Richland boys, Kennewick girls win games to advance in WA state basketball tournaments
The Mid-Columbia contingent of teams playing in the state high school basketball tournaments on Wednesday had their collective backs against the wall.
And the majority of them came through to advance to their respective quarterfinals.
Richland’s boys, the Kennewick girls, both Prosser’s boys and girls, the Tri-Cities Prep boys, and the Sunnyside Christian girls all found ways to win loser-out games and extend their seasons with quarterfinal games on Thursday.
In addition, all of those teams are still eligible to win state titles.
Only the Columbia-Burbank girls fell short, losing to Mount Vernon Christian 50-41 in the 2B state tournament in the Spokane Arena. That ended the Coyotes’ season with a 17-8 record.
Meanwhile, the Mabton girls were still playing in Spokane late Wednesday night.
The Chiawana girls (4A), Royal boys (1A), Columbia-Burbank boys (2B) and DeSales boys (1B) will join the party on Thursday — as they all won state playoff games last weekend and were already seeded into the quarterfinals.
Here’s a look at what our region’s teams did on Wednesday, and what’s next for them:
Class 4A boys
Richland out-rebounded Emerald Ridge 42-24 to control much of the game, beating the Jaguars 63-54.
With the victory, the No. 4-seeded Bombers will get at least two more games on the Tacoma Dome floor, and will take on No. 6 West Valley of Yakima at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.
“We were really solid today,” said Richland coach Earl Streufert. “We guarded their shooters really well. And it just felt like our team played like a veteran team today. Emerald Ridge is better than an 11 seed for sure.”
Junior Landen Northrop scored a game-high 29 points for Richland, now 24-2.
Lance Horntvedt added 15 points for the Bombers.
Nathan Moore added 8 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
“Nate Moore came off the bench and was just solid on rebounds,” added Streufert.
Class 4A girls
Samantha Thomas scored 19 points to lead No. 13 Glacier Peak to a 60-49 upset over No. 5 Union on Wednesday night.
That means the Grizzlies will meet No. 3 Chiawana in the state quarterfinals at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday night in the Tacoma Dome.
Class 3A girls
Kennewick had three players in double-figure scoring, as the Lions held off Roosevelt 59-50 on Wednesday morning in Tacoma.
The Lions will now meet No. 1-seed Central Valley at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.
In Wednesday’s win, junior Rylee Bendewald had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds for Kennewick.
Ashlyn Dress led the Lions with 15 points, while June Fiander added 12.
Class 2A boys
No. 10 Prosser ousted No. 7 Foster 88-66 in Yakima on Wednesday, out-rebounding the Bulldogs 53-37.
Koby McClure led the Mustangs with 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Landon Bailey added 19 points and 10 boards, and Trent Russell scored 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
Prosser gets a crack at top-ranked Lynden in Thursday’s quarterfinals, with the game tipping off at 10:30 a.m.
Class 2A girls
Prosser easily rolled over Eatonville in its Wednesday game in Yakima, winning 71-24.
The Mustangs forced 30 turnovers and turned them into 43 points, as it was 46-14 at halftime.
Herbie Wright led Prosser with 26 points and 9 rebounds, while Lay’lee Dixon added 10 points and everyone on the team saw good minutes.
Deidra Phillips also had a strong all-around game, scoring 6 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, dishing off 4 assists, and getting 7 steals.
The No. 3 Mustangs will now meet No. 5 Archbishop Murphy at 3:45 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.
Class 1A boys
No. 9 Chelan ran past No. 8 The Bear Creek School 69-51 on Wednesday night in the Yakima Valley SunDome.
That means Chelan will meet No. 2 Royal at 9 p.m., Thursday, in the state quarterfinals.
Class 2B boys
Tri-Cities Prep raced out to a 30-16 halftime lead and never looked back in beating No. 5 Lake Roosevelt 64-33 in a loser-out game Wednesday.
The 12th-ranked Jaguars outscored the Raiders 18-2 in points off of turnovers, with Bryson Wilde having the big game.
Wilde scored 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 4 assists.
Layne McClure added 12 points, while Landen Levy and William Balcom each scored 10.
The victory means Prep will meet No. 3 Reardan in the quarterfinals at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in Spokane.
Meanwhile, No. 1 Columbia-Burbank begins quarterfinal action at 10:30 a.m. Thursday against No. 10 Liberty Bell, which knocked off No. 7 Adna 61-41 on Wednesday.
Class 2B girls
No. 9 Mabton had the win of the day when it beat No. 1 Rainier 64-59 late Wednesday night in Spokane, eliminating the Mountaineers from state tourney play.
