Bruin girls win two straight Trico league games

The Bruins built an early lead over Castle Rock with a 21-point first quarter outburst, which was their highest scoring quarter of any game this year, and they led 21-7 after the first quarter. The Bruins’ momentum continued throughout the contest, as they outscored the Rockets in every quarter.

The Bruins outscored the Rockets, 15-11, in the fourth to record their largest margin of victory (31-points) of any game this year.

Columbia was led in scoring by senior forward Maggie Bryan, who had a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds; she added six assists. Senior guard Ella Reed scored 14 for the Bruins.

The Bruins, guided by first-year Coach Justin Frazier, then captured their second straight with a 47-43 come-from-behind win over the Stevenson High Bulldogs (1-7 league, 4-12 overall) in a Gorge rivalry match-up Jan. 26 at Stevenson High School.

“We got lucky and sneaked out of there with a win even though we didn’t play that well,” said Frazier. “We started out slow, but in the third we came back strong, which was really the turning point of the game. They (Bulldogs) came back in the fourth to make it close. It was a win that we really had to fight for. It was nice to go out on the road and get a big win like this, because it keeps us in position to get either second or third place in the standings, so it was one we had to get.”

The Bruins were playing without starting guard Teagan Blankenship (sick), who scored 19 points in the last match between the two teams (a 54-32 win Jan. 11).

“We weren’t hitting very many shots and the ball wasn’t bouncing our way, so we fell behind by quite a bit in the first half,” said Frazier. “We just kept grinding away at the deficit and we kept fighting for the entire game and we never gave up. The girls played hard and they found ways to put the ball into the hoop when we needed points, so that was good.”

The Bruins trailed 18-9 after the first quarter and then came back with a strong second quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 15-10 to trim the deficit to 28-24 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Bruins took control of the contest with solid defense in which they held the Bulldogs to one point and to go ahead 36-29 after three. The Bulldogs fought back, trimming the margin to four points at the end.

“Maggie carried us in this game (versus Stevenson) and she had a good game against Castle Rock too, so she’s playing really good right now,” said Frazier. “I knew that she was capable of having high scoring games, but I was actually kind of surprised that she wasn’t scoring like this earlier in the season. She has really settled down now and developed a good offensive rhythm and she’s playing smarter.”

The Bruins were led again by Bryan, who had another double-double, with a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, along with a team-high five steals. Reed scored 10.

The Bruins were hoping to extend their win streak to three when they faced the La Center High Wildcats (3-5 league, 4-13 overall) Tuesday at home (result was after the printed edition deadline).

The Bruins conclude the regular season with a 7 p.m. match-up Thursday against the King’s Way Christian High Knights (7-1 league, 8-5 overall) in Vancouver, followed by a 1:30 p.m. home game Saturday versus Castle Rock at Columbia High in White Salmon.

The Bruins are in third place in the six-team Trico League, behind second place King’s Way and league leading Seton Catholic High (9-0 league, 17-1 overall). Columbia has a chance to tie the Knights for second. If Columbia wins its last two games and King’s way loses its final league contest to Seton, the Bruins could tie the Knights for second place with a 7-3 record.