Basketball: Richland girls stay alive with win over Pasco

Gracie Pierce led a balanced scoring attack with 10 points as the Richland High School girls basketball team pulled away late to beat visiting Pasco 58-44 on Saturday at Art Dawald Gymnasium, eliminating the Bulldogs from the District 8 4A playoffs.

The Bombers (11-11) will play the MCC co-champion Chiawana Riverhawks at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Pasco in a loser’s bracket semifinal game. The winner plays the University-Gonzaga Prep winner on Friday in a winner-to-state game.

In her final high school game, Bella Gutierrez led Pasco (8-15) with 14 points. She reached 1,000 points for her career against Walla Walla on Jan. 30.

Emily Garza added nine points for Richland, and Laura Smith and Hailey Stevens each had eight.

LEWIS AND CLARK 65, CHIAWANA 35: Clare Eubanks scored 11 points, but the host Riverhawks (18-4) struggled to get much else going against the Tigers in their 4A district semifinal game.

Jacinta Buckley led the way for LC (15-5) with 19 points, 12 rebounds and five gives. The Tigers face undefeated GSL champ Central Valley at 6 p.m. Friday in the championship.

EAST VALLEY (YAKIMA) 76, PROSSER 74 (3OT): Marissa Cortes scored 25 points, pushing her career total over 1,000 just before halftime, but the Mustangs couldn’t hold off the Red Devils in a wild CWAC district semifinal at Central Washington University.

Prosser will next face Selah at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Eisenhower High School in a must-win game to advance to a crossover against the Great Northern League.

Brooke Wheeler added 13 rebounds and nine points for the Mustangs (16-5).

TRI-CITIES PREP 66, TONASKET 34: Talia von Oelhoffen dropped 32 points, knocking down five 3-pointers, and the EWAC champion Jaguars (16-4) rolled past the Tigers and into the District 5/6 2B semifinals at Granger High School, guaranteeing them their first regional berth in school history.

Next up for No. 10 Prep is conference foe No. 11 Mabton, which the Jaguars split their season series with. Tip off is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Friday at Granger.

BOYS BASKETBALL

GONZAGA PREP 55, CHIAWANA 38: The Riverhawks led early and defended well throughout, but didn’t have enough in the tank to upset the top-ranked team in the state in a District 8 4A semifinal game in Spokane.

Chiawana made 3 of 4 3-point attempts in the first quarter, held the Bullpups to just 11 points and staked out a four-point advantage in the opening minutes as a result. But it didn’t last as G-Prep led 29-22 at halftime and never looked back from there.

Austin Penny scored 10 points and Matthew Kroner had nine rebounds to lead Chiawana. Jamari Jones 18 points and Anton Watson added 16 for Gonzaga Prep.

Chiawana (11-11) hosts Walla Walla (14-8) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the loser’s bracket semifinal. The Bullpups (22-0) will clash with the similarly undefeated Richland Bombers in the district championship at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Spokane Veteran’s Arena, though both teams have already clinched state berths.

LEWIS AND CLARK 78, PASCO 24: The Bulldogs’ season came to an end with a loss to the Tigers in a District 8 4A playoff game in Spokane.

Diego Gutierrez led Pasco (3-20) with eight points. Naje Smith had 18 for LC (14-8) and Jacob Proost 17 with three triples.

CONNELL 53, LA SALLE 43: Austin Smith scored 26 points and the Eagles eliminated the Lightning from the SCAC district playoffs at Columbia (Burbank) High School, moving one game away from a regional berth.

Connell held La Salle (8-14) to just one point in the first quarter, rushing out to a 15-point lead that would never be relinquished.

The Eagles (13-9) face Wahluke (16-5) on Thursday in the loser’s bracket semifinal, time and place are still TBD.

TRI-CITIES PREP 51, WHITE SWAN 40: Stefan Geist nailed 3 of 6 3-point attempts and scored a game-high 18 points, and the Jaguars recovered from a slow start to defeat the Cougars in the second round of the District 5/6 2B playoffs in Granger.

The victory guaranteed Prep its first regional berth since 2014. Ranked 11th in RPI, the Jags (18-2) will face Central Washington 2B champ No. 9 Brewster (19-2) at 4 p.m. Friday, again at Granger High School.

Logan Mercado added 14 points and eight boards in the winning effort.

This story was originally published February 10, 2018 at 11:49 PM with the headline "Basketball: Richland girls stay alive with win over Pasco."