Bearcats Come Up Short to Mustangs, Take Home Fifth in State

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YAKIMA — It’s not necessarily the ultimate outcome the W.F. West girls basketball team wanted, but after a season full of records and thrilling wins, the Bearcats fell to Prosser, 54-42, in the third-place game and will bring home a fifth-place trophy from the 2A State Tournament at the Yakima Valley SunDome. 

The Bearcats fell behind, 15-3 early, and used a 12-2 run to make it a two-point game at the break, but fell behind again at the start of the third quarter, and couldn’t claw back in the defeat. 

“This is a hard game,” W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski said. “You have a chance to get to the state championship last night, to turn around and play another game, it’s hard. That’s our fourth game in four days, we were emotionally and physically drained. That third quarter hurt us, they made some 3s, but we battled back.”

The Mustangs went on a 13-0 run to start the third, and despite cutting the lead to 10 at one point, the Bearcats just couldn’t get over the hump. 

W.F. West picks up its 11th trophy in program history, and its eighth since 2011. 

“It’s really awesome, it was our goal to hang a banner and earn a trophy and that’s what we did,” Bearcat senior Drea Brumfield said. “It’s not the one we wanted, but still super happy we were able to do it.”

Brumfield led the way for the Bearcats, scoring 11 points and hauling in five rebounds to go along with five blocks. The senior leaves W.F. West’s program as the all-time leading scorer, a record she broke this season, and as one of the most decorated athletes in program history. 

And she’s not alone. 

Senior guard Kyla McCallum broke the single season assist record this year, and would have been topped the program’s all-time list if not for the COVID-shortened season last spring. She finished No. 2 all-time in Bearcat history, and scored a team-high 16 points in her final game. 

Karnofski said what he would remember the most during this run, when the Bearcats upended Lynden and Hudson’s Bay to reach the 2A semifinals, was watching his team sprint past him to celebrate the victory that catapulted them to the semifinals, and their celebration in the van riding back to the hotel, listening to “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus. 

More than that, he’ll remember all the work they put in the last four years, winning 73 games over three and a half seasons. 

“They’re a fun group, they all have something that’s different,” Karnofski said. “I’ll remember all the fun we’ve had, all the tournaments we've gone through, all the practices. I’ve seen these girls grow up, when I took over they were freshmen and were chopping at the bit to get going. They’ve been great, this has been awesome, and I couldn’t be prouder.”

For Brumfield, who will move on to play at Pepperdine in Malibu, California next fall, she’ll remember the success this group has had, but also the shared experiences they had playing in Chehalis. 

“Just hanging out together, we all like to have a lot of fun,” she said. “We’re loud and goofy people so it’s a lot of fun to be around them. That’s what I’ll miss the most, the bonding times.”