Richland, Chiawana and Prosser among WA title contenders from Mid-Columbia
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mid‑Columbia has 14 teams competing across 12 classifications.
- Richland and Chiawana seen as contenders; Prosser strong in 2A girls.
- Several small schools and underclass standouts advanced to Spokane.
I spent a few hours on Friday and many, many more on Saturday, just bouncing around the state, watching the Mid-Columbia’s top high school basketball teams battle in the first round of the state tournament.
I did this by watching online through the National Federation of High School Network.
This region still has 14 area teams battling for state titles among the 12 classifications — six each for boys and girls.
I came away pretty impressed with what I saw.
10 things to know
1. This could be the Richland boys team that brings the title home.
The Bombers last won a state basketball championship in 1979, and they’ve had some close calls in the years since — placing second in 2014 and 2024.
I’ve said this before: Watching Earl Streufert’s boys basketball team is well worth the price of admission.
On Saturday, Richland took down visiting Emerald Ridge 79-56 in business-like fashion.
Senior Landen Northrop, the greatest of all Bomber scorers now, sank nine 3-point field goals (some so far out they should have been worth 4 points) to finish with 37 points.
Meanwhile, big 6-foot-8 senior Lance Horntvedt scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to control the inside.
Northrop and Horntvedt have been one of the best 1-2 combos this area has seen in decades.
2. Chiawana girls lost. Now they can get down to business.
There is a theory out there, Riverhawks girls head coach Gary Jonas told me, in which many 3A and 4A coaches believe: It might be better to play a Wednesday loser-out game in the Tacoma Dome rather than start the week in a quarterfinal on Thursday.
Hear me out on this. It has to do with the depth perception inside the cavernous Dome when the kids are shooting the ball.
If a team can adjust enough and win on Wednesday, it has the confidence it needs to shoot when the quarterfinal begins on Thursday.
This is where the Riverhawks find themselves this week.
Chiawana dropped its first game of the season on Friday at Richland High, losing 59-48 to Lake Washington. (By the way, watch the Kangaroos’ Julia Benthin if you get a chance. Fastest player on the court who can leap high, shoot, and play smothering defense).
That Chiawana loss also takes the unneeded pressure off of the Riverhawks to stay undefeated.
Now, Jonas’ crew can relax and go have fun. And still possibly win the 4A state title.
3. Chiawana boys come at you in waves.
I’ve always liked Chiawana boys head coach Chad Herron, ever since I started covering him when he was a skinny, dead-eye, 3-point shooter for Mike Guajardo back in the late 1980s.
So it does my heart good to see Herron’s Riverhawks get onto the Tacoma Dome floor for the first time under his helm.
Sure two of his teams qualified for the state tournament before (2019 and 2023), but those games were losses in the first round of the tournament or.
Watching the Riverhawks beat Sumner 76-64, I saw a team that goes to the hot hand. On this night, Junior Heavens led the team with 18 points, Santana Sifuentes added 15, and Messiah Guy had 14 in the win.
But next game, it could easily be guys like Gage Williams, Benji Larios, and Athen Harris who lead the team in scoring.
As Herron says, “These guys really like each other.” It makes coaching them fun. And they’ve been rewarded with at least one game, maybe more, on the Tacoma Dome floor this week.
4. Prosser is legitimate in the 2A girls tournament.
There might not be a better 1-2 combo in state girls basketball than Prosser junior Herbie Wright and senior Deidra Phillips.
In a 71-54 win over Chehalis’ W.F. West on Friday night at Grandview High School, Phillips scored 30 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had 4 steals. Wright added 20 points and 5 steals.
Now 22-3, the core of this team has experienced so many big contests over the last three seasons that nothing should faze them.
5. Grant Wardenaar is a big-time hooper.
Royal’s boys lost 48-47 to King’s in the 1A boys tournament on Saturday at Davis High School.
It was a good, tight contest the entire way.
But I caught myself watching the junior with his ability to slash to the basket and putting up accurate running shots. Or making a great pass.
In all, Wardenaar — the standout Knights’ quarterback who led the football team to another 1A state title back in December — scored a game-high 29 points.
Another guy to watch in Dax Jenks, who does a lot of the little things (especially offensive rebounds) that winning teams need to have.
6. Are all Tri-Cities Prep boys sports programs great?
I’m just one man, trying to cover local sports while also trying to enjoy retirement a bit this past 10 years.
So a lot of the larger schools get most of the coverage.
Imagine my pleasant surprise watching the Tri-Cities Prep boys hang on to beat Toledo 64-63 at Tumwater High School on Saturday.
The Jaguars have plenty of guys who can shoot, and no one seems afraid to take it to the hoop.
Layne McClure has a nice running one-handed shot, while Landon Levy can score from inside or out.
Jarrett Garza has a deadly 3-point shot, while the athletic Jameson Elliott crashes the boards to score.
And Prep’s two bigs, Collin Sweesy and Brett Pedersen, did a great job against Toledo blocking shots and getting rebounds.
These guys have a legit chance to win a 2B state title, and why not? They won the state football title in December, and took the 2B state baseball crown last May.
7. Here comes Columbia-Burbank again.
Last year, Todd Schumacher’s Coyotes won the 2B boys state basketball title.
They’re not about to surrender it yet.
On Saturday, Burbank beat Ilwaco 68-54 to advance back to Spokane.
On Jan. 20, the Coyotes were stumbling along with a 6-10 record. But then something clicked. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games.
