Chiawana boys and girls pass first district tests, now on to semis

Macey Morales made 8 of 9 free-throw attempts to lead all scorers with 15 points as the Chiawana High School girls basketball team poured it on late to roll visiting Gonzaga Prep 62-39 on Wednesday in the opening round of the District 8 4A playoffs.

Kenedy Cartwright added 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Chiawana, and Kylie Thorne had 10 points and nine boards off the bench. Leading by 10 heading into the fourth quarter, the Riverhawks outscored the Bullpups 26-13 in the final period to turn it into a blow out.

Demi Howlett led G-Prep with a dozen points while Mia Scelfo and Makena Dodson each had nine.

Chiawana (13-1) hosts Lewis and Clark (14-5) at 6 p.m. Saturday in the district semifinals, while Gonzaga Prep (13-9) travels to Walla Walla (12-9) at 5 p.m. in a loser-out game.

UNIVERSITY 64, RICHLAND 50: Jayda Clark scored 13 points and Jordyn Clark scored all 12 of her points on four 3-pointers, but the host Bombers couldn’t dig their way out of an early deficit in the District 8 4A playoffs.

Claire Dingus led the way with 22 points for University, which led 14-9 after the first quarter and 30-19 at intermission. Gracee Dwyer added 18 for the Titans.

Richland (9-11) is back at Art Dawald at 5 p.m. Saturday in an elimination game against Pasco. U-Hi (14-6) will try to upset undefeated GSL champ Central Valley at 6 p.m. Saturday in the district semifinal.

OTHER GIRLS GAMES: Lewis and Clark def. Walla Walla 59-41; Central Valley def. Pasco 79-18

BOYS BASKETBALL

CHIAWANA 79, LEWIS AND CLARK 68: Austin Penny matched his season-high of 20 points and the host Riverhawks topped their season-best point total to get past the Tigers in opening round 4A district action.

Against a talented LC squad, Chiawana battled the whole way, leading by three at halftime before pulling away with a 21-11 run in the third quarter. Matthew Kroner had 15 points and 10 boards in a double-double for the Riverhawks, Taylor Kroll had 13 points and Simon Lopez added 11 points, five assists and three steals.

Naje Smith had a near triple-double in the loss for LC, posting 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks.

Winners in nine of their past 11 games, the Riverhawks (11-10) will try to shock the state at 6 p.m. Saturday on the road against undefeated Gonzaga Prep, with the winner guaranteed a spot in regionals. The Tigers (13-8) will host Pasco at 4 p.m. in a loser-out game.

GONZAGA PREP 71, PASCO 26: Nicholas Gutierrez scored nine points and Kashon Tate eight, but the visiting Bulldogs (3-19) were no match for the undefeated GSL champs.

Anton Watson led the way with 19 points for the Bullpups (21-0) and Sam Lockett added 13.

FERRIS 67, WALLA WALLA 41: Campbell Shamrock nailed 4 of 5 3-pointers for a game-high 28 points to lead the host Saxons past the Blue Devils in another first-round game of the 4A district playoffs.

Tyler Greene scored 11 points for Wa-Hi and Taylor Hamada matched Ferris’ Ervin Mike for the game-high of 10 rebounds.

Walla Walla (13-8) gets home court advantage, but will face elimination against University at 7 p.m. Saturday. Ferris (18-3) hits the road to play undefeated MCC champion Richland in the district semis at 6 p.m. Saturday.

This story was originally published February 8, 2018 at 12:12 AM with the headline "Chiawana boys and girls pass first district tests, now on to semis."