W.F. West fended off a feisty Hockinson rally in the fourth quarter to come away with a 57-51 victory over the visiting Hawks in the 2A District 4 semifinals Wednesday.
The victory sets up a showdown between W.F. West and Tumwater for the district title.
“We’re pretty happy,” W.F. West Kyle Karnofski said. “Looking back a couple months, who knew we’d even have a season. Super thrilled and excited.”
The Bearcats led 28-19 at the half and built a comfortable 18-point lead with six minutes left in the game before the Hawks busted off a furious fourth-quarter rally to cut the lead to three (54-51) down the stretch.
“They rattled everything in,” Karnofski said. “Hats off to them. They can shoot the lights out.”
But the Bearcats got a huge defensive stop, drew a foul and knocked in two free throws to seal the win.
Drea Brumfield scored a team-high 18 points, while Kyla McCallum added 11, Carlie Deskins contributed nine, Madi Mencke scored eight and Olivia Remund chipped in seven.
W.F. West will now face league foe Tumwater for the district title at 6 p.m., Thursday, in Chehalis.
Tumwater outdistanced Hudson’s Bay 61-45 on Wednesday to advance to the district championship game against W.F. West.
The outsized T-Birds trailed 25-24 at the break, but came out of the locker room on fire to outscore the Eagles 18-8 in the third quarter, sparked by Aubrey Amendala’s three consecutive 3-pointers, to pull ahead for good.
Tumwater continued its pressure defense and inspired offense by outscoring Hudson’s Bay 19-9 in the fourth quarter.
Natalie Sumrok led Tumwater with 22 points, Amendala added 20 and Isabella Lund chipped in eight.
Tumwater and W.F. West will face off for the district title at 6 p.m., Thursday, in Chehalis.
