Fourth-quarter blast lands state slot for Colfax

Another blast of points, this time at the top of the fourth quarter and 339 miles from Colfax, nailed another big win for the Colfax girls’ and a slot in the quarter-final round of the state 2B tournament which starts today in the Spokane Arena.

The Bulldog girls ripped a 14-1 blast in the first half of the last quarter to bag a 62-56 win over Napavine at Chehalis in the state’s regional round. Colfax is one of four teams to win a starting spot in the three-day 2B tourney which starts today.

They will be in the 9 a.m. tournament opener against the winner of the White Swan-Tri Cities Prep game, one of four loser-out games which were on the slate for Wednesday to decide the other four entrants in the state show.

Also winning quarter-final slots in the weekend regionals was Davenport, the league foe Colfax stopped last weekend to win the NE championship game at West Valley.

Colfax took that game with a 13-0 start against the Gorillas who booked a number-two rating for the start of the state elims.

Davenport made the quarterfinals with a 50-43 win over St.George’s in the regional round at Medical Lake.

Top-rated Ilwaco and third-rated Wahkiakum were the other early winners of the quarter-final slots.

Colfax took the Friday win after traveling all the way to W.F. West High School to face Napavine, a team which had sustained just two defeats in the season. One of their losses was to Ilwaco.

Napavine’s Tigers broke a lead early and posted an 18-11 edge after the first period. The Bulldogs made up two points in the next quarter and two more in the third quarter but still trailed 40-43 going into the final frame.

Colfax Senior Carmen Gfeller hit two bucket and a foul shot to put Colfax back on top. She then hit a three-pointer to jack it up to 48-43.

The Tigers’ Melissa Lee hit one of two toss shots, but the Colfax charge continued with freshman Kierstyn York dropping her lone score for the game and Greta Geier hitting a pair of toss shots and then a bucket.

The score went to 56-46 with 2:24 left.

Two more hits by Gfeller and two more toss shots by Geier finished out the big quarter and the state qualification win for the Bulldogs.

Gfeller finished with a total of 33 points, 14 of them in the last quarter. She shot 13-20 from the floor.

Geier finished with six points, all in the fourth-quarter charge.

Junior Skylre Sakamoto-Howell hit four threebies to keep Colfax in the hunt and finished with 12 points.

Tri Cities Prep advanced to the Wednesday play-in game with a 55-24 win over Friday Harbor, and White Swan, rated sixth by the WIAA, went into the Wednesday game with a 56-63 loss to Wahkiakum.

The Bulldogs’ quarter-final slot on the state grid is opposite top-rated Ilwaco, so the two clubs could collide in the Friday semis with wins today.

Davenport is in the bottom bracket.

The five seniors on the Colfax squad return to the Arena today for another shot at a trophy after being knocked out last year by two other teams from the NE. They were stopped by Davenport in the quarter-final and St. George’s in the second day consolation round.

Davenport went on to take the state title last year.

Colfax 62-Napavine 56: 11/18 15/13 14/12 22/13: Skylre Sakamoto-Howell 4 (all 3pt) 0-0 12, Piper Cai 0 1-7 1, Abbie Miller 1 1-1 3, Carmen Gfeller 13 3 (2 3pt) 5-6 33, Greta Geier 1 4-4 6, Rachel Brown 2 1-1 5, Kierstyn York 1 0-0 2. Total 22 12-19 f-10 62. Napavine Riley Beeson 1 (3pt) 0-0 3, Mollie Olson 7 (3 pt) 2-4 17, Sydney Purvis 1 (3pt) 1-2 4, Becca Shaza 3 (all 3pt) 0-0 9, Emillie Evander 2 0-0 4, Melissa Lee 5 9-12 19. Total 17 12-16 f-15 56.