Frosh Noelia Axton scores 18 points, Ridgeline girls earn 3A title; Gonzaga Prep boys, girls fall in 4A championship games | District 6 basketball
Roundup of Friday’s District 6 boys and girls basketball tournaments.
After qualifying for state the past two season but not surviving the regional round, the Ridgeline girls basketball team set their goal this season to reach the Tacoma Dome. The Falcons got one step closer Friday.
Freshman Noelia Axton scored 18 points, senior Madi Crowley added 17 and the top-seeded Falcons (19-4) defeated the third-seeded visiting Titans (15-8) 65-40 to win the District 6 3A championship. Both teams advanced to State.
McKenzie Handran led University with 22 points.
Axton went right to work, scoring eight of Ridgeline’s 15 points in the first quarter as the Falcons opened a seven-point lead early. Crowley took over in the second with seven points and Ridgeline led 31-20 at the intermission. The pair spent most of their time at the free throw line in the third quarter, combining to go 8 of 10, and point guard Grace Sheridan added eight of her total of 11 points in the period.
Ridgeline has been in the top 8 in 3A in the state’s RPI system all season, and sit at No. 4 after handling Greater Spokane League rival U-Hi in the title game. The top eight seeds to state receive a “protected” bid and automatically qualify to reach the tournament site whether they win a regional game or not.
State seeding and brackets will be announced Sunday afternoon by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.
Girls 4A
Chiawana 59, Gonzaga Prep 52: Baylee Maldonado scored 30 points with eight rebounds and the top-seeded Riverhawks (25-0) dealt the visiting second-seeded Bullpups (21-1) their first loss of the season in the District Title game. Both teams advanced to State.
Chiawana is ranked No. 4 in 4A in the state RPI system; Gonzaga Prep is No. 5.
Aylah Cornwall led Gonzaga Prep with 21 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Belle Hernandez added 13 points and Laura Thompson had 10 points with six boards.
2B
Davenport 43, Lind-Ritzville 36: Clare Lathrop scored 18 points and the Gorillas (19-5) eliminated the Broncos (18-7) at West Valley HS.
Davenport plays Colfax on Saturday in the district third-place game. Both teams advance to state.
Zoe Galbreath led LRS with 21 points.
Colfax 50, Freeman 49: Allie Jenkin scored 26 points and the Bulldogs (15-9) eliminated the Scotties (13-9) at West Valley HS.
Kelsey Hollen led Freeman with 18 points.
1B
Pomeroy 50, Wellpinit 48: Reagan McKeirnan scored 14 points and the Pirates (17-6) eliminated Wellpinit (11-12) in the district sixth-place game at Reardan HS. Niah Thomas led Wellpinit with 23 points including seven 3-pointers. Pomeroy advanced to state.
Yakama Tribal 72, Valley Christian 38: The Warriors (24-4) defeated the Panthers (18-6) in the district third-place game at Reardan HS. Both teams advanced to state.
Liberty Christian 51, Republic 48 (OT): The Patriots (16-7) eliminated the Tigers (20-5) in overtime in the district seventh-place at Reardan HS.
Boys
4A
Richland 65, Gonzaga Prep 53: Lance Horntvedt scored 27 points and the top-seeded Bombers (24-0) remained undefeated with a win over the second-seeded Bullpups (18-6) in the district championship game. Both teams advanced to state.
Richland used a 19-9 run in the third period to open up a double-digit lead. The Bombers, ranked No. 3 in 4A by the state’s RPI system, had not beaten the No. 5-ranked Bullpups since 2011, a string of 12 straight games, and are now 4-16 all-time against Gonzaga Prep in the postseason.
Ryan Carney led G-Prep with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Dylynn Groves had 12 points with 10 boards and Jack Pierce added 10 points.
2B
Freeman 63, Liberty 56: Micah Olson scored 24 points and the Scotties (15-8) eliminated the Lancers (16-8) at West Valley HS.
Freeman faces Reardan in the district third-place on Saturday. Both teams will advance to state.
Liberty was led by Drew Piersol with 19 points and Sam Cook added 14.
Reardan 63, Davenport 50: Maveric Sobotta scored 23 points, Justin Vaughn added 18 and the Screaming Eagles (20-4), ranked No. 9 in 2B by the state’s RPI system, eliminated the Gorillas (13-12) at West Valley HS.
1B
{span class=”print_trim”}Touchet 62, Selkirk 53: The Redhawks (15-8) eliminated the Rangers (10-13) in a District 6 1B fifth-place game at Reardan HS. Touchet advances to State.
Liberty Christian 69, Wellpinit 51: The Patriots (22-2) defeated Wellpinit (14-9) in a District 6 1B third-place game at Reardan HS. Wellpinit took fourth place and both teams advance to State.