The Ridgefield girls varsity basketball team is rolling right into the postseason with a 17-2 record.
The Spudders claimed two more wins at the end of last week, a 57-45 victory over Woodland High School on Friday, Feb. 2, and defeated Washougal, 64-52, on Saturday, Feb. 3.
After the loss to Ridgefield, Woodland Beavers head coach Glen Flanagan was concerned that his team’s efforts on Friday could lead to a Ridgefield loss the next day, which would have eliminated the Beavers. Woodland was set to host Washougal High School on Tuesday, Feb. 6 for a tiebreaker to get into the postseason, but results were not available before press time.
Despite the 12-point loss, Flanagan felt like the game against the Spudders was much closer than the scoreboard indicated. Although his team is young, with only two seniors, they made progress this season following a simple dictate.
“You just tell them one possession at a time,” Flanagan said. “We’re all about beating the game, but there’s no 10-point spot, so we just win every possession, which starts with some rebounds, winning the hustle and then just taking good shots.”
For Ridgefield, sisters Jalise and Janessa Chatman led in scoring this season, both averaging 13 points per game. Jalise Chatman, a freshman, scored a game-high 18 points against Washougal on Saturday. Older sister Janessa, a junior, and the other four starters have all scored in double figures this season, team volunteer Randy Goode stated.
As Ridgefield heads into the postseason, head coach Lauren Hefflin believed the win over Woodland in that atmosphere was a positive step in the Spudders’ game management.
“It was a big step that they took today moving forward. I think Columbia River stung enough to where we wanted to continue to push through and make a push into the postseason just to prove it to ourselves so that we can believe we are who we think we are,” Hefflin said of her team’s loss to the Rapids.
Columbia River High School, the top seed in the 2A Greater St. Helens League, spoiled the Spudders’ senior night on Wednesday, Jan. 31. The Columbia River Rapids handed Ridgefield their only two losses on the season.
The No. 2-seeded Spudders will host the third seed from the Evergreen Conference at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9. As of press time, their opponent was not determined.
