YAKIMA — The first six minutes didn’t go to plan for No. 4 W.F. West on Wednesday in Yakima. The Bearcats were struggling to find any sort of rhythm in their Round of 12 matchup, and they were trailing No. 12 North Mason. 

“Can I say ugly?” W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski said. “It was ugly and kind of frustrating. Kind of like ‘what are we doing?’”

In the following next six minutes, though, the Bearcats flipped the switch. They scored the next 25 points to take control and never looked back, rolling to a dominant 68-32 victory to advance to the state quarterfinals for the 13th time in the last 14 years.

In the final 26 minutes of the game, W.F. West outscored North Mason 60-21.

“The tempo switched, and we picked up the pace,” Karnofski said. “That was a big deal. We were trying to speed up the game in that sense, and we did a pretty good job.”

Julia Dalan had some foul trouble early, picking up a pair in those first six minutes, but she scored 16 in the second quarter to help the Bearcats extend their lead. She finished the first half with 22, shooting 10 of 16 from the field.

“When she locks in, she’s pretty tough,” Karnofski said. “She had some moments where she hit some good shots … I think we fed her well, which was great.”

Dalan went on to finish with 28 points and 12 rebounds to post a double-double, and she also had a pair of blocks and steals.

Several others did their part as well, including Dilyn Boeck, who celebrated her 16th birthday with a 14-point performance, including seven straight at the end of the first that turned an 11-11 tie into an 18-11 W.F. West lead after one. She also logged five rebounds and four assists.

Kaitlyn Chloupek scored 10 to hit double-figures, while Grace Simpson and Rhylee Beebe combined for eight more.

Multiple other players saw time throughout the game as well, including the 25-0 run in the first half. 

Ellie Clinton, Madi McManus, Izzy Teeter, and Hadley Hoffman all saw the court early, helping switch the tide while Dalan was in foul trouble and while Simpson was getting medical attention (Simpson ended up returning to the game.)

“Our benched saved our butt, really,” Karnofski said. “They weren’t afraid of the moment. That was super cool for them to step up. They did a great job.”

The attention will quickly shift to Thursday, when the Bearcats (24-2) will take on No. 3 Deer Park, which is a perfect 24-0.

A win would put the Bearcats in the semifinals for the first time since 2022, and it would also guarantee them a top-5 finish. With a loss, W.F. West would need to win on Friday to advance to the 4th/6th game.

“We’ll get some dinner, we’ll celebrate a little bit, we’ll do some film, and we’ll start prepping tonight,” Karnofski said. “This is the place where we want to be. We want to be in that round where there’s eight left. It gives up a chance to get a trophy. That’s the goal still.”