State 2B girls: Okanogan knocks off defending champ Colfax in rematch of last year’s title game

Colfax girls basketball coach Jordan Holmes spent a little extra time in her team’s Arena locker room processing the Bulldogs’ 44-37 quarterfinal loss Thursday morning.

A year ago, Colfax knocked off Okanogan 59-52 in the State 2B championship game.

A year later, Okanogan got a measure of revenge.

The loss snapped an 18-game winning streak for Colfax (22-5), which meets Mabton (19-7) in a consolation game Friday morning at 9.

It’s one thing to play a state opener at 9 a.m. as Colfax did Thursday. It’s a complete different experience having to drop into the consolation bracket for a 9 a.m. game.

“The best thing that we can do as coaches is encourage our kids to decide whether they want to step up and play that 9 a.m. game and then play Saturday and go get fourth (place),” Holmes said. “A lot of teams dream of fourth. This is a different concept that our kids have had to ponder.

“They’ve never been put in this position since I’ve been here. It’s a matter of how we respond to what took place today. That’s a life skill we want our kids to leave Colfax (with) … and go hit adversity and rise up and make great decisions and fight like heck even when things don’t go your way. It’s a bittersweet lesson to learn.”

Okanogan (21-4) made an early 14-5 lead stand up by shutting down Colfax in the key and not allowing easy baskets.

Colfax used a 6-0 surge to pull within 14-11 midway through the second quarter, but Okanogan took a 23-15 lead into halftime.

Okanogan kept Colfax at bay in the third quarter, leading 32-22 to open the fourth quarter.

Colfax had another run left, using baskets from Lola Hennigar and Hailey Demler to pull within 34-30 with 3:55 to play.

After Okanogan got the lead to 40-32, Brynn McGaughy hit a 3-pointer to pull Colfax within 40-35 with 52 seconds remaining.

Okanogan closed it out at the free-throw line, making 4 of 6 shots in the final 32 seconds.

Colfax shot poorly in the first half, making 6 of 22 attempts from the field. It warmed up in the second half, but the hole was too deep .

Okanogan’s defense caused many of Colfax’s 16 turnovers.

McGaughy, a 6-foot-2 junior who recently announced her final list of colleges she’s considering – including No. 1 South Carolina and perennial power UConn – scored a game-high 17 points to go with seven rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists.

Demler added 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists for Colfax.

“We’re different this year and we got caught on our heels a little bit,” Holmes said. “We kind of got out of sorts. We didn’t play the way we normally play and that’s a testament to the defense that was out there.”

Okanogan coach Bryan Boesel said redemption was on his players’ mind.

“We’ve been waiting for this game a long time,” Boesel said. “You hate for it to be in the dang quarterfinals. There are a lot of good teams here and you have to beat a lot of good teams to get to the championship.”

Alex Goetz led Okanogan with 12 points. Jacy Boesel added 10 to go with seven assists and six rebounds.