YAKIMA – After a rough first quarter, the Pioneers quickly came together and defeated the Wolves 66-56 in the semifinal round of the 1A girls state basketball tournament.
Wapato held the 17-10 advantage early on, but Nooksack Valley was able to take the lead in the second quarter before going into halftime with a 30-29 advantage.
The Pioneers, who were led by senior guard Devin Coppinger who scored 19 points, went on a 14-2 run in the second half which helped the defending state champions to advance to tomorrow’s chance to defend their title.
Senior forward Tana Hoekema was strong down low and posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and fellow senior Lainey Kimball stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Wapato point guard Trin Wheeler put on a show with 27 points to lead her team.
The Pioneers will face undefeated Deer Park at 9:00 tomorrow night for the 1A state championship.
Nooksack Valley 66, Wapato 56 WAP 17 12 9 18 - 56 NV 10 20 20 16 - 66 Wapato: Wheeler 9-19 7-12 27, Parrish 2-8 2-3 7, Alvarado 1-2 0-0 2, Garza 2-4 0-0 4, Espinoza 1-7 3-4 5, Johnson 5-15 0-0 11. Nooksack Valley: Kimball 4-9 3-4 11, Shintaffer 3-8 0-0 6, Bartl 0-1 0-0 0, Davis 1-3 0-0 2, Coppiner 6-18 7-8 19, Hoekema 5-10 3-5 14, Anderson 2-6 0-0 6, Dykstra 0-0 0-0 0, DeHoog 4-6 0-1 8. Percentages: FG - WAP 20-55 .364, NV 25-61 .410; FT - WAP 12-19 .632, NV 13-18 .722. 3-point goals: WAP 4-21 (Wheeler 2-7, Parrish 1-4, Johnson 1-5, Espinoza 0-5), NV 3-13 (Anderson 2-4, Hoekema 1-2, Kimball 0-1, Shintaffer 0-1, Bartl 0-1, Coppinger 0-4). Rebounds: WAP 33 (Johnson 8), NV 46 (Hoekema 11). Assists: WAP 6 (Wheeler 2, Parrish 2), NV 8 (Kimball 4). Steals: WAP 7 (Wheeler 4), NV 6 (Coppinger 2). Blocks: WAP 1 (Johnson 1), NV 2 (Davis 2).
