TUMWATER — It didn’t take long for W.F. West to find its footing on Thursday night, as the Bearcats jumped out to an early lead and pulled away late for a 59-38 win over Black Hills in a battle of unbeaten teams.
Julia Dalan, fresh off a record-setting performance, wasn’t as efficient as she was in her last outing, but she scored 11 points in the first quarter to quickly give the Bearcats (7-0, 3-0 2A EvCo) a double-digit lead.
The Wolves (6-1, 2-1 2A EvCo) picked up their tempo and intensity in the second quarter, which allowed freshman Tyler Venable to find open spots both in the high post and from deep.
Venable scored 10 points in the second quarter, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, to trim the Black Hills deficit to eight going into the break.
After the half, the Bearcats made a point to slow things down in the half-court while also keeping the tempo up when necessary on the fast break.
“We don’t try to play frantic, but we try to play at our own pace,” Karnofski said. “We need to understand our roles and our schemes. When we do that, we look a lot better than when we’re a little frantic and trying to play on the fly. It’s not who we are.”
The Bearcats continued to lean on Dalan in the second half, and she finished with 30 points on 12 of 23 shooting.
“Julia’s just big, and she just wears you down,” Black Hills coach Herb Guscott said. “You can only just battle so much.”
While Dalan led the way, Lena Fragner and Dilyn Boeck combined for 19 points, giving the Bearcats a solid second and third option offensively. They were both on the floor nearly the entire game, as Fragner came out for just one minute while Boeck never left the floor.
“I thought they both played really well,” Karnofski said. “I was really proud of them.”
Venable finished as the leading scorer for the Wolves with 22 points. Things didn’t come as easily in the second half, as Karnofski sent Fragner and senior Karlie Deskins to the high post to limit her.
Outside of Venable, points were hard to come by for Black Hills, as the Wolves shot just 28.8 percent from the floor despite generating several second and third chances with offensive rebounds. Claire Johnson came down with 14 rebounds and Ashley Harris hauled in 13.
“They competed,” Guscott said. “On offense, we just struggled a little bit to put the ball in the hole. It was positive for the most part.”
While the Wolves struggled to keep pace in the second half, Guscott was pleased with the group’s performance, saying that they’ve sent a message that they can compete with anyone.
“That team (W.F. West), I believe, will trophy at state,” Guscott said. “It shows we can go to state. We just have to trust the process and keep trending up.”
Both the Bearcats and Wolves are back in action on Monday, as the Wolves will host Tenino while the Bearcats head south to take on Kelso.
