Lineup combinations and matchups won’t be the only new wrinkle for the W.F. West High School girls basketball team this winter.
A mixture of playing a plethora of different defenses was on display on Tuesday night and it allowed the Bearcats to run away against Washougal in their home opener.
Joy Cushman and Dilyn Boeck each poured in over 20 points while W.F. West allowed five total field goals over the final three quarters in its 74-36 victory to start the 2025-26 season with back-to-back wins over Class 2A District 4 foes.
“We’re trying to find an identity of what we’re good at,” Bearcats head coach Kyle Karnofski said. “You want to find an array of it. This group is capable of it.”
Just in the second stanza alone, three different defenses were run to slow down the Panthers’ guards and transition game. Between man-to-man, zone and bringing out the press on occasion, W.F. West made life hectic.
Washougal was 5-of-9 in the first eight minutes. It went 5-of-37 the rest of the way and recorded 18 turnovers on the night.
Passing lanes were cut off and tight pressure forced throwaways. Six-foot-three freshman post Drees Cushman had a handful of blocks in her home debut.
“We have some guards that can come off the bench that are really fast,” Boeck said.
It was far from a cakewalk.
Washougal, despite just seven varsity players, scored seven straight in the last three minutes of the first quarter to trim the margin from 10 to three. It was within a possession or two up until Karnofski called a timeout midway through the second.
Once the defense started clicking, so too did the offense.
Cushman and Boeck led the way with 23 and 22 points, respectively. The Bearcats closed the second quarter on an 8-0 run and began the third scoring the first eight points. They were only up double digits three times before the outburst.
Unlike last year when a senior-laden W.F. West squad jumped out to big first quarter leads, this new group slowly built a cushion then hit the throttle.
“This group of girls work really well together," Joy Cushman said.
Kaitlyn Chloupek added 13 for the Bearcats while four others notched at least two points. Drees Cushman led the rebounding efforts with eight while Boeck and Izzy Teeter each had at least five.
All 13 players saw court time once again.
“It is a luxury to play deep, it is something we haven’t done in three years,” Karnofski said. “Figuting who and where and when.”
The Bearcats will head east to take on Clarkston and Selah on Friday and Saturday before returning home next Wednesday to battle 1A Eatonville.
