TUMWATER — Early on, W.F. West struggled to slow down the Black Hills offense. The Wolves were doing everything they could to keep pace with the Bearcats early on.

The W.F. West defense stepped up as the game progressed though, setting the Bearcats up to pull away for a 61-37 victory.

After allowing 14 points in the first, W.F. West allowed just 11 points over the next two quarters to build a lead.

“We didn’t rotate super well, so we changed some of our schemes,” W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski said. “We were trying to make sure that we were physical to try to get a little more energized.”

Black Hills coach Herb Guscott noted that the Wolves struggled to adjust when the Bearcats opted to go man-to-man, crediting Karnofski for the adjustment.

“They just have great defenders,” Guscott said. “I was proud of our girls because they stayed the course and did not quit … I think we surprised them a bit, they just wore us down.”

After Kiley McMahon hit a three to give Black Hills a 17-16 lead to open the second, the Bearcats didn’t allow another point for the rest of the quarter. Their offense still wasn’t clicking though, and their lead was just seven entering halftime.

Dilyn Boeck took over in the third quarter to push the game out of reach, scoring 12 straight points in the middle of the frame to push the W.F. West lead from nine to 21.

“She has the ability to do that,” Karnofski said. “When she gets hot, she can knock them down pretty well.”

Similar to the third, the Wolves got a bucket on their first possession of the quarter, but then went five and a half minutes before their next bucket. Black Hills finished the night shooting just under 25 percent from the floor.

McMahon finished with 14 points and three assists, while Tyler Venable scored 13 points and grabbed five steals. Cassidy O’Reilly added five points, while Natalie Buchanan scored three points and hauled in seven rebounds and Ellie Johnson scored two points and dished out three assists.

“I thought we gave them a good look tonight,” Guscott said. “I told the girls after the game; ‘If they play like this the rest of the year, they’ll win all the games they should win’ … Our effort was awesome. We just have to beat the teams that we have to, and we’ll be okay.”

Julia Dalan finished with a team-high 24 for the Bearcats, while Boeck finished right behind her with 22. Kaitlyn Chloupek added seven points, Grace Simpson scored five, and Rhylee Beebe logged three.

The Bearcats now sit at 2-0 in league play, and though it is early in the league season, Karnofski was happy to leave Black Hills with a win.

“It’s always good to get a road win, especially in league,” Karnofski said. “EvCo play is always interesting. Our goal is to win every league game. That’s step two … We can build off that.”