State 4A girls: Anika Chalich shoots Central Valley into 4th-place game

Central Valley 52, Inglemoor 41: Anika Chalich scored a season-high 15 points and the fourth-seeded Bears (22-4) outlasted the seventh-seeded Vikings (21-8) in a State 4A consolation round game at the Tacoma Dome on Friday.

Camryn Skaife and Tomekia Whitman added 10 points and nine rebounds apiece for CV.

The Bears will play in the State 4A fourth-place game on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. against Glacier Peak, setting up a rematch of their regional game last Saturday, won by CV 59-44.

“I really wanted to win (today) and my team really helped me by getting me good passes when I was open to shoot,” Chalich said.

The Bears responded after being eliminated from the championship bracket by Bellarmine Prep on Thursday.

“I feel like we really bounced back and came together as a team today,” Chalich said.

Chalich scored seven points in the first quarter and the Bears led 16-9 after one. She popped her second 3-pointer in the second quarter and CV took a 28-18 lead at intermission.

Inglemoor cut into the lead a bit in the third, but Whitman scored a couple of inside baskets at the start of the fourth, Skaife hit four straight free throws at the end and the Bears hung on.

“A lot of people didn’t think we’d make it as far as we did (this year),” Chalich said. “It was tough at first but we really came together and pushed through.”

Sophomore MJ Bruno missed the game with a leg injury sustained in CV’s quarterfinal loss.