YAKIMA — In a matchup between perhaps the two best defensive teams in the entire state, it was no surprise that the No. 4 W.F. West girls basketball team and No. 2 Ellensburg had shooting percentages well below 40%.
Though the Bearcats pulled within six at one point, eventually, the Bulldogs’ 1-3-1 press finally broke through, and Ellensburg will trot into the state championship game after a 42-25 victory Friday night at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
The Bearcats fall to the third-place game against Prosser tomorrow at 11:15 a.m.
“I love my team, that’s a tough team,” Bearcats coach Kyle Karnofski said. “That’s three really tough games after a regional game that was tough, a district tournament that was tough. We played about as hard as a team could play for three days.”
The first half featured seven combined made field goals, and 18 combined turnovers. The Bulldogs took the early lead and wouldn’t let up, leading 16-8 at the break.
The second half had much more flow, but after W.F. West cut the game to six, the dam broke, and Ellensburg rattled off a 7-0 run that made the lead virtually insurmountable.
“That’s a very fast and very well balanced team,” Karnofski said. “They’re deep and do a lot of things really well. They did a great job doing what they do. I thought we executed the way we needed to, but they were so fast at what they did, and that’s hard to replicate.”
The Bearcats had their struggles putting the ball through the basket, but held undefeated Ellensburg to a season-low 42 points, and to a 32.6% shooting percentage.
Bulldog senior guard and CWAC Player of the Year Dylan Philip finished with a game-high 20 points, and Drea Brumfield led the Bearcats with a team-high 13 points and five rebounds.
“It’s hard to get to this point, everything has to go your way,” Karnofski said. “I can’t be more proud of what we’ve done. The loss hurts but the legacy that W.F. West has, they did not take a step back. We’ve propelled forward. You can’t ask for more than that.”
The Bearcats enter the trophy round for the eighth time since 2011, and will look to finish third with a win over Prosser Saturday at 11:15 p.m.
“They’re good, everyone at this point is good,” Karnofski said of the Mustangs. “We get to play on a Saturday, we get a trophy, and this group gets to play together one more time. That’s all that matters.”
