State regional basketball roundup: Emerald Ridge punches ticket to state, Sumner earns bye
SATURDAY’S RESULTS (FEB. 24)
GIRLS BASKETBALL
4A
Regional round – Winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-to-Round of 12
Sumner 63, Davis 60 (OT)
Sumner was outscored 17 to 3 in the third quarter of its 4A state tournament regional round game against the visiting Davis (Yakima) Pirates on Saturday at Auburn High School.
Spartans coach Katie Hyppa called it the “worst half” Sumner has played all season, but took a glass-half-full view of what had transpired. Her message to her team?
“Hey, it can only go up,” she said, laughing.
And up it went. Sumner clawed back from a fourth-quarter deficit and appeared poised to win the game when Adriana Perez’s 3-pointer gave the Spartans a two-point lead late in the game. But Davis wouldn’t go away, evidenced by Ceheyenne Hull snagging a steal and converting a layup as time expired to send the game to overtime.
“It was a roller coaster of emotion,” said Sumner senior guard Lainee Houillon, who scored 14 points in the win.
Sumner pulled away in overtime and won 63-60, sealing a first-round bye in the 4A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome next week.
“We knew that games are going to be like that from now on since it’s state,” Houillon said. “We’re going to face good teams. We were kind of prepared for it. We do have a lot of young girls. So it was good to experience that and now we know what to do from here on out.”
Freshman Kawehi Borden scored a team-high 17 points for Sumner, while sophomore Olivia Collins added 16. Guard Esmeralda Galindo scored a game-high 20 points for Davis.
“That was a crazy game, I’ve never been in a game like that before, that big of an environment,” Borden said. “I’m so happy with how we came together at the end, that was a huge test for us. We haven’t played in a game like that this season. Before the Dome, that was a good thing to get out of the way.”
Hyppa said she felt the team’s defensive effort down the stretch won the game.
“Defense is gonna win us games,” she said. “And the end of the day, that’s what we pride ourselves on. We dug in and when our defense is clicking, our offense does better.”
BOYS BASKETBALL
4A
Regional round – Winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-to-Round of 12
No. 7 Richland 77, No. 2 Tahoma 59
If it wasn’t happening against his team, Tahoma coach Rick Tripp may have had a greater appreciation for the offensive display the Bombers showcased on Saturday night.
It was a thorough, convincing effort from the tip from the road team.
“The things they did, we knew they were capable of,” Tripp said. “I didn’t think we did a good job defensively at all. It was probably one of our worst defensive performances, I felt.”
Tahoma made a few dents in the scoreline but never seriously threatened Richland, which can win the Class 4A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome if it keeps playing like that. Richland certainly didn’t look like the lower seed in Saturday’s matchup. Were the Bombers snubbed, perhaps the victims of west-side bias?
“They gave us a spot in the tournament and that’s all we wanted,” said guard Josh Woodard, who was also a prolific quarterback for Richland’s state tournament football team last fall. “It doesn’t matter if we’re one through eight or one through sixteen, we’re gonna go compete every single night.”
Message sent to the schools west of the mountains.
“We know how to compete, we know how to play basketball,” Woodard said. “We’re not some soft school from the east side, we come to compete every single night.”
Woodard scored a game-high 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field. Jack Forbes added 18, Landen Northrop scored 16 and post Luke Westerfield added 11.
Dalton Brown led Tahoma with 16 points, Carter Stonerock scored 14 and Adam Davis added 13. With the win, Richland earns a bye into Thursday’s quarterfinal round at the Tacoma Dome. Tahoma, meanwhile, will have to play in the opening round on Wednesday. Tripp said he’s confident his group will bounce back
“The character of these kids, I have no doubt about that,” he said. ”It could potentially make our path a little tougher, with walking into Mount Si if we were to get to that. To be one of the top teams, you’ve gotta beat the top teams and that’s what we gotta do.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL
4A
Winner to Round-of-12, loser out
No. 11 Emerald Ridge 60, No. 14 Kamiak 59
Emerald Ridge was in danger of seeing its season come to an end at the hands of Kamiak on Saturday night, but 6-foot sophomore post Ryah McGriff came to life in the third quarter and willed the Jaguars back into the game.
She finished with a game-high 22 points, guard Naomi Senato added 16 and the Jaguars mounted a furious comeback to win 60-59 and earn a trip to the 4A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday.
“It was a team win,” Senato said. “When some of our players head our heads down, we all connected and we all head each other’s back. … This was Ryah’s game. We knew from the start that she was the tallest one out there, the most aggressive. We knew she had it so we gave her the ball.”
Emerald Ridge coach Arvin Mosley liked the fight he saw from his group.
“I saw some resilience,” he said. “Our point guard got into foul trouble. The way the girls just stuck together. We almost folded a couple times and we just didn’t. … Those steals down the stretch, the way our girls just fought all the way through, I’m just super proud of them.”
