These Tri-Cities basketball teams are advancing to WA state playoffs in Tacoma
The Kamiakin and Richland girls will play loser-out games at the WIAA Class 4A state tournament on Wednesday in the Tacoma Dome.
They got there in different ways.
Kamiakin lost 52-48 on Friday to Camas in a game the Braves had rallied in to tie the score late at 48-48.
But consecutive turnovers by Kamiakin, that the Papermakers turned into baskets, clinched the game.
Mia Howard led the Braves with 16 points.
Still, as a No. 7 seed, Lane Schumacher knew his team would still get to play in the Tacoma Dome.
The Richland Bombers weren’t assured of that.
As a 9 seed, Amy Westerfield knew her squad had to beat visiting Olympia on Saturday to go to Tacoma.
But it didn’t look too good early on. The visiting Bears jumped out to a 14-2 lead at one point, as Richland shot a paltry 11% from the floor in the first half.
Throw in the fact the Bombers have lost No. 2 scorer Macie Milum to a knee injury, and a lot of things were going against Richland.
Still, Olympia only led 20-15 at halftime.
“Olympia was very patient,” said Westerfield. “They were well coached, and they utilized the shot clock.”
She told her team to be a bit more patient on offense themselves — they were getting good looks at the basket; the shots just weren’t falling.
But Westerfield noticed something about Olympia.
“They were getting tired,” she said. “We needed to move the ball better. And, of course, Kylee got hot.”
That would be Kylee Fox, the Richland senior who has already signed to play at Fresno State University next season.
Fox was just 2-for-8 from the floor in the first half — both of them 2-pointers.
But in the second half, she started to get the 3-point attempts to fall. In the end, she got six treys in the final two quarters.
“Once I hit one of them, they all started to fall,” said Fox, who finished with a game-high 27 points.
Westerfield also made a slick defensive adjustment by switching Mackenzie Schulz defensively with Fox.
Olympia senior center Natalia McBride was tough around the basket — she finished with 25 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists — and she had found a way to get Fox into foul trouble.
The Bombers standout got her third foul in the second quarter.
So while McBride still found a way to score, Schulz did enough to hassle her to miss a few key shots, and it kept Fox out of any more foul trouble.
Maggie Smith added 13 points for the Bombers, who will play No. 1 Woodinville (it lost to Emerald Ridge on Saturday) at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Kamiakin plays No. 10 Bothell at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
No. 15 Sunnyside was eliminated Saturday, losing 68-40 to Bothell.
Class 4A girls
Game 2 — Friday: (2) Curtis 52, (7) Kamiakin 48 (both to Tacoma)
Game 5 — Saturday (9) Richland 49, (16) Olympia 39 (winner to Tacoma, loser out)
Game 6 — Saturday: (10) Bothell 68, (15) Sunnyside 40 (winner to Tacoma, loser out)
Tacoma Dome
Wednesday, March 1
Game 10 — (10) Bothell vs. (7) Kamiakin (loser out), 5:30 p.m.
Game 12 — (9) Richland vs. (1) Woodinville (loser out), 9 p.m.
Class 4A boys
CURTIS 64, RICHLAND 55: Curtis broke open the game in the third quarter on Friday night, outscoring the Bombers 26-6 and then hanging on for the win.
Freshman Landon Northrop led Richland with 17 points and 5 rebounds.
Teammate Jase Vopalensky added 15 points.
Richland, seeded 8th, will play No. 9 Union at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Tacoma Dome. Winner advances to the Thursday quarterfinals, while the loser’s season is done.
MARINER 85, CHIAWANA 74: The Riverhawks’ season ended Saturday in Arlington as they couldn’t catch Mariner.
Senior Mason Castillo scored 27 points, while Donavin Young and Kade Smith each had 14 points.
Game 1 — Friday: (1) Curtis 64, (8) Richland 55 (both to Tacoma)
Game 8 — Saturday: (12) Mariner 85, (13) Chiawana 74 (winner to Tacoma, loser out)
Tacoma Dome
Wednesday, March 1
Game 12 — (9) Union vs. (8) Richland (loser out), 2 p.m.
Class 3A boys
ARLINGTON 68, WALLA WALLA 57: Kahiau Helm scored 16 points, and Dane Gardea added 13, but it wasn’t enough as the visiting Blue Devils couldn’t catch the Eagles in the loser-out game.
Wa-Hi got to within 49-47 early in the fourth quarter.
Game 8 — Saturday: (12) Arlington 68, (20) Walla Walla 57 (winner to Tacoma, loser out)
Class 3A girls
BONNEY LAKE 59, KENNEWICK 55: The visiting Lions saw their season end on the road Saturday. Kennewick stuck with Bonney Lake, but could never get even. No other details were available.
Game 5 — Saturday: (9) Bonney Lake 59, (16) Kennewick 55 (winner to Tacoma, loser out)
Class 2A boys
PROSSER 74, ANACORTES 69: The McClure brothers were just too much for the home team, as the visiting Mustangs advanced to the quarterfinals.
Koby McClure scored a team-high 25 points, while Kory McClure added 18. Issak Hultberg also scored 12 points for the Mustangs, who will play either West Valley of Spokane or R.A. Long of Longview on Thursday afternoon in the SunDome.
Game 2 — Saturday: (7) Prosser 74, (2) Anacortes 69 (both to Yakima)
Yakima Valley SunDome
Thursday, March 2
Quarterfinals
Game 16 — (7) Prosser vs. (9) West Valley-Spokane or (8) R.A. Long, 2 p.m.
Class 2A girls
PROSSER 57, TUMWATER 37: Freshman Deidra Phillips scored 16 points, and Kendra Groeneveld and Amia Iberra added 8 points each, as Prosser handled Tumwater in Yakima.
OTHELLO 45, MARK MORRIS 39: The Huskies advance to the SunDome by outscoring Mark Morris 20-11 in the fourth quarter.
Annalee Coronado, the CWAC’s MVP this season, led Othello with 19 points.
Game 4 — Friday: (4) Prosser 57, (5) Tumwater 37 (both to Yakima)
Game 6 — Friday: (10) Othello 45, (15) Mark Morris-Longview 39 (winner to Yakima, loser out)
Yakima Valley SunDome
Wednesday, March 1
Game 10 — (10) Othello vs. (2) Lynden (loser out), 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 2
Quarterfinals
Game 13 — (4) Prosser vs. (11) Renton or (6) WF West-Chehalis, 3:45 p.m.
This story was originally published February 26, 2023 at 11:12 AM.