Mid-Columbia to send 18 boys and girls basketball teams to WA state tournaments

Over the past week through Saturday, the Mid-Columbia had 18 boys and girls teams qualify for the 12 WIAA state high school basketball tournaments, some of which begin Tuesday.

That number includes two Mid-Columbia Conference Class 4A boys teams (Richland and Chiawana), two MCC 4A girls teams (Richland and Kamiakin), one 4A Big Nine Conference girls team (Sunnyside), one MCC 3A boys team (Walla Walla), and one MCC 3A girls team (Kennewick).

Everyone found out their first-round matchups on Sunday after committees for each classification met either in person or via Zoom to rank the teams from top to bottom.

And now, the postseason madness begins.

Here’s a look at how our teams did in district/regional play, and what their next matchups will be:

4A boys

Richland’s boys earned the best area seed, garnering an 8-seed from the committee. That means the Bombers will get at least one game in the Tacoma Dome.

But first, they have to play No. 1 Curtis at Tacoma Community College at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The winner will get a bye to Thursday’s play in the Dome, while the loser will play a loser-out game in Tacoma on Wednesday.

Richland (21-3) beat Kamiakin 67-51 on Saturday night in the District 8 4A state play-in game at Dawald Gym.

The game was tied at 31-31 at intermission, but Richland went on a 15-0 run that started midway through the third quarter and into the fourth to take control.

Freshman Landon Northrop and junior Josh Woodard each had 13 points to lead the Bombers, while Jordan Valencia and Jack Forbes added 11 points each.

Peter Dress led Kamiakin with 11 points.

Meanwhile, Chiawana lost at Gonzaga Prep 59-53 in the district championship game. Mason Castillo led the Riverhawks with 22 points.

So now, Chiawana (15-8) was given a 13 seed, and the Riverhawks will take on No. 12 Mariner at 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 25, at Arlington High School.

Winner advances to the Tacoma Dome, loser’s season ends.

4A girls

Kylee Fox is a right-handed shooter for the Richland Bombers.

But every once in a while, she messes around with a left-handed shot in practice.

Never did she think she’d need it in a game.

But in a key situation late in Saturday’s District 8 4A championship game, Fox had to fire up a 23-footer as the shot clock was about to expire.

To everyone’s amazement at Randy Dolven Gymnasium at Kamiakin High School, it went in.

It was a dagger, part of a 15-0 Bombers run that gave Richland control and eventually a 61-55 victory over the Braves.

“I knew I had to get the shot up. It was a miracle,” said Fox, who finished with 21 points and 4 assists. “It feels so good to beat them.”

It was the first time Kamiakin (now 20-3) has lost to a Mid-Columbia Conference team this season.

It also gives the Bombers their second consecutive District 8 title.

It also comes at a possible price, as Macie Milum — Richland’s No. 2 scorer — went down in the first quarter with an injury, possibly to her knee.

“It didn’t look good,” said Richland head coach Amy Westerfield, whose team is now 18-5.

Despite losing a strong scorer, though, the Bombers were able to stay close and trailed only 29-22 at intermission.

“I told (the girls) to do it for (Macie),” said Westerfield. “She’s part of this team.”

So Fox definitely needed some scoring help.

“We had multiple people step up,” said Fox. “We did it for (Macie).”

Fox got a lot of help from senior Maggie Smith, who finished with a game-high 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and two blocked shots.

“Smith is tough. She’s a farm girl. She’s from Connell,” said Westerfield. “She’s physical, and she’s always been competitive.”

Smith picked up the slack in the second half, dishing off four assists in that key 15-0 run.

“We got down in that first half,” said Smith. “But we knew what we had to do, which was drive to the top of the key and then kick it out.”

Nikole Thomas led Kamiakin with 19 points.

“We were playing pretty well, up 10 at one point, and then just dropped it,” said Kamiakin coach Lane Schumacher. “They pulled on us what we’ve done to them, as well as Chiawana, these last few weeks (by rallying back to win). They took it to us. We couldn’t find any rhythm at the end.”

Despite the loss, Kamiakin is seeded 7th, based on its season-long body of work.

