W.F. West’s Grace Simpson got going early on Wednesday against Black Hills. In less than three minutes, she sank both a layup and a three, giving the Bearcats an early advantage.
Simpson went on to hit a career-high six three-pointers and finish with a career-high 22 points, and W.F. West never looked back in a dominant 79-29 win.
“That’s a heck of a night,” W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski said. “She got hot early and was confident … She was able to knock it down. She likes that spot, and she has the ability to do that.”
With Simpson leading the way, the W.F. West offense had little trouble throughout the first three quarters.
The Bearcats opened the game on a 14-2 run, and finished the first quarter with 22 points. They doubled up in the second with 22 more, and took a 25-point lead into the break.
In the third, it took them less than 90 seconds to add another nine, and they went up 40 with more than three minutes remaining in the third.
Julia Dalan finished with 16 points, while Dilyn Boeck added 12 and Kaitlyn Chloupek scored nine. In her first game back from a concussion, Rhylee Beebe scored seven.
“I was really proud of how we played tonight,” Karnofski said. “I thought that was our most consistent game all around. It was awesome to see us play collectively and have contributions from a lot of different people.”
Defensively, things went just as well for the Bearcats. Black Hills hit three two-point field goals in the first quarter, but after that, the Wolves struggled inside the arc.
Ellie Johnson, their starting post player, missed the game with an injury, leaving the Wolves with a size disadvantage inside against Dalan.
Black Hills didn’t hit another two until there was just over two minutes left in the game, and that could have been a three if the shooter, Haley McMahon, didn’t have her foot on the line at the arc.
“That was a tough game for us,” Black Hills coach Herb Guscott said. “It just kind of got to us. They just wore us down, and they’re a great team.”
McMahon finished with eight points to lead the Wolves, while Natalie Buchanan and Tyler Venable both added seven.
The loss puts Black Hills at 10-7 overall and 3-4 in league play, still with a shot at a top-two seed in the district tournament with a strong finish. The Wolves will take on Tumwater, which has a game up on them in second, on Friday.
Guscott said that they are looking forward to the rematch, as the T-Birds defeated the Wolves in double-overtime at Black Hills on Jan. 14. In that game, Black Hills led by five with two minutes left in regulation, and it led by three with 20 seconds left in the first OT.
“We had that game won twice and gave it away,” Guscott said. “They play tough there, they always play really good defense, and (Tumwater coach) Nate (Buchheit) is a really good coach. But I think we can beat them and I think we can get the second seed.”
With the win, W.F. West (17-1, 7-0 2A EvCo) is one game closer to another league title. The Bearcats could officially clinch it as soon as Friday with a win against Aberdeen and a Shelton loss. If not Friday, they could clinch it next Tuesday when they travel to Shelton.
Karnofski acknowledged that another league title is the first goal on their preseason check list, but he also noted that they have their sights set higher as the calendar turns to February and eventually March.
“It’s always about staying healthy and peaking at the right time,” Karnofski said. “That’s what we keep talking about. Are we doing what we need to right now to continue to get better? … Our girls know the way to go about it.”
