Dalan’s 20 Points Leads Bearcats to Win in Opener

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Debuting a mostly new starting lineup, the W.F. West girls basketball team upended R.A. Long at home Tuesday night, 61-14. 

The Bearcats looked like their stout defensive-minded selves in their opener, despite a bit of a slow start learning their new roles and positions. After W.F. West settled in, the offense found a groove and scored 22 points in each of the first two quarters, taking a 44-7 lead into the halftime break. 

“We had a bit of a slow start and some jitters to get things moving,” Bearcats coach Kyle Karnofski said. “It was just about getting the girls to play a little more free, but we got things going.”

Julia Dalan had 20 points to go along with 11 boards and three blocks to lead the Bearcats, and Morgan Rogerson (12 points) and Grace Simpson (10 points) joined her in double figure scoring. Rogerson added five rebounds and three steals, and point guard Amanda Bennett had four boards, five steals, and 10 assists. 

Karnofski also praised the efforts of his guards in general for handling point duties well and locking down R.A. Long’s offense on the perimeter. 

“Our guards played really well, they did a great job defensively and distributing,” he said. “Grace Simpson off the bench had 10, she was really good, giving us a spark and kickstarting the runs in the first and second.”

The Bearcats will take on Port Angeles for their next game on Saturday.