EVERETT — In terms of emotion and necessity, the Bearcats needed this one.
After a flat performance in a 67-40 loss to Mark Morris in the District 4 title game eight day prior, W.F. West faced a loser-out 2A regional game against Burlington-Edison after a long road trip to Everett Community College on Saturday.
“Confidence-wise, this game was huge,” Bearcats coach Henri Weeks said. “You want to feel good going into the state tournament. You want the whole team to feel good.”
That’s just the feeling they got after handing the Tigers a 50-33 defeat to move on to the State 2A Girls Basketball Tournament in the Yakima Sundome for the fifth-straight year. The Bearcats’ defense looked like it’s usual self, holding Burlington-Edison to just 9 first-half points.
“Our girls did a nice job playing our matchup zone the whole time,” Weeks said. “They played great defense and Burlington couldn’t score inside because of Julie (Spencer) and Tiana (Parker). Then their two top players didn’t get a lot of open looks from the outside, either.”
W.F. West led 29-9 at halftime, and the Tigers’ leading scorers would finish with just 14 total points. Tyra Lopez led Burlington-Edison with 10 points while Edie Breckenridge had 4 points, well below their season averages.
The Bearcats, meanwhile, got solid ball-handling from Jessica McKay to break the Tigers’ press and the W.F. West guards handled the opposing defense — daring them to shoot — patiently.
“They were obviously focused on Julie and Tiana,” Weeks said. “Anytime we got the ball into our posts they collapsed in on them. Still, those two kids did a good job scoring.”
Spencer led the team with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Parker had a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. The key was W.F. West’s guards moving the ball around, finding openings in the defense or taking a shot late in the possession.
“Every kid in the locker room after the game contributed in a positive way,” Weeks said.
Weeks added that Lexi Strasser and Julia Johnson, off the bench, helped tremendously against a team that liked to press, putting extra strain on starters. Guard Payton Kelly — who finished with 8 points — also hauled in seven rebounds.
The Bearcats (21-3) open their fifth state campaign with a 7:15 p.m. first-round game against Lynden (17-7) on Thursday.
