Eagles send 2 to state

It was a West Valley victory party at the District 7 2A basketball tournament at Central Valley High School on Friday.

The undefeated West Valley girls held off Pullman and the boys team outfought Deer Park in the battle for No. 1 seeds to the State 2A tournament next week in Yakima.

The Deer Park boys advance as a No. 2 seed. Pullman and Clarkston play at 3 p.m. today to determine the No. 3 seed.

Pullman’s girls go to state as the No. 2 seed. Cheney’s girls play Clarkston at 1 p.m. today to determine the No. 3 seed.

Boys

West Valley 44, Deer Park 34: A physical matchup ended with a hard foul to seal a victory for the West Valley boys.

The Eagles (15-8) opened with sharp shooting from Nick Brown to break the Stags’ 2-3 zone defense.

“He’s been a strong force all year, not always with points, but tonight he was big in the high post against their zone,” West Valley coach Jay Humphrey said of Brown, who finished with 10 points.

Brown’s baby hook at the second-quarter buzzer sent West Valley to the locker room with a 28-19 lead.

Both teams shot poorly in the third quarter, with Deer Park (15-7) scoring only four points and trailing 37-23 heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final period, Deer Park switched defensive schemes to a 3-2 trap zone, which forced turnovers and enabled the Stags to open the quarter on a 7-0 run.

After a West Valley timeout, Matt Bauman hit his only shot of the night for the Eagles, a 3-pointer that ended the Stags’ rally.

The Eagles were finally able to crack the Stags’ defense and find seams in the zone to put Deer Park on its heels.

“I’ve told my guys all year to turn traps into a positive, because if two guys are guarding one, then it’s 4-on-3,” said Humphrey.

At the end, it was Brady Bagby taking a hard foul and connecting on two free throws with just more than a minute left to put the game at its final margin.

Girls

West Valley 41, Pullman 35: Four free throws in the closing seconds gave the Eagles (22-0) the win. The Greyhounds (16-6) advance to state as the No. 2 seed.

Neither team shot well, but stout defense and clutch free-throw shooting by Shaniqua Nilles and Hannah Love preserved the victory.

Down 16-6 at half, Pullman went on a 7-2 run to open the third quarter, but a 3-pointer by Nicki Lawless squelched the rally. The period ended with the Eagles holding a 29-25 lead.

The Greyhounds tied the game at 35 with 1:17 to play, but Love and Nilles combined to hit six free throws to seal it.

Nilles finished with a game-high 18 points and 18 rebounds.