The Braves will take on No. 2 Camas at 6 p.m. Friday at Battle Ground High School. Both teams will advance to Tacoma.

Richland, meanwhile, gets a No. 9 seeding. The Bombers will host No. 16 Olympia at 6 p.m., Saturday at Richland High. Winner heads to Tacoma, loser is out.

Sunnyside earned a 15 seed, and the Grizzlies will play No. 10 Bothell at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland, at 4 p.m. Saturday, in a loser-out game.

Woodinville is the top seed.

3A boys

Walla Walla jumped out to a 34-20 halftime lead at Kennewick, then held off a Lions rally to earn the District 8 Class 3A tournament’s second state berth on Saturday.

Daniel Coram led the Blue Devils with 14 points and 6 rebounds, Will Sullivan added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Dane Gardea had 12 points to lead Wa-Hi.

Kennewick, which had its season end, was led by Adrian Cervantes’ 13 points.

Wa-Hi is the 20th seeded team out of 20 teams, and the Blue Devils will travel to play No. 13 Mt. Vernon at 7 p.m., Tuesday, in a loser-out game. The winner will play at No. 12 Arlington in another loser-out game at 8 p.m., Saturday.

Mt. Spokane is the top seed in the tournament.

3A girls

Kennewick held off visiting Mt. Spokane 62-58 on Saturday to earn the district’s second state berth.

Hannah Fiander had a team-high 16 points for the Lions, while Haylee Johnson added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lions are seeded 16th out of 20 teams, and they’ll host No. 17 Eastside Catholic at 5 p.m., Tuesday, at Kennewick High in a loser-out game.

Whichever team wins will play No. 9 Bonney Lake at Auburn High School at 12 p.m., Saturday, in another loser-out game.

Garfield is the tournament’s top seed.

2A boys

CWAC district champion Prosser earns a No. 7 seed, and the Mustangs will play at No. 2 Anacortes at 2 p.m., Saturday.

Both teams will advance in the 16-team tournament to the Yakima SunDome.

Pullman is the top seed.

2A girls

Prosser and Othello qualify.

Prosser, a 4 seed, plays No. 5 Tumwater at 6 p.m., Friday at Davis High School in Yakima. Both teams advance to the SunDome.

No. 10 Othello takes on No. 15 Mark Morris of Longview at 6 p.m., Friday at Ellensburg High School in a loser-out game.

Ellensburg is the top seed in the 16-team tourney.

1A boys

Lynden Christian is the top seed of the 16-team tourney. No local teams qualified.

1A girls

College Place earned a 10 seed, and the Hawks will play No. 15 Annie Wright at 6 p.m., Friday, at Richland High in a loser-out contest.

Nooksack Valley is the top seed in the 16-team tournament.

2B boys

Columbia-Burbank, Tri-Cities Prep and Dayton-Waitsburg all qualified.

Burbank is the No. 4 seed, and the Coyotes take on No. 5 Brewster at 8 p.m., Friday, at Richland High. Both teams will advance to the Spokane Arena.

No. 12 Prep will play No. 13 Auburn Adventist at 8 p.m., Saturday, at Richland High. The game is loser-out.

And Dayton-Waitsburg is 16th seed out of 16 teams, and it will play No. 9 Lind-Ritzville at 12 p.m., Saturday, at Cheney High in a loser-out game.

Davenport is the top seed in the 16-team tournament.

2B girls

Warden and Mabton are both in the dance.

Warden, the defending state champion, is a 4 seed, and will play No. 5 Adna at 6 p.m., Saturday, at Ellensburg High. Both advance to the Spokane Arena.

No. 8 Mabton takes on No. 1 Colfax in the 16-team tournament. The game is set for 6 p.m. Saturday at Cheney High. Both continue on to Spokane.

1B boys

Sunnyside Christian earned the No. 2 seed, while DeSales is No. 3. Both teams will play at Richland High.

SSC takes on No. 7 Cusick at 2 p.m., Saturday; DeSales plays No. 6 Lummi Nation at 4 p.m., Saturday.

All four teams continue on to Spokane.

Wellpinit is the top seed in the 20-team tournament.

1B girls

No area teams qualified. Neah Bay is the top seed in the 16-team tournament.

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.