Girls basketball: River Ridge 54, Washougal 38

Washougal recovered a bit after a very slow start, but it wasn’t enough to rally the Panthers in the opening round of the Class 2A district tournament in Lacey.

The Panthers turned the ball over six times in the opening quarter as River Ridge built a 19-4 lead.

“We definitely had the deer-in-the-headlights look in the first quarter,” Washougal coach Charlie Boyce said. “But after that, the kids settled down and played pretty well.”

River Ridge’s two big post players kept Washougal from rallying back into the game.

Megan Sharp had 11 points, five steals and six rebounds, while Savannah McDowell pulled down 11 rebounds for Washougal, which will face Centralia in a loser-out game Tuesday at W.F. West High School in Centralia.

Washougal (11-10) needs to win three consecutive games to reach the state tournament.

RIVER RIDGE 54, WASHOUGAL 38

WASHOUGAL (11-10) — Haley Briggs 2, Megan Sharp 11, Brooke Croeni 3, RaeAnn Allen 2, Crystal Chase 4, Megan Townsend 4, Mackenzie Pfeifer 2, Savannah McDowell 4, Kristan Graham 0, Alyssa Blankenship 8, Kaitlin Gamashe 0. Totals 10 (1) 15-20 38.

RIVER RIDGE (16-4) — Coleman 0, Montgomery 6, Brewster 10, Schultz 1, Bethany 0, Scott 4, Baker 2, Santos 0, McGill 13, Evans 2, Stephenson 16. Totals 21 (4) 8-18 54.

Washougal 4 6 11 17–38

River Ridge 19 11 10 14–54