La Center Junior Isaiah Romero jumps and hugs his teammate Cedrick Hubler after winning the regional round of the state tournament on Saturday. The Wildcats are moving on to play King’s Way Christian at the Sun Dome this week.
Junior forward Riley Fender reaches for a layup at Tumwater High School during the regional match against Bear Creek on Saturday.
Local basketball teams duked it out in the regional round of the state tournament last weekend. The La Center Wildcats are slated to move on to the first round of the state tournament after a 74-49 win over Redmond’s Bear Creek. The regional run comes after going 14-6 in the regular season. The Wildcats are set to play against local rival King’s Way Christian School on March 4 at the Sun Dome in Yakima.
Also bringing home some regional hardware from the 4A tournament were the Battle Ground Tigers after their 72-57 win over Inglemoor. Going 11-9 in the regular season, the Tigers were ranked 12th going into the tournament. They’re set to play Federal Way High School on March 4 at the Tacoma Dome.
Not all local teams were able to bring home a win as the Woodland Beavers and the Prairie Falcons girls team were knocked out in the regional round. Woodland, who had a “Cinderella-like” run through districts and won multiple crucial games, put up a tough fight and lost 55-42 against Black Hills. Defending 3A girls state champs the Prairie Falcons lost out to Garfield after going 13-7 in the regular season.
