Mid-Columbia schools sending 8 teams to 2020 state basketball quarterfinals

The Chiawana girls basketball team used a 12-2 run in the first half to pull away from Kentridge and win 54-44 in the Class 4A state regional tournament at Richland High School on Saturday night.

The Riverhawks, seeded fourth into the tournament, got 25 points and 11 rebounds from junior Talia von Oelhoffen, and another 18 points and 8 rebounds from senior Kylie Thorne — enough for the two of them to dominate the No. 5-seeded Chargers.

“Our last two games, those two players have just been outstanding,” said Chiawana coach Mike Brown.

With the victory, the Riverhawks earn a bye into the state quarterfinals, and they’ll play at 9 a.m. Thursday in the Tacoma Dome against the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 14 Camas and No. 6 Glacier Peak.

“This is great,” said von Oelhoffen, “because instead of having to play four games in a row, now we only have to play three in a row in Tacoma.”

Brown said he was concerned with Kentridge coming into the game.

The Chargers had lost senior post Jordyn Jenkins — committed to USC next year — to an ACL injury on Dec. 28.

That forced Kentridge to go uptempo, and it had worked well for the Chargers.

“They play hard,” said Brown. “They’re good in transition.”

But von Oelhoffen said the Riverhawks concentrated on trying to slow Kentridge down.

“I knew they liked to push the ball,” she said. “And we ended up getting a little sped up ourselves. We got a little tired in the second half.”

Kentridge actually cut Chiawana’s lead to just 3 points late in the third quarter. But that was as close as the Chargers could get.

The Riverhawks kept pounding the ball into Thorne, whose various post moves resulted in some key points.

“Kylie has gotten so much better since our first practice,” said von Oelhoffen. “She’s just an athlete.”

Not starting state tourney play until Thursday allows the Roverhawks to also scout the competition on the first day.

“It means I get to watch more tape,” said Brown.

BELLARMINE PREP GIRLS 64, SUNNYSIDE 52: The No. 15 Grizzlies led 15-12 after one quarter in the girls Class 4A loser-out game at Rogers High in Puyallup.

But No. 10 Bellarmine Prep outscored Sunnyside 25-13 in the third quarter to take control.

Sunnyside’s season ended with a 14-8 record.

KAMIAKIN BOYS 81, MARYSVILLE-PILCHUCK 71 (OT): Kamiakin senior Kyson Rose scored a game-high 33 points – 17 alone in the fourth quarter and overtime period, as the No. 6-seeded Braves beat No. 3-seed Marysville-Pilchuck.

The game was moved from Jackson High in Everett to Shorewood in Seattle, after a Jackson High student had come down with the coronavirus.

With the victory, Kamiakin advances to the Class 3A state quarterfinals in the Tacoma Dome, where they’ll play at 12:15 p.m. Thursday.

The Braves will meet the winner of Wednesday’s first-round game, either No. 13 Rainier Beach, or No. 5 Evergreen of Vancouver.

Kamiakin dominated on the boards, grabbing 41 rebounds to the Tomahawks’ 22.

Messiah Jones scored 15 points and had 12 rebounds for Kamiakin, while teammate Trey Arland had 17 points.

EASTSIDE CATHOLIC GIRLS 80, KENNEWICK 56: Top-ranked Eastside Catholic pulled away in the second half to beat No. 8 Kennewick at Sammamish High School in Bellevue.

The Lions still advance to the state 3A girls tournament in the Tacoma Dome, playing a first-round, loser-out game against No. 9-seed Garfield at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

In Saturday’s contest, Kennewick trailed just 38-32 at intermission.

But too many Lions turnovers, and too many missed Kennewick free throws, spelled doom.

Madeline Gebers led Kennewick with 16 points, while Maya Thornton added 10.

PROSSER BOYS 97, CLOVER PARK 78: Haden Hicks scored a game-high 23 points to lead No. 10 Prosser over No. 15 Clover Park at Richland High on Saturday afternoon.