Emerald Ridge will face No. 6 Bothell on Wednesday in the opening round of the 4A state tournament in the Tacoma Dome.
FRIDAY’S RESULTS (FEB. 23)
BOYS BASKETBALL
4A
Regional round – Winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-to-Round of 12
No. 3 Gonzaga Prep 62, No. 6 Federal Way 40
Brogan Howell’s game-high 15 points lifted Gonzaga Prep over Federal Way in the opening round of the state bracket Friday night.
Howell, a junior guard, helped direct a 10-2 run to begin the game, and the Bullpups led comfortably after every quarter at Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley.
Friday night’s win punched Gonzaga Prep’s ticket to the 4A quarterfinals inside the Tacoma Dome. Federal Way, meanwhile, moves into Wednesday’s Round of 12, which the Bullpups bypassed.
Both programs are very much alive.
Senior wing Kofi Peyton paced Federal Way with 12 points.
Federal Way meets a Woodinville-Skyview regional winner in the Round of 12 on Feb. 28. Tip-off is slated for 3:45 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome.
BOX SCORE
FW: 8-7-9-16–40
GP: 20-12-15-15–62
3A
Regional round – Winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-to-Round of 12
No. 8 North Central 60, No. 1 Auburn 54
Eli Williams found himself pinned along the left sideline.
He and his North Central teammates clung to a one-point lead over 3A top-ranked Auburn with 2 minutes, 43 seconds to play in the First Round state contest on the Trojans home floor. Auburn defensively had put itself in a position to turn the Wolfpack over and have a chance to retake the lead with the shot clock reading 1 second.
That’s when Williams grabbed an inbounds pass and catapulted a shot that swished through the net as he fell nearly into the stands off-balance under pressure. The 3-pointer, Williams’s last made field goal of his game-high 18-point night, extended the North Central lead to four en route to a 60-54 upset victory that earned the Wolfpack a bye into the state quarterfinals next Thursday.
For the third straight season, the Trojans (23-2) lost their First Round game. Thus, again, Auburn must traverse the difficult path at the Tacoma Dome needing four victories instead of three to duplicate what the Trojans did in 2022 and win a state title.
“This has been two years in a row, three now, that we’ve done this,” Auburn coach Ryan Hansen said. “We’re very familiar with this path. We talked this year about cutting three nets. That’s been the goal for us all year. That third goal is still right there for us.”
The sheer height and length of North Central, the No. 8 seed to state, took its toll on Auburn, which didn’t shoot the ball well all evening. Jacori Ervin at 6-foot-11, Gelonni Ervin at 6-8 and Makai Daniels at 6-6 ran at the Trojans long-range shooters all night.
The Wolfpack pestered NPSL Player of the Year Jaylen Petty into one the worst shooting nights he could remember.
“Games like this happen,” Petty said.
Petty made just six of 21 shots (and only one of 12 from behind the 3-point arc) while still leading Auburn in scoring with 18 points.
“We need him to stay aggressive, continue to make plays,” Coach Hansen said. “Tonight it wasn’t just him. As a team in general we just didn’t shoot the ball like we typically do. Part of it had to do with their length.”
Despite the poor shooting night across the board for Auburn, the Trojans still led this one for much of the game. Auburn held a 14-9 advantage after the first eight minutes, led 28-26 at the half and 46-44 leading into the fourth quarter.
But after Carter Hansen made a long 3-pointer with 6:45 to play to put Auburn up 49-46, the Trojans went more than three minutes without scoring as the Wolfpack (19-5) roared back and took a 52-49 advantage on a Daniels layup with 5:04 to go.
North Central still led 52-51 with 2:44 left. That’s when Williams hit his game-changing shot clock buzzer beater to send the Wolfpack into a 10:30 a.m. quarterfinal on Thursday morning. Auburn will play the winner of Saturday’s Lincoln against West Seattle game at 2 p.m. on Wednesday in a winner-to-quarters, loser-out contest.
“Walk out of the locker room with your heads high and a chip on your shoulder,” Hansen said. “Be mad. Don’t forget this feeling. And use that for fuel going into next week.”
2A
Regional round – Winner-to-Round of 12, Loser-out
No. 9 Pullman 61, No. 16 Enumclaw 44
Senior forward Champ Powaukee dropped a game-high 19 points, fueling Pullman’s regional win over Enumclaw at Cheney High School.
The 6-foot-4 Powaukee and 6-foot-4 Daniel Kwon (16 points) paced all scorers in a loser-out contest that eliminated Enumclaw from title contention.
Pullman – now officially in the 2A Round of 12 – punched their ticket to the Yakima Valley SunDome next week.
“They’re big. They’re really big,” Enumclaw head coach Terry Johnson said. “They’re like 6-foot-3 and above, for the most part.
