State girls: Ridgeline season comes to close in State 3A opening round; No. 1 Central Valley outlasts Meadowdale

After the Ridgeline girls basketball team won its winner-to-state game against Hermiston (Oregon) last Saturday, Falcons coach Freddie Rehkow said this group “earned” its place in the state tournament.

But the way the tourney is structured, that just meant another loser-out game.

It started out well enough, but the Falcons’ offense stalled in the third quarter, ultimately denying them a trip to Tacoma.

Syesha Simonton scored 24 points, including hitting 7 of 10 from the line in the fourth quarter, and 17th-seeded Bellevue (18-4) upended and eliminated ninth-seeded Ridgeline (20-5) 62-55 in a State 3A opening-round game at Central Valley High School on Friday.

Bellevue faces eighth-seeded Meadowdale in a Round of 12 game at Tacoma Dome on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

“We had a great season,” Rehkow said. “I’m so proud of these girls, and we knew coming into this game, win or lose, we had a great season. We just wanted to go a little bit further.”

Ridgeline led 33-22 at halftime but scored just four points in the third quarter as Bellevue took control.

“The third quarter was the big one,” Rehkow said. “(Bellevue) came out, got some quick hits, and we all got a little bit low. We couldn’t hit anything. And (Bellevue) is not a team that normally knocks down that many free throws. We just couldn’t hit shots, and they did.”

Junior post Madi Crowley led Ridgeline with 23 points. Greater Spokane League leading scorer, senior Emma Myers, who missed the past two games with illness, added 17 – but just five in the second half.

Myers scored six points in the first quarter as Ridgeline got out to a 15-9 lead. The 6-foot Crowley went to work in the second quarter, generating 10 points on layups or free throws against the shorter Wolverines, and the Falcons led 33-22.

Bellevue opened the third quarter with a 9-0 run through the first 5½ minutes . Crowley finally scored in the paint, then added a pair of free throws for a four-point lead.

But Bellevue’s Nayvi Robinson drove for a layup to tie it at 37 with 90 second left.

Ridgeline managed just four points in the quarter and trailed 39-37 entering the fourth.

“Everybody was standing around a little bit, and we just couldn’t get into the spot we know we’re supposed to get to,” Rehkow said. “We stayed calm, and we weren’t turning it over. We just weren’t hitting.”

Simanton hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth to put Bellevue up by five. Crowley stepped out for a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:11 to go to get Ridgeline within three. But Simanton went the distance with a steal, then added a pair of free throws to make it a nine-point game with 90 seconds left. Bellevue went 10 of 16 at the line in the fourth.

In the program’s first four years, Ridgeline’s win total has grown from zero to 10 to 15 – to 20 and a state playoff appearance this season.

“(The program) started at the ground level, and they’ve been working their way up,” Rehkow said. “My heart goes out to these seniors, because they’ve battled. They went through all that, so this year was just a huge success.”

3A

Central Valley 78, Meadowdale 64: Brynn McGaughy scored 24 points and the No. 1-seeded Bears (24-0) beat the visiting eighth-seeded Mavericks (16-8) in an opening round game.

CV advances to a quarterfinal on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at Tacoma Dome.

The Bears led by as many at 22 early in the third, but Meadowdale got its deficit to 10 twice in the fourth. CV only made four baskets in the quarter but went 13 of 17 at the line to hold on.

“It was an ugly win,” McGaughy said. “I think we’re going to go into the locker room and we’re going to talk about it. But it’s one of those things where that’s not going to slide in the state tournament. … A win’s a win this time of year, but we have to get better from this.”

Aspen Henry hit three 3-pointers, McGaughy scored seven points and CV led 25-15 after the first quarter. Keana Gosney drove for a layup midway through the second quarter to complete a 12-0 run to make it a 20-point game. Henry hit her fourth 3-pointer of the game with 40 seconds left and CV led 42-26 at halftime.

The teams played the third quarter to a draw, then Meadowdale bit into the deficit in the fourth. Samantha Medina was particularly effective, scoring 13 of her 15 points in the period, but CV made enough free throws to never get into real danger.

“We’ve been emphasizing free throws, because that’s what it can come down to at state,” McGaughy said. “We’ve got to be stronger in the lane, get to the line and make ’em.”

2A

Deer Park 52, Prosser 38: Ashlan Bryant scored 23 points and the third-seeded Stags (24-0) handled the sixth-seeded Mustangs (21-5) at West Valley High School.

Jacey Boesel had 15 points and Brooklyn Coe added 14 for Deer Park, which advances to a quarterfinal at Yakima Valley SunDome on Thursday.

2B

Northwest Christian 53, Rainier 41: The eighth-seeded Crusaders (20-4) upset the No. 1 Mountaineers (20-4) in an opening round game at W.F. West High in Chehalis. NWC advances to a quarterfinal on Thursday at the Arena.

1B

Garfield-Palouse 47, Inchelium 43: The third-seeded Vikings (20-3) beat the sixth-seeded Hornets (19-2) in an opening-round game at Cheney High. Gar-Pal advances to a quarterfinal at the Arena on Thursday; Inchelium faces a loser-out in the Round of 12 on Wednesday.

Wellpinit 55, Yakama Nation Tribal 49: Fifth-seeded Wellpinit (22-2) topped the fourth-seeded Eagles (19-4) in an opening-round game at A.C. Davis High in Yakima. Wellpinit advances to a quarterfinal on Thursday at the Arena.