YAKIMA — Julia Dalan is no stranger to the record books.
She became the all-time leading scorer in W.F. West history earlier this season, and last winter, she set the single-game state tournament rebounds record.
In what ends up being her penultimate high school game, Dalan put together another historic performance on Friday in the Yakima SunDome.
Her 13 blocks were not only enough to break the individual single-game state tournament blocks record, but the team record as well, and they helped lead No. 4 W.F. West past No. 8 Bainbridge 59-28 and into the 4th/6th game.
“That’s a heck of a night,” W.F. West coach Kyle Karnofski said. “To have 13 blocks in a state tournament game and basically control a giant facet of the game is unbelievable. Really, really impressive.”
Dalan had already tied the previous record of nine, which was set in 2015 by former Bearcat Tiana Parker, by halftime, but she didn’t know specifically how close she was.
“They told me I was gonna get a triple-double,” Dalan said. “I needed a couple more rebounds and a couple more blocks … Other than that, I was not aware of it at all.”
She became aware just over a minute into the third. After her 10th block of the night, the public address announcer announced that she had broken the record during a stoppage. Seconds later, Dalan smothered another Spartan shot for her 11th block.
“I’m really happy about it,” Dalan said.
The previous team record was 11, which was set by Pullman in 2010. No other Bearcat recorded a block in the win, leaving 13 as the new team record.
Dalan’s big night inside helped the Bearcats take control early, and they never looked back. Less than 24 hours removed from their quarterfinal loss, the Bearcats went on a 30-3 run to end the first half to enter the locker room up 35-9.
They then scored the first 10 points of the third to push the lead to 45-9.
“We knew we needed to show up and play together as a team,” Dalan said. “We knew that as much as it sucked, we couldn’t do anything about the game we already played. Making sure we didn’t labor on that was a big part. I was really proud of how our girls bounced back.”
With the big lead, every Bearcat on the roster was able to play at least four minutes, and 10 different Bearcats scored.
Boeck finished with a team-high 21 points, while Dalan finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and her 13 blocks for a triple-double.
Rhylee Beebe added six points, Madi Baine added three and five rebounds, and Grace Simpson scored three points and brought down four rebounds.
Madi Baine, Kaitlyn Chloupek, Izzy Teeter, Hadley Hoffman, Amanda Bennett, and Madi McManus also got on the scoresheet.
“It’s extremely satisfying,” Boeck said. “We just worked our hardest this game, tried everything we could to get this runout, get some players in, so we could have everyone having a good time. It was great.”
It’s W.F. West’s 25th win of the season, tying a school record set by the 2014 and 2018 teams, which both won school titles.
These Bearcats can’t win the state title, but they could set a new school record if they can top Archbishop Murphy in the 4th/6th game on Saturday morning.
“That would be really, really special for this group to do,” Karnofski said. “Somebody has to win fourth or sixth, and it’s not a guarantee that you get to that game. To be able to do that, it shows a lot of who we are as a program. I think that’s really special … I know we’re just super proud of our whole program, top to bottom.”
It’ll be the final game for Dalan, Bennett, Simpson, and Ellie Clinton, who will look to end their high school careers on a high note.
Boeck, Dalan, and Karnofski admitted that they’ve tried not to think about the end too much just yet, and they expect Saturday’s finale to be emotional no matter which way it goes.
“I love my seniors more than I love myself,” Boeck said with a laugh. “I love them so much. They’re so amazing. I just hope that we go out with a win, and I’m excited to end my season with them.”
“It’s the end of a long journey,” Dalan said. “I’m really excited and I’m just putting it all out there. We literally have nothing to lose. I’m excited to see what we accomplish tomorrow and I’m excited to have one last run.”