“We got good looks, especially in the first half. We just couldn’t make shots. I don’t know if it was the speed, or the moment, or what. Our guys played confidently. We just couldn’t make shots.”
Hornets senior Liam Leonard led Enumclaw with 13 points. Austin Pierce added eight.
Following its third-place finish in the 2A SPSL, Enumclaw battled through three loser-out contests in the District ⅔ Tournament to grab the bracket’s final state allocation. Its season ends with Friday’s loss.
“They just didn’t quit,” Johnson said. “Our guys usually never quit. We got behind, they just kept fighting.”
MORE SCORES
4A
No. 5 Davis 65, No. 4 Glacier Peak 54
No. 10 Jackson 55, No. 15 Puyallup 48
No. 13 Camas 84, No. 12 West Valley (Yakima) 67
3A
No. 2 Eastside Catholic 67, No. 7 North Thurston 43
No. 4 O’Dea 59, No. 5 Mountlake Terrace 57
2A
No. 1 Lynden 74, No. 8 Prosser 59
No. 2 Grandview 72, No. 7 Rogers (Spokane) 63
No. 3 North Kitsap 58, No. 6 Mark Morris 48
1A
No. 1 Zillah 65, No. 8 Tenino 39
No. 10 Meridian 63, No. 15 Life Christian Academy 57
GIRLS BASKETBALL
4A
Regional round – Winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-to-Round of 12
No. 2 Woodinville 71, No. 7 Tahoma 50
Falcons forward Lyla Kahrimanovic dropped 27 points, and Woodinville cruised in the regional round of the state tournament Friday night.
Kahrimanovic, a senior, added four assists at Issaquah High School in an opening-round victory that guaranteed Woodinville a trip to next week’s 4A quarterfinals.
Falcons center Jaecy Eggers posted a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double, and senior forward Macartney Noe added a dozen points. Sophomore guard Jazlyn Wilkerson dropped seven points and dished a team-high six assists.
Tahoma’s loss moves the Bears into Wednesday’s Round of 12 at the Tacoma Dome, now four wins away from a title.
3A
Regional round – Winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-to-Round of 12
No. 5 Arlington 48, No. 4 Auburn 45
Auburn’s offense ignited in the third quarter – but 11 first-half points plagued the Trojans into a game of catch-up that fell one shot short.
Arlington held onto Friday’s regional-round nailbiter, which guarantees the Eagles a trip to next week’s 3A quarterfinals inside the Tacoma Dome.
Freshman guards Avery Hansen (17 points) and Keleesa Howard (seven) paced Auburn’s offense; Hansen drilled a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter and finished with three.
The Trojans move to Wednesday’s Round of 12 at the Tacoma Dome, meeting a Seattle Prep-Everett winner. Tip-off is set for 7:45 p.m.
2A
Regional round – Winner-to-quarterfinals, loser-to-Round of 12
No. 2 Lynden 53, No. 7 White River 29
Lynden flexed its muscles as one of 2A’s top contenders – handling White River, 53-29, to breeze through the regional round on Friday night.
The Hornets remained within single digits for three quarters, but Lynden surged through the finish line to grab an 18th consecutive win.
“Their physical size and strength… it just wears on you after time,” White River coach Chris Gibson said. “(Lynden’s) got some really skilled offensive players. Our inability to score tonight was huge.
“That length and size really gave us a hard time.”
Also the two-seed in last year’s 2A bracket, Lynden was stunned by No. 10 Othello, 33-31, in the Yakima Valley SunDome’s Round of 12. This year, the Lions skip that round entirely. Friday night’s regional win guarantees a trip straight to the 2A quarterfinals.
White River’s Vivian Kingston, a junior forward, paced the Hornets with six points. Lexie Banks scored five points and Maggee Schmitz added four.
White River meets a North Kitsap-Sammamish winner in the Round of 12 on Wednesday in Yakima. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.
“We’re not going to spend a lot of time worrying about this right now,” Gibson said. “We’ve got to move on, get ready for Wednesday. … It’s one game at a time.”
BOX SCORE
WR: 8-2-14-5–29
L: 12-8-14-19–53
MORE SCORES
4A
No. 9 Lake Stevens 47, No. 16 Skyview 34
3A
No. 11 Kennewick 63, No. 14 Ridgeline 42
No. 6 Garfield 46, No. 3 Snohomish 40
2A
No. 1 Ellensburg 69, No. 8 Columbia River 25
No. 6 Archbishop Murphy 58, No. 3 W.F. West 55
No. 9 Ridgefield 59, No. 16 Kingston 46
1A
No. 10 Seattle Academy 55, No. 15 Annie Wright 53
No. 13 Eatonville 40, No. 12 Seton Catholic 36
This story will be updated.
This story was originally published February 23, 2024 at 11:02 PM.
