Wellpinit boys lose; Colton girls advance

YAKIMA — Steven Broersma scored a team-high 17 points, and third-ranked Sunnyside Christian upended No. 2 Wellpinit 56-48 in the Class 1B boys semifinals Friday. The win sends the Knights (22-3) into Saturday’s championship game for the third time in four years. SC won the title in 2007 and 2008. SC led the entire second half, but couldn’t shake the Redskins (23-4), who never trailed by more than 10 points in the second half. The Knights led 50-46 with 2:10 to play before hitting a string of free throws. Wellpinit hit a jumper to close the scoring. Steven Bosma chipped in 14 points and Tim De Vries added 10 for the Knights, who shot 56 percent (22 of 39) for the game. Kennedy Seyler led Wellpinit with 17 points, Dakota Ford had 11, and Cody Flett and Drake Wynne each scored 10. But the Redskins shot just 29 percent (17 of 59). Broersma and Kevin De Jong each grabbed nine rebounds for SC. Flett snared nine rebounds for Wellpinit. In a girls semifinal, McKenzie Heaslet scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead top-ranked Colton into the finals with a 40-23 win over Columbia of Hunters. The victory puts the Wildcats (24-1) in Saturday’s title game and gives Colton the chance to defend its 2009 championship. A heavy favorite over Columbia, Colton trailed 8-7 after the first quarter. Its two scoring stars, Kelsey Moser and Haley Moser, were held to just six and nine points, respectively — well under their respective averages of 18.7 and 15.2 points per game. But the Lions (23-5) couldn’t take advantage at the offensive end. They shot just 22 percent (8 of 36), including 16 percent (3 of 19) in the second half. Columbia also committed 27 turnovers, which Colton converted into 22 points. Krista Colvin led Columbia with 15 points.