Prep roundup: Ridgeline boys pull away from Cheney in fourth; Aylah Cornwall leads Gonzaga Prep girls past Lewis and Clark

Five teams from the Greater Spokane League 3A ranks qualify for the District 8 tournament this season. Entering play on Tuesday, three boys teams were tied for the fourth and fifth spots at 2-3 in league.

That meant the showdown between host Ridgeline and Cheney set up as a potential elimination game, as the winner would own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the other.

Advantage, Ridgeline.

Senior Easton Amend scored 16 points, sophomore Caden Andreas added 14 – 11 in the fourth quarter – and the Falcons beat the visiting Blackhawks 62-50.

Ridgeline (12-4, 3-3) employed a press all game and outscored Cheney (7-9, 2-4) 21-7 in the fourth quarter.

Evan Stinson, headed to Washington State next year, led Cheney with 21 points. He was held to two points in the final quarter.

“For the first three quarters I felt like we were out of position a lot, we missed a lot of bunnies,” Ridgeline coach Freddie Rehkow said. “The fourth quarter they stepped up. We challenged them. ‘Hey, this is your shot. If we don’t win, you’re not gonna have a chance (at playoffs).’ “

“After a couple of bad games, we really wanted to focus,” Andreas said. “We knew we needed to win this game and we just stepped up really big.”

With Stinson on the bench early in the fourth quarter, Andreas hit a 3-pointer followed by a short jumper the next time down to put Ridgeline up by five with 4½ minutes left. He stole an inbounds pass for a layup, Brayden Allen hit a long 3, and Wyatt Cline did the same to push the Falcons lead to 12 with 90 seconds to go.

Andreas picked up two early fouls and sat much of the second quarter. Rehkow hoped that would “keep him fresh” for late in the game.

“My teammates just kept picking me up, kept believing in me,” Andreas said. “It was a rough start, but we just kept helping each other, kept the energy up. That helped us win the game.”

Ridgeline raced out to a 11-2 lead midway through the first quarter, but Stinson scored on a reverse layup and hit a 3 from the wing and Ridgeline led 14-12 after one quarter.

Stinson added six points in the second quarter and it was tied at 24 at halftime.

Cheney’s Liam Carver scored eight points in a back-and-forth third quarter and the Blackhawks led by two entering the fourth.

“We were just able to step it up,” Amend said. “We hit some really big shots down at the end. We were just bringing each other up and keeping each other motivated the whole time.”

“This is a tough league,” Rehkow said. “Friday’s loss (to Mead) really hurt us. That’s a game that if we win that, all of the sudden we’re 4-2 instead of 3-3. When you get to the GSL, every night is a barnburner.”Rehkow acknowledged the progress his still-young program is making.

“When we think back to two years ago, we’re not just competing, we’re fighting to win.”

Boys basketball 4A/3A

Gonzaga Prep 63, Lewis and Clark 49: Dylynn Groves scored 27 points and the Bullpups (12-5, 4-2) topped the visiting Tigers (9-7, 2-3). Paolo Murray led LC with 15 points.

Ferris 63, Mead 54: Dylan Skaife hit four 3-pointers and scored 31 points and the Saxons (7-9, 3-3) beat the visiting Panthers (8-8, 2-4). Skaife eclipsed the 1,000-point career mark. Brady Thornton led Mead with 17 points.

Mt. Spokane 87, Central Valley 51: Bode Gardner scored 23 points, and Sam Davidson and McKay Smith scored 11 apiece and the visiting Wildcats (14-2, 6-0) beat the Bears (1-14, 0-6). Orland Axton scored 13 points for Central Valley.

North Central 51, University 46: Eli WIlliams scored 19 points, Jacori Ervin added 17 and the visiting Wolfpack (13-3, 4-2) beat the Titans (9-7, 4-2). Shane Skidmore led U-Hi with 14 points.

2A

Pullman 59, West Valley 56: Champ Powaukee scored 22 points and the visiting Greyhounds (11-4, 5-0) edged the Eagles (13-2, 3-2). Ben Fried led WV with 20 points.

Rogers 89, East Valley 34: Devin Holyfield led four in double figures with 30 points and the Pirates (9-3, 3-1) beat the visiting Knights (3-12, 0-5). Nehemiah Harry led EV with 16 points.

1A

Freeman 82, Deer Park 31: Caleb Grant scored 17 points, Gavin Zehm added 13 and the Scotties (15-2, 9-0) beat the visiting Stags (5-11, 2-7). Jayden Wilson scored nine points for Deer Park.

Lakeside 54, Newport 34: Blake Hanson and Calvin Mikkelsen scored 10 points apiece and the Eagles (6-11, 5-4) beat the visiting Grizzlies (1-15, 1-8).

Girls basketball 4A/3A

Gonzaga Prep 62, Lewis and Clark 51: Aylah Cornwall scored 24 points, Gillian Bears added 17 and the visiting Bullpups (13-3, 6-0) beat the Tigers (9-7, 3-2). Ruby Shaw scored 15 points for Lewis and Clark.

Mead 82, Ferris 36: Teryn Gardner scored 21 points, Gracie Wenkheimer added 17 and the visiting Panthers (16-1, 6-0) beat the Saxons (8-7, 3-2). Kayla Jones led Ferris with 18 points.

Central Valley 64, Mt. Spokane 49: Drae Domebo scored 22 points and made four 3-pointers and Eden Sander scored 19 and the Bears (12-4, 5-1) beat the visiting Wildcats (3-13, 1-5) . Sloane Gardner scored 11 points and Abby Priddy added 10 for Mt. Spokane.

Ridgeline 49, Cheney 26: Grace Sheridan scored nine points and the Falcons (9-7, 4-2) beat the visiting Blackhawks (3-13, 0-6).

2A

West Valley 46, Pullman 40: Chloe Deharo scored 29 points and the Eagles (8-7, 4-1) beat the visiting Greyhounds (4-11, 3-2). Ryli Bednar led Pullman with 11 points.

Clarkston 70, Shadle Park 26: Jaelyn McCormick-Marks scored 13 points, Lexi Villavicencio added 11 and the Bantams (15-0, 5-0) beat the visiting Highlanders (3-12, 2-3). Makenzie Fager led Shadle with 14 points.

1A
 

Deer Park 56, Freeman 39: Ashlan Bryant scored 25 points and the visiting Stags (16-0, 8-0) beat the Scotties (8-9, 3-6). Taylee Phelps led Freeman with 15 points.

 

Lakeside 53, Newport 3: Ayanna Tobeck scored 18 points with six three-pointers in the first quarter and the Eagles (15-2, 8-1) beat the visiting Grizzlies (1-13, 0-9).

Gymnastics
 

GSL No. 5: Lewis and Clark’s Gaby Ontiveros won the individual title and Ridgeline took the team win at Mead Gymnastics Center.