Girls 4A regional: ‘Secret sniper’ Chloe Williams helps Central Valley beat Glacier Peak to advance to state quarterfinals

The regional round of state sets up interesting matchups, especially in the “protected” games between top-eight teams.

Such was the case on Friday, as Central Valley hosted Glacier Peak at University High School, a rematch of last year’s state fourth-place game won by the Grizzlies.

The Bears exacted a bit of revenge – in an impressive manner.

Chloe Williams scored 17 points, MJ Bruno added 16 and third-seeded CV used a 19-5 run in the third quarter to pull away from the sixth-seeded Grizzlies 67-49.

Greater Spokane League and District 8 champion Central Valley (20-3) advances to a quarterfinal game on Thursday at the Tacoma Dome. Glacier Peak (20-4) faces a first-round loser-out game on Wednesday.

Peyton Howard and Michael Pitts added 11 points apiece for CV. Peak was paced by Aaliyah Collins and Madison Rubino with 10 points apiece.

“It’s just nice to take care of business at home,” CV coach Felice Orrell said. “That’s what you work for all season, to get that home advantage, and I think it really paid off tonight.”

“They’re a really aggressive team and we were ready for that,” Howard said. “That’s how we practice.”

Orrell is a fan of the regional-round setup.

“Moving forward, there’s no bad team, so it just kind of gives you that little taste of that competitive action heading over to state.”

The Bears got out to a 9-2 start, with Williams hitting an early 3-pointer. Her second 3 made it 12-5 midway through the quarter, and the Bears led 18-10 after one.

“She’s just one more weapon we have in our toolbox,” Orrell said of Williams. “I think so many people are trying to shut this person down, that person down. Chloe’s our secret sniper in there. She had some huge shots early.”

Glacier Peak got buckets from its leaders – Collins and Rubino – at the start of the second, trimming the deficit to five. Malia Smith’s 3 from the corner made it 21-19 with just over 5 minutes left in the half.

Maya Erling’s scooping layup gave Glacier Peak its first lead at 25-24, but on the next possession, Collins picked up her third foul and took a seat. After an offensive rebound by Bruno, Williams hit a 3 and the Bears went on an 8-0 run.

“She is the straw that stirs their drink,” Howard said of Collins. “We knew we had to get her off her game. It was good to just get her out. It changed their dynamics so much.”

Kailyn Allison was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit 2 of 3 at the line late for the Grizzlies, and CV led 32-28 at intermission.

Collins picked up her fourth foul in the second minute of the third quarter. Pitts scored off an offensive board, then hit a 3, giving the Bears a 40-28 lead midway though.

Glacier Peak’s first basket of the quarter, a 3-pointer by Smith, came with just over 3 minutes to go. When the run ended, CV led 51-33 after three.

Collins fouled out with 3 minutes to go.

“She was our focus,” Orrell said. “We know she’s super aggressive, super attacking, and we figured if we could get a few on her early, we’d be in good shape.”