“It’s been easily the most impressive swing of my (coaching) career,” said Schumacher.
Junior JJ McVicker took control of the game against Ilwaco. And there are three — THREE! — of Schumacher’s sons contributing to the success of the team.
In a 77-69 playoff win over Goldendale on Feb. 2, freshman Trent Schumacher scored 23 points, senior Mason Schumacher added 22, and sophomore Brody had 21.
Pretty special, and the season is not done.
8. Spencer Green and DeSales have a quest.
The Irish boys beat a tough Moses Lake Christian Academy team 80-69 on Saturday night.
This is Spencer Green’s team. The senior standout scored 26 points in the game.
But many of the other guys were part of the DeSales 1B state football championship back in December.
Irish coach Eric Wood said moments like that makes it easier for his guys to show up in big-time contests and shine.
Saturday’s win was no exception.
9. A child shall lead them.
One of the bigger stories statewide this season has to be the Touchet boys.
The Redhawks play in the exceptionally tough Southeast 1B Grape Division that includes DeSales, Liberty Christian and Sunnyside Christian.
Yet Touchet beat Summit Classical Christian 55-45 on Saturday in Richland in the school’s first official state tournament game.
And the best player on the entire floor was a Touchet eighth +grader named Aylen Garnett. He scored 29 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, blocked six shots, and had 6 steals.
Eighth graders are allowed to play varsity basketball in the state of Washington.
Now, the Redhawks play Wednesday against Moses Lake Christian at 12:15 in the Spokane Arena.
Last one out of Touchet turn out the lights.
10. Liberty Christian boys, girls heading to Spokane.
The Patriot boys have had a great season so far, going 22-3.
One of those losses happened to be against Tulalip Heritage, dropping a 70-63 verdict to Tulalip Heritage.
But guys like Ryker Wageman, Trevor Haak and Nathan Grover know how to win. And they’ll be ready for Wednesday’s loser-out contest.
Meanwhile the Patriot girls beat Taholah 43-37 on Saturday to earn a spot in Spokane too. Taylor Haak, Camas Van Hollebeke and Atalie Olsson will lead the Pats into battle.
The question remains: will LC teachers be taking attendance in class this week?
WIAA STATE BASKETBALL
4A boys
Feb. 27 — Chiawana 76, Sumner 64 (loser out)
Feb. 28 — Richland 79, Emerald Ridge 56
Feb. 28 — Auburn 81, Sunnyside 50 (loser out)
Tacoma Dome
March 4 — Game 9, Chiawana vs. Puyallup (loser out), 3:45 p.m.
March 5 — Game 16, Auburn/West Valley-Yakima winner vs. Richland, 9 p.m.
4A girls
Feb. 27 — Lake Washington 59, Chiawana 48
Tacoma Dome
March 4 — Game 9, Chiawana vs. Kennedy Catholic (loser out), 9 a.m.
2A boys
Feb. 28 — R.A. Long 49, Grandview 38
Yakima Valley SunDome
March 4 — Game 10, Foster vs. Grandview (loser out), 5:30 p.m.
2A girls
Feb. 27 — Prosser 71, W.F. West 54
Yakima Valley SunDome
March 5 — Game 15, Archbishop Murphy/Port Angeles winner vs. Prosser, 12:15 p.m.
1A boys
Feb. 28 — King’s 48, Royal 47
Yakima Valley SunDome
March 4 — Game 9, Overlake vs. Royal (loser out), 9 a.m.
1A girls
Feb. 27 — Royal 57, Annie Wright 45
Yakima Valley SunDome
March 5 — Game 13, Bellevue Christian/Wapato winner vs. Royal, 3:45 p.m.
2B boys
Feb. 27 — Adna 92, Warden 47 (loser out)
Feb. 28 — Columbia-Burbank 68, Ilwaco 54 (loser out)
Feb. 28 — Tri-Cities Prep 64, Toledo 63
Numerica Veterans Arena, Spokane
March 4 — Game 11, Columbia-Burbank vs. Toledo (loser out), 7:15 p.m.
March 5 — Game 13, Mt. Vernon Christian/Okanogan winner vs. Tri-Cities Prep, 3:45 p.m.
2B girls
Feb. 27 — Davenport 72, Mabton 39 (loser out)
1B boys
Feb. 27 — Sunnyside Christian 66, Wellpinit 65 (loser out)
Feb. 28 — DeSales 80, Moses Lake Christian/Covenant Christian 69
Feb. 28 — Touchet 55, Summit Classical Christian 45 (loser out)
Feb. 28 — Tulalip Heritage 70, Liberty Christian 63
Numerica Veterans Arena, Spokane
March 4 — Game 9, Liberty Christian vs. Muckleshoot Tribal (loser out), 9 a.m.
March 4 — Game 10, Neah Bay vs. Sunnyside Christian (loser out), 10:30 a.m. March 4 — Game 11, Moses Lake Christian/Covenant Christian vs. Touchet (loser out), 12:15 p.m.
March 5 — Game 13, Liberty Christian/Muckleshoot Tribal winner vs. DeSales, 9 a.m.
1B girls
Feb. 28 — Liberty Christian 43, Taholah 37 (loser out)
Numerica Veterans Arena, Spokane
March 4 — Crosspoint Christian vs. Liberty Christian (loser out), 3:45 p.m.
-Jeff Morrow is the former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 10:06 AM.