After a year hiatus, the W.F. West girls basketball team is back in a familiar place as one of the state’s elite teams. The Bearcats capped another exceptional season by finishing third at the Class 2A state basketball tournament at the Yakima SunDome, defeating 2A Evergreen Conference rival Black Hills, 51-50, in the placing round.
Three seniors – Lexie Strasser, Shasta Lofgren and Carly Noble – played their final game for W.F. West in the win over the Wolves. Junior Julia Johnson was one of three Bearcats to score in double figures, scoring 11 points and hitting the game winner with 13 seconds to play to give W.F. West its fourth top 3 state finish over the last five seasons.
The Bearcats also received 11 points from freshman Maggie Valada and 10 from junior Kiara Steen as they finished the season with a record of 22-5.
The team missed the state playoffs for the first time since 2010 last year. The Bearcats won the state championship in 2014, finished second in 2013 and 2015, and placed in 2011 (fifth) and 2012 (sixth) to produce one of the most successful seven-year spans for any 2A program.
Thoughts of a fourth trip to the state title game ended, however, in the semifinals following a heartbreaking 61-53 loss to eventual titlist Lynden.
The Bearcats led by 14 points in the second quarter against the Lions, but were unable to hold the lead as Lynden rallied in the second half, outscoring W.F. West, 22-6, in the third quarter to register the upset victory.
W.F. West had lost all three previous meetings against Black Hills, including a 67-45 setback in Tumwater, a 55-44 loss at home in the regular season finale and a tough 36-33 defeat in the district championship game.
A fourth straight defeat looked at hand after the Wolves raced out to a 17-4 lead after the first quarter.
The deficit ballooned to 16 points for the Bearcats with 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
A Black Hills’ 3-pointer 3 minutes into the final frame gave the Wolves a comfortable 11-point cushion at 50-39, but W.F. West responded by scoring the game’s final 12 points and holding their opponent to just 1 of 11 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter.
Down by six with under a minute to play, Erika Brumfield’s layout pulled the Bearcats within four points. On the Wolves’ next possession, Valada came up with the steal before draining a 3 coming out of a timeout.
Following another Black Hills’ turnover, Johnson came up short on her first shot with 18 seconds left, but was able to secure the offensive rebound and hit the game winner.
The Bearcats opened the state tournament in far less dramatic fashion by hammering Cascade Conference champion Archbishop Murphy, 58-44, in the quarterfinals.
Steen scored 14 points against the Wildcats and Lofgren and Brumfield each added 12 points in the victory.
Prior to 2011, W.F. West had not advanced to the state tournament since 1995 and had only placed once in the top 3, finishing third in 1989.
2B State Boys Basketball Tournament
Napavine (24-4) collected its first state trophy in six years by finishing sixth at the Class 2B boys state tournament in Spokane. The Tigers saw their season come to a close in the 69-48 loss to Northwest Christian (Colbert) in the state placing round.
It was a rematch of the 2011 state title game, which Northwest Christian also won, 41-32.
Wyatt Stanley, who led Napavine to the state football championship, scored a team-high of 22 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the loss, while Peyton Stanley added 14 points.
The Tigers opened the state tournament with a 60-68 loss in the quarterfinals to Liberty (Spangle), which shot 59 percent in the second half, including 6 of 7 from 3-point territory to erase an early deficit.
Jordan Purvis scored 21 points in the defeat.
Napavine secured a state placing by defeating Central 2B foe Toledo, 64-47, in the consolation round.
Austin Filley scored 22 points and hauled down 10 rebounds, while Wyatt Stanley scored points and grabbed a game-high 19 boards for the Tigers. The Indians (20-8) were led by Joe Wallace’s 12 points.
Both Toledo and Adna won first-round games, with the Indians knocking off Chief Leschi, 82-58, and the Pirates hammering Tonasket, 76-50.
Adna (21-8) received a well-balanced scoring attack in its victory, getting double digits from Blake Davis (18 points), Tanner Rigdon (15), Cody Young (13) and Conner Weed (10).
The Pirates, however, would drop their next two games, losing to eventual state champion and top-ranked Kittitas (71-64) in the quarterfinals and to Northwest Christian (60-43) in a consolation game which saw Rigdon score 27 points.
Toledo was also bounced to the consolation round following a 76-48 defeat to Life Christian Academy.