The win means the Mustangs continue on to the Yakima Valley SunDome for the 2A state tournament, and they’ll open play against Central Washington Athletic Conference rival Toppenish in a loser-out game at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Toppenish, a No. 2 seed, fell to Clarkston 53-49 in a state regional game on Saturday.

In Saturday’s win, Prosser led 49-38 at the half. And Hicks had just 2 points.

Instead, it was guys like Saul Quinones and Brock Weinmann who were doing the scoring.

Quinones made the play of the game, scoring a rare 4-point play as time expired at the end of the first quarter. That gave Prosser a 30-21 lead, and the Warriors could not get closer than 7 points the rest of the way.

“As soon as I threw (the 3-point attempt) up, I got fouled,” said Quinones. “I hoped it’d go in.”

It did, and he made the free throw.

Picking up the slack for Hicks is nothing new for this team, said Quinones.

“We all trust each other,” he said.

Prosser coach Toby Cox agreed.

“That’s the thing that’s been nice this year,” said Cox. “When someone is having a tough time, other kids are able to step up.”

Hicks came alive in the second half, scoring 21 points as the Mustangs maintained their advantage throughout the final two quarters.

Weinmann finished with 17 points, and Quinones had 16.

Prosser teammate Calvin Maljaars added 16 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots.

RIVER VIEW BOYS 51, BELLEVUE CHRISTIAN 47: A key 7-0 run late in the game gave the River View boys a 1A state regional victory over Bellevue Christian at Richland High School on Saturday.

With the win, the Panthers — seeded fourth — will play in the Thursday 1A quarterfinals at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

River View will play at 9 a.m. Thursday, against the winner of Wednesday’s loser-out contest between No. 14 King’s and No. 3 Zillah.

In that key 7-0 run, which started with the Panthers trailing 42-41, Tyler Bussell sank a field goal.

That was followed by a tip-in from Will Bailey, a free throw by Bussell, and two more free throws from Braulio Mendoza.

Bussell’s basket gave River View a 43-42 lead with 5 minutes left. By the time Mendoza sank his free throws, the Panthers led 48-42 with 1:40 to play.

“We’ve been through some tough, close games this season,” said River View coach Josh Stacy. “But these guys always seem to rise to the occasion.”

That starts with Bailey, who was named the MVP of the SCAC East a few weeks ago. A summer transfer from Tacoma, Bailey has enjoyed this season, and he says the Panthers are not done.

“This Finley community is like being in a big family,” said Bailey. “I love being here.”

WARDEN GIRLS 61, KING’S 45: The No. 3-seeded Warden girls continued their run towards the Class 1A state title Saturday by taking down No. 6 King’s.

With the victory, the Cougars head to the Yakima Valley Sun Dome for a quarterfinal game at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.

They’ll play the winner of a Wednesday loser-out game between No. 12 Elma and No. 4 Freeman.

LIBERTY-SPANGLE GIRLS 66, TRI-CITIES PREP 47: McKenna Martinez scored 23 points, but it wasn’t enough as No. 8 seed Tri-Cities Prep lost to top-seeded Liberty of Spangle in Spokane.

The Jaguars still qualify for the state 2B tournament in Spokane, and will play No. 9 Saint George’s in a first-round, loser-out game at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

LA CONNER GIRLS 57, COLUMBIA-BURBANK 39: Seventh-seeded Columbia-Burbank lost to No. 2 La Conner in a Saturday regional game at Mt. Vernon.

The Coyotes still qualify for the state 2B tournament in Spokane, and they’ll play a first-round, loser-out game at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday against 10th-seeded Mossyrock.

ALMIRA COULEE HARTLINE BOYS 55, SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN 51: Tyler Groenweg scored a game-high 25 points, but it wasn’t enough as Sunnyside Christian fell in a loser-out 1B state regional game at Wenatchee High School on Friday.

Reece Isaak led ACH with 21 points. SSC led 43-42 after three quarters, but ACH outscored the Knights 13-8 in the fourth quarter..

This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 3:23 PM.