Columbia River and Columbia Adventist boys create buzz in their respective tournaments, the Evergreen and Seton Catholic girls advance, as well, and the Union girls had already qualified for the quarterfinals, which will be played Thursday
Paul Valencia
Clark County Today
The Columbia River Rapids clearly do not care about seeding.
For the second consecutive season, the 11th-seeded Rapids are in the elite eight at the Class 2A state boys basketball tournament. The Rapids advanced in the round-of-12 elimination game Wednesday in Yakima.
Oh, and there is another Clark County team that really does not care about seeding.
The Columbia Adventist Kodiaks, as the 17th seed in the Class 1B state tournament, have now won three state playoff games in a row to reach the quarterfinals.
It was quite the opening for the final week of state high school basketball.
In all, there are five teams from the county that have reached the quarterfinals. Joining Columbia River and Columbia Adventist:
In the Class 4A girls tournament, Union did not have to play Wednesday. The Titans, the No. 2 seed, advanced directly to Thursday’s quarterfinals and will play No. 8 Sumner at 2 p.m. in the Tacoma Dome.
In the Class 3A girls tournament, No. 7 Evergreen had no problem against No. 15 Meadowdale on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the Class 1A girls tournament, No. 7 Seton Catholic got past No. 15 Cascade Christian to advance.
The Prairie boys (3A) and King’s Way Christian girls (1A) lost in round-of-12 elimination games Wednesday.
Here are some highlights from the Wednesday games.
Class 2A Boys
No. 11 Columbia River 67, No. 3 Selah 63, OT — Alex Pont scored just three seconds into overtime, and the Rapids never trailed again.
A couple possessions later, Josh Paxton buried a 3-pointer. After Selah scored, it was Pont again, this time on a three-point play for a 64-58 lead.
A year ago, Selah beat Columbia River in the quarterfinals. River responded in the consolation bracket to finish fourth.
This year, Columbia River avenged that loss to advance to the quarterfinals again. Columbia River will face No. 4 Pullman at 3:45 p.m. Thursday.
Pont finished with a game-high 21 points on Wednesday. Paxton added 17 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds. Luca Phillips scored 13 points.
Class 1B Boys
No. 17 Columbia Adventist 57, No. 8 Wahkiakum 53 — The Class 1B tournament has not had a 20-team tournament for very long, but this is twice now that Columbia Adventist has reached the elite eight with a double-digit seed.
Two years ago, the Kodiaks got to the elite eight as a 16-seed.
This year, they are a 17-seed. The Kodiaks had to win two games in the tournament just to reach the round-of-12. On Wednesday, the small private school from Battle Ground was in Spokane, jumping out to a 15-point lead in the third quarter. The Kodiaks then held off a rally from the Mules in the fourth quarter.
Evan Akrawi led a balanced attack with 15 points. Tristan White had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Wyatt Frantz had 13 points, and Luke Pierce added 10 points and six rebounds.
Columbia Adventist will take on No. 2 Almira Coulee Hartline at 2 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.
Class 3A Girls
No. 7 Evergreen 53, No. 15 Meadowdale 37 — The Evergreen Plainsmen dominated the fourth quarter, turning a close game into a runaway down the stretch to advance to the state quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
In fact, according to WIAA records, this is the first state tournament victory for the program.
Courtney Neal scored 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting to lead Evergreen. Kimora Ross had eight points and nine rebounds. Harmony Fallin had six points, eight rebounds, and five assists in a quality all-around performance.
Evergreen outscored Meadowdale by 12 points in the fourth quarter.
Evergreen will face No. 1 Bellevue at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Tacoma Dome.
Class 1A Girls
No. 7 Seton Catholic 35, No. 10 Cascade Christian 33 — A six-minute scoring drought in the fourth quarter found Seton Catholic in a difficult spot, but the Cougars got the ball to Riley Seymer and she came through in the clutch.
A three-point play by Seymer with less than two minutes to go in the game gave Seton Catholic the lead, and the Cougars would make enough free throws down the stretch to maintain the advantage.
Naomi Jackson had a huge steal in the final minute to crush one Cascade Christian opportunity.
Cascade Christian did score with 10 seconds to play but failed to foul Seton Catholic, allowing Seton to run out the clock for the two-point win.
Seymer scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Seton Catholic. Remy Jenniges had 10 points. Jackson ended up with three steals.
Seton Catholic will take on No. 1 King’s at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Class 3A Boys
No. 11 Edmonds-Woodway 49, No. 6 Prairie 46 — The Falcons saw their season come to an end after enduring a game that was close from start to finish, a contest with 10 lead changes.
Jamir Jones scored 14 points and had clutch free throws in the final minute to pull Prairie within a point. Edmonds-Woodway would respond with a couple of free throws, and Prairie’s final 3-point attempt was short.
Tavin Timperley had 11 points. He made three 3-pointers. Carson Morningstar had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots for Prairie.
Class 1A Girls
No. 8 Lakeside 44, No. 16 King’s Way Christian 23 — It was a tough night for the King’s Way Christian Knights, but an impressive, even historic, season for the team.
The Knights reached the round of 12 for the first time in program history.
Gisele Diehl led King’s Way Christian with nine points and 14 rebounds.
…
For updated brackets for boys basketball, go to:
https://www.wiaa.com/tournament/?sportid=3#tab
For updated brackets for girls basketball, go to:
https://www.wiaa.com/tournament/?sportid=12#tab
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