Three Class 2A GSHL girls basketball teams are in battle for one final state berth; Storm qualify for 4A state regionals
WOODLAND — The defending champions lacked a sense of urgency Monday night according to their coach.
That should not be a problem the rest of the week.
The Washougal Panthers, the 2019 Class 2A state high school girls basketball champions, will need two more wins this week in order to defend that title in the state tournament.
Annika Waring scored 11 points and Kyla McCallum added 10, leading W.F. West to a 43-33 victory over Washougal in the semifinals of the District 4 tournament Monday at Woodland High School.
The Bearcats advanced to the finals and secured a berth to state.
The Panthers, however, fell into the consolation bracket and will need to win back-to-back games to earn the third and final state berth from the district. Washougal will play R.A. Long on Wednesday in an elimination game.
R.A. Long held off Columbia River in a consolation game Monday night to stay alive.
Hockinson also survived Monday, beating Woodland to advance to the consolation semifinals. The Hawks will face Tumwater, the top seed from the north, also on Wednesday.
Washougal missed out on its first chance to clinch a berth. The Panthers led 2-1 in the early going, but that was the last lead of the night for the champs. The Bearcats jumped out to a 13-point lead by halftime and led by as many as 14 before Washougal made a bit of a run in the second half.
Skylar Bea’s basket with 1:50 to play made it a six-point game.
W.F. West would make four free throws down the stretch to maintain control.
For the Panthers, it was too little, too late.
“Sense of urgency is important. That’s something we were missing,” Washougal coach Britney Ervin said.
Two years ago, Washougal won the 2A Greater St. Helens League title, lost in the first round at district, then won three in a row in the consolation bracket to advance to state.
This year, they just have to win two.
“Be upset tonight. Carry it with you so that you come with that sense of urgency Wednesday so we can get that win,” Ervin said.
Should the Panthers do that, they will play again Saturday.
“It’s going to mean all of our players, every single one has to come ready to play,” Ervin said. “Every single one has to do their job. We had players step up really big tonight, but then we had some players kind of panic or crumble a little bit.
“That was a good test. Moving forward, that’s going to be something that hopefully we learn from and we can use so we can make that step in the right direction.”
Skylar Bea finished with 13 points to lead Washougal. Jaiden Bea added eight points.
Class 4A boys:
The Skyview Storm are going to state.
Squeeky Johnson’s tip-in with a second to play gave Skyview a 59-57 win over Mount Rainier on Monday in a consolation game in the 4A bi-district tournament. The Storm will play two more times this week but the win assured them of a trip to the state regional round
They will join Union and Battle Ground, giving the 4A Greater St. Helens League three teams in the Sweet 16.
Tied at 57, the Storm took most of the time off the clock before Kyle Gruhler launched a 3-pointer. His shot hit off the back iron. Jace Chatman, who was outside of the 3-point line when Gruhler’s shot went up, crashed the boards and got to the ball first. His tip missed, but his hustle kept the play alive, allowing Johnson to clean it up, sending the Storm to victory.
