The W.F. West girls basketball team finished off an unbeaten week on Saturday, as the Bearcats defeated King’s 55-45 to improve to 4-0.
The Bearcats got off to a quick start, taking a nine-point lead in the first half, but the Knights were able to get within one possession entering the fourth quarter.
“We just kind of had a lull,” W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski said. “The mindset was, ‘Hey, there’s eight minutes left. It’s time to get it done.’”
The Bearcats did just that, starting the quarter on an 8-0 run to re-extend their lead.
“It was like a whole new life,” Karnofski said. “It was pretty cool to see them just turn a switch.”
Dilyn Boeck and Julia Dalan scored 19 and 18, respectively, to lead the team in scoring, while Kaitlyn Chloupek added 12 points, three rebounds, and a pair of assists.
“She was the reason we got off to a big start,” Karnofski said of Chloupek. “That was pretty cool to see.”
The win was Karnofski’s 100th as the coach at W.F. West. He said it was very special to hit that mark, but noted that he couldn’t do it without his assistant coaches and players.
“It goes back to Year 1,” Karnofski said. “Winning with that group, and it just continued … We’ve always had great groups here.”
“The kids were pretty excited for me,” he added. “That was pretty cool … I appreciate that.”
Karnofski continued to talk about this year’s group, saying he’s been more than pleased with how they’ve come out strong. In addition to being 4-0, the four teams that they have beaten are a combined 7-0 in all of their other games.
“We decided that we wanted to make a statement and put our name on the map to start the year,” Karnofski said. “I was really proud of us for doing that.”
The Bearcats will look to make it five in a row at Ridgefield on Monday.
Rainier falls to Clarkston in W.F. West Winter Showcase
Prior to W.F. West’s win over King’s, the Rainier Mountaineers made the trip to Chehalis, where they took on Clarkston in a neutral-site non-league matchup.
The Mountaineers suffered their first loss of the season, losing 47-39.
Rainier (2-1) will look to bounce back at Rochester on Wednesday.
