Ridgefield girls, Camas boys survive and advance at WIAA opening round matchups

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

They had already made it to the state tournament.

But there is something special about going to the dome. 

The Ridgefield Spudders knew they needed one more win to clinch a spot in the Yakima Valley SunDome, and they got it done Friday night.

Or, you could say, they got it done over months and months, from the end of last season until right now, from conversations between the head coach and a senior leader.

Elizabeth Swift was clutch Friday night, helping the Spudders to a 59-46 victory over Kingston in the Class 2A girls basketball opening round — the state regional. 

And right after the game, Swift recalled a bunch of meetings with her coach.

“I’ve had so many coffee dates with Coach Lo,” Swift said of Lauren Hefflin, who played for the Spudders the last time the team made it to state in 2007. 

Swift had questions.

“What did it take for you to get there? How do we get there, too?” she asked her coach.

The talks turned into action, and the Spudders are in the final 12 at state.

Friday featured five Clark County teams in action. Two teams — the Ridgefield girls in 2A and Camas boys in Class 4A — won elimination games. Columbia River lost a seeding game in 2A girls but is still going to Yakima. Skyview, in 4A girls, and Seton Catholic, 1A girls, lost in elimination games.

Five more Clark County teams will be playing Saturday.

Here is what happened Friday night, including two state regional games held at Battle Ground High School.

Class 2A girls

No. 9 Ridgefield 59, No. 16 Kingston 46

It was a three-point game at halftime. Anyone’s contest. Ridgefield, the No. 9 seed, was in a battle with the 16-seed in this survivor game.

Swift buried a shot early in the third quarter. Teammate Savannah Chanda got the next basket. Then it was Swift again, this time with a 3-pointer. 

The lead grew to double digits by the end of the quarter, and the Spudders were never threatened again, building a 21-point lead late in the fourth quarter.

“We knew that we needed to come out hot (in the second half),” Swift said. “We needed to put it down in the first two minutes. That was our let’s-do-it-right-here moment.”

She said any of her teammates could have delivered. She just happened to be the one who got the ball at the right time. 

“It was an honor to have that opportunity,” she said.

Sure enough, it was a true balanced attack for the Spudders. Swift led the way with 12 points, Morgan Goode and Janessa Chatman each scored 11, Jalise Chatman had 10, and Chandra finished with nine points. 

Hefflin said she was thrilled for Swift, who uncharacteristically struggled with her shot for much of the season. Swift maintained her focus, though, always doing other things to help the team, even when she wasn’t scoring.

It was fitting, Hefflin said, that Swift found her groove at the perfect time.

After all, they did spend quite a bit of time together during the offseason.

“Last year being my first year (as head coach), a big part of it was building a culture,” Hefflin said. “She was a huge part of that. ‘What does that mean? I’m your captain. What can I do?’ For me, the questions were what do you want to do? What do you want your senior year to be? She said, ‘I want to go to Yakima.’ That has been the consistent conversation that we’ve been having.”

The Spudders are going to the round of 12, and a 2A Greater St. Helens League team is guaranteed a trip to the quarterfinals. How? Ridgefield will face league champion Columbia River in the round of 12 on Wednesday in Yakima. 

The Spudders will quickly turn their focus to the Rapids, but Friday night was about celebrating the present. 

“It is a climb-the-mountain-top moment,” Swift said of Friday’s victory. “It’s an outrageous feeling, and it’s an honor. It is truly an honor.”

Class 1A girls

No. 13 Eatonville 40, No. 12 Seton Catholic 36

Seton Catholic went cold at the most inopportune time for the Cougars.

A close, defensive battle in a game that featured 17 lead changes, Seton Catholic managed just one field goal in the fourth quarter and saw their season end in the opening round of the state tournament.

“It wasn’t because of a lack of heart. We gave it everything we had. A bounce here, a shot there, and it’s a different story. That’s playoff basketball. One possession can make you or break you,” Seton Catholic coach Joe Potter said. “They beat us. That’s just a tough one.”

Two weeks earlier, Seton Catholic topped Eatonville in the district semifinals. This time, the Cruisers finished just strong enough. Bailey Anderson scored 20 points to lead the Cruisers. Her bucket with 1:48 was the final lead change of the game. She also added three more free throws down the stretch.

Seton Catholic is done for this season, but certainly not down and out. The team had one senior on the floor Friday and has nine sophomores on the roster.

“We haven’t talked about age all year long because I wouldn’t let them because I thought we were a good team. It doesn’t matter if we’re young or not,” Potter said. “Now we can say, I guess we were young.”

And that’s a good sign for the future. 

Madison Lee, a sophomore, led Seton Catholic with 12 points. Riley Seymer, another sophomore, scored 10. 

Seton Catholic, with this young squad, won a league title and reached the sweet 16 at state.

Class 4A boys

No. 13 Camas 84, West Valley (Yakima) 67

Camas coach Ryan Josephson told the Yakima Herald that he believes his team set a school record Friday night.

Yeah, 19 3-pointers seems to be a lot.

The Papermakers buried 19 from long range and pulled away from West Valley of Yakima to advance to the round of 12 at the Class 4A boys basketball tournament in the Tacoma Dome.

Camas will take on No. 4 Glacier Peak at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday in the dome in another elimination game. The winner will advance to the state quarterfinals.

Class 4A girls

No. 9 Lake Stevens 47, No. 16 Skyview 34

The season came to an end for the Skyview Storm, the 16-seed in this 16-team tournament.

Still, the Storm will love that the record will show that Skyview made it back to the state tournament for the first time since 2016.

The Storm finished third in the 4A Greater St. Helens League, then had to win three road games in the bi-district just to qualify for state.

Class 2A girls

No. 1 Ellensburg 69,  No. 8 Columbia River 25
There is a big gap between No. 1 and No. 8. This was a seeding matchup, with the winner advancing directly to the state quarterfinals. And it was all Ellensburg.

But the Rapids should understand that Ellensburg does this to a lot of teams. This was the program’s 73rd consecutive victory as it seeks its third consecutive state championship.

Columbia River, with earning a top-eight seed, is still playing. The Rapids will play in the round of 12 at the Yakima Valley SunDome on Wednesday against league-rival Ridgefield.

Saturday:

There are five more Clark County teams playing on Saturday, including three at Battle Ground High School. 

Class 4A Boys: No. 14 Woodinville vs. No. 11 Skyview, 2 p.m. at Battle Ground High School. Winner advances to final 12 at Tacoma Dome. Loser is eliminated.
Class 4A Girls: No. 8 Gonzaga Prep vs. No. 1 Camas, 4 p.m. at Battle Ground High School. Winner advances directly to the state quarterfinals at the Tacoma Dome. Loser goes to the round of 12 at the dome. 

Class 2A Boys: No. 13 White River vs. No. 12 Columbia River, 6 p.m. at Battle Ground High School. Winner advances to final 12 at Yakima Valley SunDome. Loser is eliminated.

Class 1A Boys: No. 7 Seton Catholic vs. No. 2 Lynden Christian, 2 p.m. at Lynden High School. Winner advances directly to state quarterfinals at the Yakima Valley SunDome. Loser goes to the round of 12 at the SunDome.

Class 1B Boys: No. 16 Columbia Adventist vs. No. 9 Tulalip Heritage, 8 p.m. at Arlington High School. Winner advances to final 12 at Spokane Arena. Loser is eliminated.