W.F. West knew how important Tuesday’s game against Black Hills was. While the Bearcats were already 8-0 in league play and atop the EvCo standings, a loss would leave them tied with the Wolves for first heading into the final stretch of the season.
The Bearcats left nothing to chance, scoring the game’s first 15 points en route to a 78-33 blowout victory that puts them in the driver’s seat atop the league table.
“We talk about coming out and starting fast,” W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski said. “Our girls came out and had that mindset of, ‘Hey, we want this game and we want to try to make them call the first timeout. We want all the momentum with us from the get-go.’”
The game’s outcome was decided in the first six minutes, when Dilyn Boeck and Julia Dalan combined for 20 points to help the Bearcats (14-3, 9-0 2A EvCo) build a 22-2 lead.
Dalan’s dominance continued, as she continuously extended possessions with offensive rebounds. She also got to the line often, shooting 8 for 13 at the line, including three 3-point plays.
“They got hot, Julia did her thing, and it was hard for us to fight back,” Black Hills coach Herb Guscott said.
Carmen Williams was given the difficult task of guarding Dalan, and while she was able to slow her down at times, Dalan was often able to put back her own misses. Dalan went on to finish with 32 points and 22 rebounds.
“I don’t know who can guard Julia,” Guscott said. “Even when you stop her, she’s got really good hand-eye coordination to get offensive rebounds and put it right back up. … I thought Carmen Williams played fantastic. Sometimes it is what it is, and you gotta tip your cap to them.”
Boeck also continued to score, as she finished with 21 points. Karnofski commended Boeck, noting that when she puts herself in good situations, she’s “a really good player.”
“Tonight was the example of it,” Karnofski said. “She put herself in great situations, she made great reads, and she was a heck of a ball player offensively and defensively.”
Six other Bearcats also got on the scoresheet, including Joy Cushman, who tallied seven points, and Lena Fragner and Carlie Deskins, who added six each.
“Against good teams, you gotta have other people step up and play their roles,” Karnofski said. “I thought collectively, we did a really good job of that … That was probably one of our better games all the way around.”
On the other end, the Black Hills offense never really got going. The Wolves (14-3, 7-2 2A EvCo) hit just 12 shots from the field, and only managed to score double-digits in the final quarter.
“We just picked the wrong game to have a clunker,” Guscott said. “We’ll learn from it.”
Williams led the Wolves with eight points, while Natalie Buchanan tallied seven and Tyler Venable logged five.
While now two games and a tiebreaker back of first, the Wolves are still set up to claim second if they end the season on a high note. If they win their final three games, they’ll finish 17-3 and earn at least the No. 2 seed entering the district tournament.
The quest to win those final three begins at home on Thursday against Centralia.
As for the Bearcats, though they have not officially clinched the league title, they can do so as soon as Thursday with a win at Tumwater.
