B GIRLS

Columbia-Burbank earned a state regional berth by winning in the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference district tournament on Tuesday, beating White Swan 45-35 in a loser-out game.

Meanwhile, Granger eliminated Tri-Cities Prep 39-27, as the Spartans also earned a state regional berth.

College update

▪ Grace Meza (Grandview) has a team-best 83 percent free throw percentage for the Northwest University women’s basketball team (13-9 record). Meza, a senior, averages 11.4 points and 4.5 rebounds.

▪ Junior midfielder Jose Peralta (Riverside/Walla Walla Community College) played the third-most minutes (1,227) this past season for the 11-6-1 Corban University men’s soccer team this past fall.

▪ Cinthya Diaz (Riverside) had two assists for the 1-12-1 women’s soccer team for Blue Mountain Community College this past fall. That ranked her second on the team. Teammate Jessica Macias (Wahluke) ranked third on the team in scoring with 3 points: 1 goal and 1 assist.

▪ Corban senior Klarissa Barajas (Kennewick) finished third in scoring this past fall for the Corban University women’s soccer team. The forward had 7 goals and 1 assist.

▪ Former Richland High star McKenna Martinez, a freshman forward for the Oregon State women’s soccer team, was recently named third team All-Pacific Region by the United Soccer Coaches.

Martinez, who also played basketball and attended Tri-Cities Prep, scored 12 goals and had 4 assists in her freshman season for the Beavers, who went 11-7-1.

Martinez was also a second-team, All-Pac-12 Conference selection, as well as was a member of the Pac-12’s all-freshman team. She led OSU with 65 shots, and 35 shots on goal.