Alana Zavala led the Vikings with 21 points, while Esmerelda Sanchez added 14, and Jasmin Chavez 10.
Mabton forced Rainier into 13 turnovers, and the Vikings outscored the Mountaineers 13-2 in points off of turnovers.
Mabton will meet No. 2 Adna in a state quarterfinal game at 9 p.m. Thursday.
Earlier Wednesday, Azlyn Pariera had a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, as well as 5 steals; but it wasn’t enough as Columbia-Burbank lost 50-41 to Mount Vernon Christian.
That ended the Coyotes’ season.
Class 1B boys
No. 6 Tulalip Heritage ran past No. 14 Summit Classical Christian 70-51 on Wednesday to advance to play Walla Walla’s DeSales in the state quarterfinals on Thursday in Spokane.
The No. 4 Irish will play at 3:45 p.m.
Class 1B girls
Devan Harrington scored 18 points, and Natalie DeBoer added 11, as No. 11 Sunnyside Christian edged No. 6 Inchelium 47-45 in a loser-out contest Wednesday in Spokane.
The Knights advance to play No. 5 Wellpinit at 9 a.m. Thursday in a state quarterfinal game.
4A boys state tournament
Wednesday, March 5
Tacoma Dome
Game 11 — Richland 63, Emerald Ridge 54, loser out
Thursday, March 6
Game 15 — Quarterfinal, (4) Richland (24-2) vs. (6) West Valley-Yakima (18-5), 12:15 p.m.
4A girls state tournament
Wednesday, March 5
Tacoma Dome
Game 11 — Glacier Peak 60, Union 49, loser out
Thursday, March 6
Game 15 — Quarterfinal, (13) Glacier Peak (20-7) vs. (3) Chiawana (23-1), 7:15 p.m.
3A girls state tournament
Wednesday, March 5
Tacoma Dome
Game 10 — Kennewick 59, Roosevelt 50, loser out
Thursday, March 6
Game 14 — Quarterfinal, (7) Kennewick (18-7) vs. (1) Central Valley (24-0), 10:30 a.m.
2A boys state tournament
Wednesday, March 5
Yakima Valley SunDome
Game 10 — Prosser 88, Foster 66, loser out
Thursday, March 6
Game 14 — Quarterfinal, (10) Prosser (21-7) vs. (1) Lynden (25-1), 10:30 a.m.
2A girls state tournament
Wednesday, March 5
Yakima Valley SunDome
Game 9 — Prosser 71, Eatonville 24, loser out
Thursday, March 6
Game 13 — Quarterfinal, (6) Prosser (22-5) vs. (5) Archbishop Murphy (23-2), 3:45 p.m.
1A boys state tournament
Wednesday, March 5
Yakima Valley SunDome
Game 12 — Chelan 69, The Bear Creek School 51, loser out
Thursday, March 6
Game 16 — Quarterfinal, (9) Chelan (23-5) vs. (2) Royal (24-1), 9 p.m.
2B boys state tournament
Wednesday, March 5
Spokane Arena
Game 10 — Liberty Bell 61, Adna 41, loser out
Game 11 — Tri-Cities Prep 64, Lake Roosevelt 33, loser out
Thursday, March 6
Game 14 — Quarterfinal, (10) Liberty Bell (17-10) vs. (1) Columbia-Burbank (24-1), 10:30 a.m.
Game 15 — Quarterfinal, (12) Tri-Cities Prep (22-5) vs. (3) Reardan (22-2), 12:15 p.m.
2B girls state tournament
Wednesday, March 5
Spokane Arena
Game 9 — Mount Vernon Christian 50, Columbia-Burbank 41, loser out
Game 12 — Mabton 64, Rainier 59, loser out
Thursday, March 6
Game 13 — Quarterfinal, (6) Mount Vernon Christian (20-4) vs. (4) Reardan (22-2), 3:45 p.m.
Game 16 — Quarterfinal, (9) Mabton (24-4) vs. (2) Adna (22-2), 9 p.m.
1B boys state tournament
Wednesday, March 5
Spokane Arena
Game 9 — Tulalip Heritage 70, Summit Classical Christian 51, loser out
Thursday, March 6
Game 13 — Quarterfinal, (6) Tulalip Heritage (21-4) vs. (4) DeSales (23-2), 3:45 p.m.
1B girls state tournament
Wednesday, March 5
Spokane Arena
Game 9 — Sunnyside Christian 47, Inchelium 45, loser out
Thursday, March 6
Game 13 — Quarterfinal, (11) Sunnyside Christian (20-5) vs. (5) Wellpinit (22-2), 9 a.m.
This story was originally published March 6, 2025 at 10:49 AM.