CHEHALIS — Drea Brumfield notched a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds, while eclipsing the career 500-point mark, and the Bearcats snapped Black Hills’ 10-game win streak in a 42-25 thrashing here Wednesday in 2A EvCo action.
The Bearcats, who have now won five straight, gave the Wolves their first league defeat,. Now W.F. West, Tumwater and Black Hills are all sitting atop the 2A EvCo standings with 3-1 league records, with the Bearcats holding head-to-head tiebreakers over both.
“We’ve been playing better and getting into the swing of things,” W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski said.
W.F. West bullied the Wolves’ beleaguered frontcourt, out-rebounding them 33-19, led by Brumfield’s game-high 15 boards. It was an impressive performance by Brumfield, only a sophomore, who passed the 500-point mark for her career.
“It was nice to see her re-emerge a little bit,” Karnofski said. “She had a solid night.”
Senior Taya McCallum was also praised for her performance, connecting on 11 points and pulling down six rebounds.
“She was super tough inside for us,” Karnofski said. “She was competitive all night.”
Leading 15-12 at the break, Karnofski challenged his team to break away in the second half and pick up their defense. It worked.
The Bearcats exploded for an 18-9 run to start the second half, pulling away for good for the victory. W.F. West held Black Hills to just 17 percent shooting on the night.
Next up for the Bearcats (10-4, 3-1) is the Swamp Cup, against rival Centralia (4-11, 1-4) at 7 p.m. Friday.
Warriors Double Up Tigers
CENTRALIA — Five Rochester players recorded double-digit scoring, including Madison Bates’ season-high 14 points, and the Warriors hammered Centralia 64-31 in a 2A EvCo matchup here Wednesday.
Bates and Lexi Sederberg-Jones each scored a game-high 14 points, while Paige Winter and Kortney Kerbaugh each added 12 in the win for the Warriors.
“Madison Bates really had a great game,” Rochester coach Davina Serdahl said.
The victory snapped a two-game losing skid for the Warriors, who outrebounded the Tigers 37-21 and held Centralia to single-digit scoring in each quarter. The Tigers shot just 30 percent from the field and from the charity stripe.
“Our goal is to really get our defense going,” Serdahl said. “Our defense plays into our offense and that really was the case tonight.”
The Warriors offense had no trouble dealing with Centralia’s pressure, shooting 41 percent from the floor and hitting 13 of 19 free throws.
“What we didn’t do the first time but we did this time was handle their pressure. I always give Centralia credit because they are scrappy and work hard on defense.”
The Tigers were led offensively by sophomore Jayden Hawley’s eight points and Jasmine Mora’s six. Centralia’s star, senior Carissa Kaut, was held to just four points on the night.
“They did a lot better job this time at taking away Kaut,” Centralia coach Doug Ashmore said. ‘They focused their defense on her.”
With Kaut being hounded by multiple defenders, Hawley was forced into leading-scorer role, Ashmore said.
“Hawley stepped up and played well,” Ashmore said. “Their defense was flying around.”
Centralia (4-11, 1-4) next travels to W.F. West (11-4, 4-1) for the annual Swamp Cup at 7 p.m. Friday. Rochester (9-6, 2-3) hosts Aberdeen at 7 p.m. Friday.
