La Center had no shortage of heroes during its victory in the Class 1A district championship game.
The Wildcats had three key players score in double figures and several other provide key contributions in a 56-53 win over Trico League-rival Kalama in a game played Friday at W.F. West High School.
Senior Andrea Griffee led the way for the Wildcats, scoring 14 points. Sophomore Taylor Mills added 13 and freshman Taylor Stephens chipped in 12. La Center senior Ashley Denney and sophomore Molly Edwards came off the bench to each score eight points for the Wildcats.
“That’s huge for us,’’ said La Center coach Herm VanWeerdhuizen of the play of his reserves. “Basically, the bench came in and did a great job. Ashley and Molly were still in the ball game at the end because they were doing what they needed to be doing.’’
La Center, which split its two regular season games with Kalama to share the Trico League title with the Chinooks, jumped on top 15-7 in the first quarter, with 11 of those points scored by Griffee. Kalama outscored the Wildcats 21-7 in the second quarter to take a six-point lead at halftime.
The Wildcats took control in the second half. Denney scored on a layup to create a 41-41 tie at the end of the third quarter and Edwards nailed a 3-pointer to give La Center a 52-49 lead a few minutes later.
“It was a good game, a good battle,’’ VanWeerdhuizen said. “We started out hitting and then they came on and were up by six at the half. We just battled back, kept fighting and came out on top in the end.’’
The victory illustrated the continued maturation of the young La Center team, which lost in overtime to Montesano in last year’s district championship game. The Wildcats, 21-2 on the season, would like to take a step farther with a win in the regional round of the playoffs to advance to the state tournament.
La Center will meet Nooksack Valley at 4 p.m. Saturday at Battle Ground High School. Nooksack Valley comes into Saturday’s game with an 18-8 record, but VanWeerdhuizen says that is deceiving due to the fact that the Pioneers play in the combined 3A/2A/1A Northwest Conference.
“They’ve played some tough, hard-nosed ball games up there,’’ VanWeedhuizen said. “They might be peaking now.’’
