Brewster, Pateros, Waterville-Mansfield girls win state trophies

SPOKANE – The Brewster Lady Bears, Pateros Nannies, and Waterville-Mansfield Lady Shockers varsity girls’ basketball teams crowned their quests to the WIAA state tournament with trophies to add to their school showcases last week. The Lady Shockers placed fifth in the state 1B division, the Nannies won sixth place in the 1B, and the Lady Bears took sixth in the 2B division.

Brewster

The 20-4 Lady Bears easily handled Mount Vernon Christian, 51-28, in their opening round of state play on March 1, to advance against Napavine, who lost to Reardan, 53-36. These were the same Tigers who Brewster defeated 49-37 at home during the regular season Dec. 21.

At the state playoffs the previous year, Napavine squeaked past Brewster, 48-46. In their March 6 rematch Napavine took a 14-4 first quarter lead and widened that to 23-10 at halftime. Despite the game-high 15 points from sophomore Pepper Boesel, the Tigers held on to win a low scoring defensive battle, 36-30.

Next up for the Lady Bears was No. 9 Mabton in the semifinals on March 7. A 53-45 win over the Vikings advanced Brewster to the finals against No. 10 Liberty for fourth or sixth place. The Patriots belied their No.10 state ranking with a surprise 64-50 victory to take the fourth-place trophy.

Pateros

The Fillies lost their 1B opening round to No. 1 and repeat state champion Neah Bay, 65-31 but bounced back with a 51-47 win over Lummi Nation on March 5. 

A rematch with the No. 2 Waterville-Mansfield - the Nannies’ toughest opponent in the CW2B regular season - ended in the Lady Shockers favor, 62-36, on March 6. Both teams advanced to the semifinal round on March 7.

Pateros defeated No. 4 Yakama Tribal, 55-42, to move into the final round opposite No. 10 Oaksdale on March 8. With fourth and sixth place up for grabs, the Nighthawks held on for a close 51-47 decision to clinch fourth.

Waterville-Mansfield

No. 2 Waterville-Mansfield easily dispatched Pe Ell, 59-18, in their opening round at state, maintaining a defensive standard that held regular season opponents to less than 30 points in a game.

The Lady Shockers’ next game on March 6 was the rematch with Pateros and a 62-36 win over the Nannies. The Lady Shockers then fell 60-32 to No. 3 Garfield-Palouse in the semifinals and faced Wellpinit the following day for third and fifth place. 

Thiry seconds into the game against the Redskins, Lady Shockers point guard Holly Finkbeiner was sidelined with a game-ending ankle sprain. Wellpinit capitalized on the advantage to finish in third spot with a 57-46 win. The young Lady Shockers team will lose only one senior from their varsity squad to graduation this year.

SBLive All Tournament

1B

Delaney Nelson (10) Waterville-Mansfield.

2B

Pepper Boesel (10) Brewster.

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media