Three ranked opponents, two losses, one win and a boatload of team bonding made up the Bearcats’ trip to Sisters, Oregon for the Sisters Holiday Classic. They lost their first game on Thursday to Crook County 54-49 and dropped a 75-73 heartbreaker to Henley on Friday. The lone win came on Saturday versus Madras, 67-48.
All three opponents are ranked and per head coach Kyle Karnofski, all could be contenders in their respective state tournaments.
“We knew we would get good teams,” Karnofski said. “Purprose was to play quality teams and mesh together. We felt we got better and the girls were excited.”
Junior guard Dilyn Boeck became the fifth player in program history to score 1,000 points in her prep career. She reached the 10 she needed versus Crook County, then she exploded for a career-high 36 versus Henley. Boeck capped her week with 18 versus Madras.
Against the Cowboys on Thursday, W.F. West let a six-point halftime lead slip away. It was limited to 21 points in the second half. Kaitlyn Chloupek led the scoring in the opener with 11 points.
Versus the Hornets on Friday, it was a wild back and forth that saw the Bearcats have a chance to win the game with 1.6 seconds left. Henley split two free throws, but W.F. West only had 0.7 seconds for an out of bounds catch-and-shoot. The pass was tipped and it couldn't get a shot off.
Joy Cushman chipped in 23 points in the loss and the Bearcats made 13 3-pointers. Karnofski felt the two setbacks were “four possessions away” from winning.
“We were a step away,” Karnofski stated.
W.F. West led Madras 21-6 after the opening quarter on Saturday and never looked back. Chloupek finished with a career-high 20 points and Cushman added 16 points. The Bearcats return to Washington State on Tuesday and open EvCo play on Tuesday at Tumwater.
