State B girls semifinals: Colfax girls surge past Warden into championship game; Mossyrock knocks-out Inchelium

Jaisha Gibb called Colfax’s semifinal matchup against Warden the Bulldogs’ “redemption round.”

It turned out to be true for Colfax – and for Gibb herself.

After struggling in the quarterfinals, Gibb hit three first-half 3-pointers and finished with 18 points to lead the Bulldogs past the Warden Cougars 66-53 on Friday in the State 2B girls’ basketball tournament at Spokane Arena, eliminating the team Colfax lost to in last year’s title game.

“When she stepped on the floor, she was confident and fearless, and she led our team,” Colfax coach Jordan Holmes said of the senior guard Gibb. “That’s what she’s capable of.”

In Thursday’s 67-29 victory over Rainier, Gibb went 2-for-15 from the floor and scored five points. But on Friday she made 6 of 14 shots and had 11 points by halftime as top-seeded Colfax (27-0) found itself tied with fourth-seeded Warden, 26-26.

They traded the lead four times in a fast-paced third quarter by the end of which Warden (20-5) had built its largest lead of the game, 45-41.

“We were down by four, and none of us were scared or nervous,” Gibb said.

It was then that sophomore Brynn McGaughy asserted herself.

“We always look to her when we need something,” Colfax junior Lauryn York said, “and she always comes in and does the right thing when she needs to.”

Sophomore Hailey Demler started the fourth with a basket, and McGaughy then completed a 3-point play to give Colfax the lead again, 46-45.

Another free throw by McGaughy and two for sophomore Brenna Gilchrist extended the run to 8-0, and the Bulldogs followed that with a basket by York and a putback 2 by McGaughy. That 12-0 run gave Colfax a 53-45 lead.

Soon after, back-to-back scores by Demler put the Bulldogs ahead 59-49, their first double-digit lead of the game. Demler finished with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.

Colfax finished with a 47-25 rebounding advantage; McGaughy grabbed 20 of them to go with her game-high 26 points. The 6-foot-2 post player made 7 of 16 shots and 12 of 15 free throws, and she also blocked seven shots.

Warden – which defeated Colfax 70-55 in last year’s state title game – got 24 points from junior Lauryn Madsen, who attempted 29 of Warden’s 67 shots and led them with six rebounds and four steals.

“She’s incredible. She’s such a good basketball player. She’s so dynamic,” Holmes said of Madsen. “She’s big but she can guard. She can run the 1 or the 5 and anything in between, and she’s the front of their press. She just makes the game difficult.”

Five other Warden players scored, led by senior Quinn Erdmann and eighth-grader Makenna Klitzke, who each had eight points.

Warden forced 14 turnovers and only committed four, but the Cougars made just 18 of 67 shots (26.9%). Colfax made 22 of 50 shots (44%), including 13 of 25 after halftime.

Colfax last won a state title in 2018. The last 2B girls’ program to go undefeated was Okanogan, which went 27-0 in 2015 and 2016 when it won its two state titles.

Colfax and Okanogan will play for the championship at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Okanogan 65, Napavine 54: Freshman Jacey Boesel scored 23 points and hit a pair of fourth-quarter 3s to hold off a late charge by No. 3 seed Napavine (24-3).

The second-seeded Bulldogs (25-1) advanced to the State 2B girls’ title game against Colfax.

Okanogan led 34-24 at halftime, but Napavine stuck around. Down 54-41 after a Boesel 3, the Tigers went on an 8-0 run to close the gap to five points, 54-49, with just over 2 minutes left.

But with 1:47 left, Boesel hit a 2 to end the run and then a 3 about 45 seconds later to put the game back out of reach.

Junior Alex Goetz and senior Lindsey Jones each had 12 points for Okanogan. Senior Morgan Hamilton led Napavine with 12 points; senior teammate Keira O’Neill had eight points and a game-high nine rebounds.

1B

Mossyrock 58, Inchelium 33: The second-seeded Vikings used a 22-4 run in the second half to pull safely away from the fifth-seeded Hornets and advance to the championship game against No. 1 Neah Bay.

Seniors Payton Torrey (23 points), Hailey Brooks (19) and Caelyn Marshall (12) scored all but four of Mossyrock’s points. Torrey made 3 of 6 3-point attempts and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Mossyrock (22-3), which reclassified from 2B to 1B after the 2019-20 season, will be playing for the school’s first girls’ basketball title since 2007.

Many of the girls on this year’s basketball team were members of Mossyrock’s volleyball team that finished second at last fall’s state tournament.

“It’s kind of eating at them,” Mossyrock coach Autumn Moorcroft said. “They want to get the gold ball for basketball.”

Senior Zalissa Finley had 13 points and 15 rebounds for Inchelium (20-4), her second double-double in as many days.

Neah Bay 64, Mount Vernon Christian 41: The top-seeded Devils made 11 3-pointers and cruised into the championship game with a victory over the team they lost to in last year’s title match.

Junior Ryana Moss had 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting to lead Neah Bay (22-1). Senior Allie Greene added 14 points and four assists, while junior Amber Swan had 11 rebounds and five assists.

Neah Bay led 26-22 at half but then outscored MVC 38-19 in the second half. The Devils also outrebounded the fourth-seeded Hurricanes 40-31 and had nine steals.

They overcame a big game from MVC junior Allie Heino, who made 10 of 13 shots and scored a game-high 25 points. Heino also had 10 rebounds. MVC (23-5) made just 2 of 20 3-point attempts.