Columbia High girls basketball team controls its playoff destiny this week, as two wins in three games should qualify the Bruins for the district playoffs.
The Bruins (2-9 overall, 1-4 Trico League) were scheduled to play at King’s Way on Monday (result came after the print edition deadline) followed by games on Thursday at Seton Catholic and Friday at home against Castle Rock.
Columbia was in fourth place in the Trico League prior to Monday’s contest, one game ahead of Seton in the loss column. The game against Seton takes on added incentive for the Bruins, as a sweep of the Cougars likely will give Columbia the Trico’s No. 4 seed into the District 1 playoffs. The top four teams from the Trico and Evergreen leagues qualify for district. The playoffs begin Feb. 11 with higher-seeded teams hosting games — Evergreen No. 1 hosting the Trico No. 4, for example.
Wins against Seton and Castle Rock guarantee Columbia a spot in the playoffs and likely mean the Bruins would be the No. 3 seed from the Trico League.
“The team is playing extremely hard,” Coach Howard Kreps said. “If we beat Seton and Castle Rock we go to district. (There’s a) very good chance of that happening.”
Columbia defeated Seton, 60-51, on Jan. 21 for its lone league win (as of last week).
The Bruins have lost three straight games since then, though Kreps said his team has shown marked improvement. On Jan. 26 Columbia had a strong offensive showing but lost at home to King’s Way, 81-61. “We played a good offensive game, they just shot threes better,” Kreps said.
Sydney Aman led Columbia in scoring with 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Maggie Bryan added a near triple-double with 11 points, nine assists and nine rebounds; and senior reserve Taryn Johnston had 10 points off the bench. Laurel Quinn led King’s Way with 28 points; she made six of her team’s nine 3-pointers.
Two days later, Columbia ran into another hot shooter in La Center’s Kylee Stephens. She scored a season-high 33 points, including five 3-pointers to lead her team to a 62-49 win. The 13-point margin was a noticeable improvement from the 37-point spread the first time these two teams played this season. Columbia was led by Bryan’s 15 points. Substitute Sophia Acosta scored eight points off the bench and teammate Chloe Clifford had seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Columbia snuck in a non-league game on Saturday, losing 54-46 to Goldendale. Ella Reed scored 14 points, and Clifford added six steals and three assists for the Bruins.
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