Bearcats Recover from Slow Start to Knock Off Spudders

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Ridgefield reeled off a 14-2 run to start the game but W.F. West recovered in the second quarter to fend off the Spudders for a 58-49 non-league victory at home on Wednesday.

The Spudders scored the first 10 points of the game to stun the Bearcats, who were coming off a 69-11 drubbing of Shelton on Monday.

“They came out red-hot,” W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski said. “Nobody panicked. We just slowly chipped away, which was cool to see.”

The Bearcats woke up part way through the second quarter and took the lead for good, going on a sizable run in the third quarter to take their biggest lead of the night at 12. Ridgefield cut it to six at one point but the Bearcats held on for the victory.

Standout junior Drea Brumfield led W.F. West with a game-high 16 points. Lexi Roberts scored a career-high 12 after missing the first game due to an injury, and Kyla McCallum also had 12. 

“Lexi was a huge spark for us and gave us a ton on offense,” Karnofski said.

Senior Madi Mencke added 10 points, while Mak Mencke scored three and Carlie Deskins chipped in two.

Karnofski said he was pleased with how his team responded to adversity against the Spudders’ blazing run to open the game.

“Getting kind of shell shocked was an interesting moment,” Karnofski said. “It was a great opportunity for us to have a complete game and see a team that made us work for it.”

W.F. West improves to 2-0 and travels to River Ridge on Thursday.

Big Second Quarter Powers Rochester Past Shelton

Rochester scored 24 points in the second quarter to pull away from Shelton in a 61-27 Evergreen 2A Conference girls basketball win at home Wednesday night.

Angelica Castro went 5 of 9 from the field and led the Warriors with 13 points. 

Madison Bates added 12 points and five steals and Lauren Rotter scored 10 for the winners.



Rochester led 9-4 after a quarter, but hit its stride in the second to lead 33-12 by halftime.

“It was a real scrappy game,” Rochester coach Davina Serdahl said of the second quarter outburst. “Our defense led to our offense. We got a lot of fastbreak points that second quarter.”

Castro, a junior and first-year varsity player, played well despite foul trouble, she added. 

“She just came out and played within herself,” Serdahl said. “And Maddie Bates has just been real consistent for us, both defensively and offensively, running the point.”

Rochester (2-0) plays at Black Hills on Friday.

Tigers Throttled by Thunderbirds

All of Centralia’s players were held to single-digit scoring as the Tigers couldn’t keep up with a tough Tumwater squad in a 61-22 road defeat Wednesday in 2A EvCo play.

Junior Jadyn Hawley led the Tigers with nine points, while Emily Wilkerson scored five and pulled down a team-high six rebounds. The Tigers collected just 15 total rebounds as a team.

Makayla Chavez and Maddie Corwin each chipped in four points a piece.

Tumwater (2-1) was led by Natalie Sumrok’s game-high 15 points. 

Centralia coach Doug Ashmore said the Thunderbirds used high-pressure defense, with man-to-man and zone press, to stymie the Tigers’ offense all night.

“Tumwater is a very aggressive team,” Ashmore said. “They’re the same team we’ve faced over the years. I’m happy with our defense for the most part, because Tumwater is a good team, but at times we didn’t take care of the ball to hang with them.”

Centralia falls to 0-2 and hosts league foe Shelton on Friday.