As the Columbia River girls basketball team continues to stack up big-game experience, they know at least one thing to be true of nearly every game — it usually comes down to defense.
The Rapids put their stamp on that end of the floor in Thursday’s rematch with Woodland for the 2A Greater St. Helens League title, holding the Beavers without a field goal during a 10-minute stretch of the first half while keying in on leading scorer Kennedy Bockert, who finished with 17 points.
Defensive effort kept River afloat until its offense surged in the second half behind the sharp-shooting of Gracie Glavin and Marley Myers, leading the Rapids to a 50-42 win and a third consecutive 2A GSHL title.
Going into next week’s Class 2A District 4 tournament, and what they hope will be a deep postseason run, the Rapids will bring the same mindset that carried them this far.
“We take pride in (defense). We know that, if we get a stop on defense, it’s going to relay to offense,” Glavin said. “Just getting stops, playing for each other, it’s all about defense. … Defensive mindset is what (head coach Tee Anderson) says.”
The focal point of the Rapids’ game plan was Bockert, the star sophomore who dropped 24 points in the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 14, a 42-41 win for River.
Starter Kaya Mirtich and Avi Desjarlais off the bench drew the primary assignments with River sending frequent double and triple teams Bockert’s way. That plan, combined with Woodland’s cold outside shooting, limited the Beavers to two points and zero field goals in the second quarter, as the Rapids led 21-14 at halftime.
“I just know that what we can always rely on and what we control, is how much effort we put in defensively, knowing our defensive assignments,” Anderson said.
“Our whole game plan was pretty much stop Kennedy. She still did her thing … I’m not surprised that she still got (17), she’s a great player. But I think our girls really rallied together and they trusted me in the game plan.
“What I really like is feedback. So, (when) we’re coming into timeouts, I’ll say what I got to say and then I’ll ask them, I’m like, ‘What are you guys seeing?’ It’s a different feel with the girls on the court. I make adjustments according to what they’re seeing as well.”
River’s offense also cooled off in the second quarter, going the final 5:50 until halftime without a point.
Then came Woodland’s third-quarter rally, kickstarted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Addi Stading and Lainey Haden, and followed up with a Bockert basket to tie the game at 25-25 with under two minutes remaining in the quarter.
In a pressure-packed J. Hoover Gymnasium, the Rapids turned to Myers, who hit a jumper to close the quarter and hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth for a six-point advantage.
“They felt huge,” Myers said, “but also they hyped up our team, and we could really work off of that on defense, too.”
Glavin, who finished with a game-high 25 points, hit all four free throws on consecutive trips to the foul line.
Mikayla King then hit a 3-pointer at the four-minute mark, and a minute later, when an errant Woodland pass bounced free, Myers out-hustled the Beavers to a loose ball and sprinted up the floor for an uncontested layup, giving the Rapids a 40-30 lead.
“Like Tee said before the game, we practice here every day, it’s nothing different than what we work on every single day,” Glavin said. “So, I’m just really proud of everybody.”
River’s path to a third straight league title came with a humbling lesson a little over a week ago in the form of a four-point loss to Mark Morris. The result forced the Rapids to refocus in practice and fine tune with games against Hockinson and Hudson’s Bay leading up to Thursday’s showdown.
“We didn’t play our hardest at Mark Morris,” said Myers, who scored 15 points. “That really translated tonight, because we just had to leave it all on the court.”
The Rapids locked up the No. 1 seed in the 2A GSHL for the district playoffs and will need two wins to secure a third straight 2A state tournament berth.
This team of veterans, led by six seniors, got the experience of playing three state tournament games at the Yakima Valley SunDome last season, and continues to add experience to its résumé with results like Thursday.
“I’m so excited to get back (to the playoffs),” Glavin said. “Especially with this team we have this year, it’s different than last year, and I’m just really excited to see where we can go.”
COLUMBIA RIVER 50, WOODLAND 42
WOODLAND — Addi Stading 8, Kennedy Bockert 17, Emma Barrow 0, Addison Christensen 0, Makynzie Guthrie 2, Lainey Haden 14, Carly Coltrin 1. Totals 13 (4) 11-13 42.
COLUMBIA RIVER — Olivia Carroll 0, Marley Myers 15, Peyton Dukes 0, Camy Drake 0, Mikayla King 4, Kaya Mirtich 6, Avi Desjarlais 0, Gracie Glavin 25. Totals 17 (4) 9-10 50.
