4A: GSL vs. MCC Round 1 Matchups
Girls basketball in Eastern Washington is consistently played at a high level each year. 4A District 8 playoffs between the Greater Spokane League (GSL) and Mid Columbia Conference (MCC) have already provided some high level basketball in round one. We…
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Continue ReadingGirls basketball in Eastern Washington is consistently played at a high level each year. 4A District 8 playoffs between the Greater Spokane League (GSL) and Mid Columbia Conference (MCC) have already provided some high level basketball in round one. We saw a mixture of results in the four games between an upset, blowout and surprising outcome.
Overall View:
GSL: 3 wins, +35 total point spread
Gonzaga Prep 58 – Walla Walla 46
Mead 50 – Chiawana 44
Central Valley 79 – Richland 44
MCC: 1 win, -35 total point spread
Pasco 57 – University 39
Biggest Upset:
(7) Mead’s win over (2) Chiawana was the biggest upset of round one, by far. Mead entered into the game just 13-7 to Chiawana’s 18-2 overall record. Nonetheless, the Panthers refused to back down from the Riverhawks and ultimately came away with the big victory.
2020 5’8 PG Joelnell Momberg was impressive throughout for Mead, scoring inside and out. She finished 4-6 from the 3 line and hit five free throws on her way to 21 points on 6-12 overall shooting. The Montana signee also grabbed 7 rebounds. 2022 5’7 G Olivia Moore also gave Mead 11 points and 2022 5’10 SF Alicia Suggs chipped in 7. Moore (7 TO’s) and Suggs (4 TO’s) will need to cut their turnovers down as they move along in the playoffs, but the two sophomores made some big shots and had timely defensive moments to help give Mead the victory. Mead advances on to play familiar GSL foe, Gonzaga Prep.
Chiawana played without two key players in 2022 6’0 SF Camryn Cartwright (sick) and 2021 5’8 SG Delaney Pink (injury). 2021 5’11 SG Talia von Oelhoffen finished with a game high 29 points on 12-31 shooting. She also added 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists. No other Riverhawk scored in double digits. They will move onto the loser’s bracket and take on Walla Walla in a loser out game.
The Blowout:
(1) Central Valley blew out (8) Richland 79-44 and have a lot of momentum going for them at this point in the season with a 10 game winning streak. Their last loss was to 3A Mt. Spokane over a month ago. 2020 5’8 PG Peyton Howard (Seattle U signee) and 2021 5’10 SF MJ Bruno (Portland commit) lead the charge for CV, but they also have some sleepers such as 2021 5’10 F Grace Geldien, 2020 5’11 F Michael Pitts and 2020 5’5 G Anika Chalich. This team seems to have a different leading scorer every game and Geldien led the way with 16 tonight. Central Valley will play (4) Pasco in a home game for the District semi-final game.
Richland was led by 2021 5’9 G Laura Smith who netted 14 points. Richland moves to 8-13 on the season, but Smith has been a bright spot for them and will garner more college attention by the end of summer. The Bombers will play at University HS in a loser out game.
“Surprising” Outcome:
(4) Pasco defeating (5) University is no surprise, but the way that it went down (57-39) is more of a shock. University has a senior-led backcourt with 3 Division 1 signees, but Pasco has a talented backcourt in their own right. Colorado State signee Elizabeth Boni was recently cleared for action and saw limited time for University, compared to normal. She still managed to get 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in her time. Portland signees Jacksen McCliment-Call and Tyler McCliment-Call led the team in scoring at 15 and 14 points, but did so on a combined 10-31 shooting from the field. As mentioned above, University will have loser-out game against Richland.
The star of the night was 2022 5’7 PG Mya Groce (feature image) for Pasco. The sophomore finished with a game-high 25 points on an efficient 8-15 shooting, including 3-7 from 3 point land. She also managed to get 4 assists and 5 rebounds on the stellar night. 2022 5’10 P Taija Mackey brought her usual productions with a strong double-double, scoring 10 points and bringing in 11 rebounds. 2022 5’6 G Aniyah Heavens had a cold shooting night, but chipped in 10 points and grabbed 7 big rebounds, impacting the game even when her shots were not falling. Pasco will take on number one seed, Central Valley on the road.
Full bracket: http://www.greaterspokaneleague.org/tournament.php?tournament_id=3196&sport=12