For Kyle Karnofski, the first half simply wasn’t good enough.
Not only was the W.F. West High School girls basketball team experiencing a poor start from the field, but the execution wasn’t ideal. The Bearcats’ style of high-octane defense leading to transition offense didn’t come to fruition in the first 16 minutes.
“That was not one of the better halves we played,” the Bearcats head coach said. “This isn’t us, it’s not how we play. We flipped the switch.”
Whatever was said in the locker room, W.F. West took it to heart.
Running up and down the floor and making 19 field goals in the final two quarters allowed the Bearcats to stave off Ridgefield 76-42 on Monday night in Chehalis.
It’s been a yearly occurrence for the two Class 2A District 4 rivals to meet at least once in the regular season and again in districts. W.F. West won both matchups last season.
“They were really good defensively and they made some tough shots,” Karnofski said. “They can stick around and make you work for it.”
Up a possession to start the second half, the Bearcats (5-2) started to pull away late in the third behind a 9-3 spree. While they only forced four turnovers, they increased the offensive tempo and of their nine made shots in the frame, seven were inside the arc.
The fourth was when W.F. West turned the game on its head.
It scored the first 19 points and didn’t allow the Spudders to make a field goal in the last eight minutes. It scored 48 in the second half and the 76 on the night marks a new season-high.
“Transition is one thing, to an outsider you may not assume is what we talk about,” Karnofski said. “In the summer, that was one of the calling cards for us. Lay-ins are cool, lay-ins get points and everyone wants to get points.”
Dilyn Boeck led the way with 25 points, Joy Cushman added 19 while Kaitlyn Chloupek and Hadley Hoffman scored nine points apiece.
Karnofski was more than happy with the way Hoffman and Izzy Teeter played on Monday. They combined for 13 rebounds and Hoffman recorded three steals.
“Hadley was a dog; she had that look in her eyes,” Karnofski said. “She’s starting to find her gaps. Thought Izzy gave us a great boost.”
While the final was lopsided, it was anything but for two-plus quarters.
The Spudders led 9-8 after one and answered every run W.F. West – who shot 3-of-18 in the first and made 11 field goals in the first half – unleashed in the second. They got to within four points in the third.
“The shots that were taken, they weren’t bad, but they were also ones you could get later in the shot clock,” Karnofski said. “Maybe not the right timing. Make them guard, make them work.”
Before Evergreen Conference play commences next month, W.F. West will head to Oregon and play three games in a tournament that runs Jan. 1-3. Karnofski has already watched film and is hopeful his group will get tested on the court.
The Bearcats’ leader on the sideline feels good about this group before the league opener in a couple of weeks versus Tumwater.
“It is going to be fun,” he said. “This team is starting to figure things out.”
