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State B girls: Reardan uses defense to roll past Mount Vernon Christian 50-29 into semifinals

Reardan guard Chasyn Waters (33) drives the ball to the basket as Mt. Vernon Christian guard Avery McCullough (11) defends during the 2B State quarterfinal being held at the Spokane Arena, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (COLIN MULVANY)
Reardan guard Chasyn Waters (33) drives the ball to the basket as Mt. Vernon Christian guard Avery McCullough (11) defends during the 2B State quarterfinal being held at the Spokane Arena, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (COLIN MULVANY)
By Dan Thompson The Spokesman-Review

Tenice Waters was only a toddler when Reardan last won a State 2B girls basketball championship in 2013, but considering her family’s long tradition of attending the event, Waters said she is pretty sure she was in the stands for it.

After watching so much basketball at the Arena over the 11 years since, playing in this tournament has been a dream for the sophomore Waters for as long as she can remember. On Thursday, she and her Reardan teammates finally got a chance.

“Just the lights,” Waters said of the experience. “It’s crazy being under those lights.”

In a quarterfinal matchup against Mount Vernon Christian, it was Tenice Waters who got the Screaming Eagles going, and then it was Chasyn Waters, her freshman sister, who put the pedal down in Reardan’s convincing 50-29 victory in the program’s first game at state since its run of three state titles from 2011 to 2013.

After the Hurricanes took a 5-0 lead, Tenice Waters scored eight of Reardan’s points during a 14-0 run. The sophomore sat after she picked up her second foul late in the first quarter, but Chasyn Waters immediately picked up where her older sister left off.

Chasyn Waters scored five straight points to close out the quarter, including a basket just before the buzzer that gave Reardan a 19-6 lead.

“She plays both ends of the court,” Tenice Waters said of her sister. “I am older, but I look up to her, to be a player like her.”

By halftime, Chasyn Waters had helped the Screaming Eagles stretch their lead to 34-10.

As pleased as he was with the team’s offense, Reardan head coach Bob Swannack highlighted its first-half defense.

“They say defense wins championships and in fact it does,” Swannack said. “We focus a ton of our attention on that side of the ball, which most teams don’t. That’s why we’re better defensively than we are offensively.”

The Hurricanes (20-5) got their offense going, but the Screaming Eagles (23-2) had built such a cushion – 29 points – that even MVC’s 15-0 run only got it within 41-27.

Junior Bella Abrahamson’s 3-pointer put a stop to that run, and Reardan cruised the rest of the way.

Tenice Waters finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Chasyn Waters had 21 points, eight rebounds and five of Reardan’s 14 steals. The two went a combined 14 of 29 from the field and each went 2 of 5 from 3-point range.

“They’ve played the game much more than anybody else,” Swannack said. “Kids that pay their dues are better players.”

MVC made 8 of 39 shots (20.5%) from the field overall. Senior Ruthie Rozema scored 16 points (on 5-of-16 shooting from the floor) and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Hurricanes, who are playing their first year in 2B after finishing as the 1B runner-up last season.

Reardan advanced to play Northwest Christian (21-4) in a semifinal matchup at 7:15 p.m. Friday. This will be their fourth matchup this season; the Screaming Eagles won two of the first three.