Seven and counting

Columbia trailed Tuesday's game just once -- at 13-12 with 5:26 remaining in the second quarter.

It took its biggest lead of the night, 43-30, in the second half on senior Candace Henderson's 3-pointer just before the buzzer sounded ending the third quarter.

Ridgefield got within two points (24-22) early in the third quarter, but never closer than four (47-43) in the fourth as Columbia bent but didn't break.

Bruins Coach Howard Kreps said his team's free-throw shooting was the difference in the game. On the night, the Bruins converted 19 of 22 from the foul line, compared to Ridgefield's 5-for-9 effort.

"When you shoot foul shots like we did tonight, good things are going to happen," Kreps noted.

Good things definitely happened for CHS senior forward Jessica Kinder, who hit 7-of-8 free throws on her way to a team-leading 19 points.

She was joined in double figures by classmates Mallory Holtman (12 points, 4-for-4 FTs) and Crystal Blankenship (11, 6-for-8 FTs).

Holtman also made six steals, while senior Kristin Janney contributed with six assists. Junior Alexa Williams added nine points and secured 11 rebounds to lead CHS to a 33-26 advantage on the backboards.

For Ridgefield, junior Stephanie Kern connected for four 3-pointers and scored 19 points.

Blankenship got the Bruins going in the first quarter, sinking her only 3-pointer of the game. But after that, both teams settled down and played to a 9-9 draw after one period of play.

In the middle quarters, the Bruins outscored the Spudders, 34-21, to open up their largest lead of the night.

Ridgefield didn't collapse, however. The Spudders began the fourth quarter with a 13-4 run to pull within four.

But the Bruins responded with a 12-4 run of their own to push the lead back to double-digits at 59-47, much to Kreps' delight.

"We may not be the best or most-talented team," he noted, "but we come to play, and play hard."

Columbia High 64, at Wahtonka 60 -- A 14-1 run late in the fourth quarter brought the Eagles from 17 down to within 62-58 with 1:16 remaining in last Friday's non-league game in The Dalles, Ore.

But time was on the Bruins' side. Before the Eagles could get closer than four points, time expired, giving CHS its seventh victory in its last non-league contest.

Columbia took its biggest lead of the night, 61-44, with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

But CHS's failure to take care of the ball allowed a scrappy Wahtonka squad to put together a run that brought the Eagles to the brink of pulling off an upset.

Junior Lacey Lick was a key player for Wahtonka, finishing with a game-high 12 field goals and 25 points.

Columbia countered with a foursome of double-figure scorers, led by Crystal Blankenship, who scored a team-high 18 points.

Mallory Holtman added 13, and Shelly Putnam and Jessica Kinder added 10 each.