Six days before W.F. West’s matchup on Friday, the Bearcats had an up-and-down second half against Selah, and they ultimately fell in overtime.
Friday’s matchup against Napavine brought some déjà vu for W.F. West, as the Tigers and Bearcats were deadlocked at the end of regulation.
This time around, though, W.F. West was able to win the extra frame, hitting three three-pointers in the OT period to beat Napavine 56-50.
“It was cool to see us be gritty and tough,” W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski said. “That loss over there showed us something, which is great. Makes it worth it.”
It was a game of runs early on. After W.F. West opened the scoring, Napavine scored the next 10 points, but the Bearcats responded with a 12-1 run to build a lead.
Later in the second, W.F. West took advantage of a flurry of Napavine turnovers, going on a separate 13-3 run to push its lead to 13 at the break. By halftime, the Tigers had already turned the ball over 13 times.
“It was the first time we’ve seen a press,” Napavine coach Shane Schutz said. “We can practice against each other all the time, but when somebody else does that press really well, it’s a lot better.”
The momentum flipped back to Napavine out of the break, as the Tigers scored the first 19 points of the half to retake the lead.
“They finally just settled down and started playing basketball,” Schutz said. “I’m really proud of them, because they could have hung their heads or could have pouted, and they didn’t.”
After a third quarter in which they were outscored 21-2, Karnofski and his assistant coaches had a simple message to their team prior to the fourth.
“One of my assistants on the bench said, ‘It’s a new quarter,” Karnofski said. “And I think everybody just bought into that.”
The fourth quarter was the most back-and-forth frame of the night, and a layup from Dilyn Boeck tied the score at 47 with 2:52 to play in regulation. Neither team could find the game-winner in that stretch, though, leading to the OT period.
Joy Cushman hit the first three of the frame to put the Bearcats up, and after Napavine’s Taylen Evander hit a three of her own to tie the game, Boeck and Cushman sank threes on back-to-back possessions to put the Bearcats up six.
Cushman finished with a team-high 16 points, including four threes.
“That’s what Joy can do,” Karnofski said. “She can knock down two or three bang, bang, bang. That’s tough to guard … It was just that those shots went in and they didn’t in that third quarter.”
Boeck finished with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals, while Kaitlyn Chloupek added 13 points, seven boards, three steals, and a pair of blocks. Caroline Buzzard added four points and finished with eight rebounds.
Napavine was led by Hayden Kaut’s 23 points, five rebounds, five steals, and three assists, while Taylen Evander added 11 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Nicholle Valentine posted a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while Clara Fay also hauled in 10 boards to go along with two points and a pair of assists.
Both teams were happy with the level of competition, especially considering the matchup wasn’t even on the docket 10 hours prior.
The Bearcats were originally scheduled to play Seton Catholic on Friday night, but the Crusaders canceled Friday morning. W.F. West had already been canceled on earlier in the week by Eatonville, so Karnofski and W.F. West Athletic Director started making phone calls.
When Schutz got the call, he didn’t hesitate to jump at the opportunity. Even though it would be their third game in three days, the Tigers were on board.
“I’ve been begging for this game for 26 years,” Schutz said. “Two fan bases that are highly encouraging of their teams that are five minutes apart … I’m so grateful that they called us. I hope they want to continue this, because I think this is a healthy thing. I think we made them better tonight, and I know they made us better tonight.”
Karnofski said that during lunch, the team watched film and went over what they could in his classroom, and he also felt that the matchup was mutually beneficial.
“That was fun,” Karnofski said. “It showed us a lot … Hopefully that springs us forward to kind of see who we are, because I think we’re still trying to figure out our identity.
“I was proud of our girls,” Karnofski continued. “They could have just thrown the towel in, and they chose not to. I love that. That’s something this group needs to learn how to do with a new group of different leaders.”
W.F. West (3-2) will head to Prairie on Monday, while Napavine (3-2) will be back in action next Friday, Dec. 19, at home against Okanogan.
