Washougal girls’ season ends with 55-46 loss to Lynden in state loser-out

YAKIMA—Britney Knotts knew it wouldn’t be easy to address her Washougal girls in the locker room just minutes after the end of a season that, in her view as a first year as head coach, was defined by defying expectations.

But as the reality that the team’s trip to the Yakima Valley SunDome was over started to sink in after the Panthers’ hot start was derailed by a lopsided second quarter in a loss 55-46 to Lynden on Wednesday morning, she found the right words.

“I told them we were proud of them,” Knotts said, fighting back tears. “They did something that nobody thought they were going to do. It’s obviously still emotional.”

The Panthers made a return trip to the Yakima with a largely revamped roster from last season, which replaced two starters who transferred to Union.

And they did it led by a coach in her first year with the program.

One could have reasonably predicted Washougal making it to the 2A state tournament after the Panthers won the 2A Greater St. Helens League outright, but they were forced to overcome a bump in the road when the Panthers lost to River in the first round of the 2A district tournament. From there, they won four straight, capped by a convincing 55-38 win over Fife in the regional round.

After making it to state last season, the Panthers returned league MVP Beyonce Bea to anchor a roster that had a number of question marks.

Sure, Bea will be the unequivocal anchor. But beyond her, who else would step in to fill the loss of key players?

Knotts challenged where she saw potential, and her girls responded.

“They showed me the depth we had, which I knew we had going in,” Knotts said. “It was just a matter of them bringing it to the table. So having McKinley Stotts step up, Ashley Gibbons step up and score 20, or Tiana Barnett step up and score 16, Skylar Bea double-double, those are huge games.”

Beyonce Bea scored 15 points on Wednesday, Ashley Gibbons scored eight and Mckinley Stotts added seven for the Panthers.

Approaching Wednesday, Washougal knew Lynden moved the ball well and were a strong rebounding team.

And those were the very things that sunk them. The Panthers were outrebounded 32-22. Washougal led 13-8 after a quarter, then Lynden outscored them 19-6 in the second to take an eight point lead into half.

“They came in and just killed us on the rebounds,” Knotts said.

Washougal found its rhythm from the outside in the second half. It hit 5 of 8 3-pointers after making just one in the first half. Tiana Barnett hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to five with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Washougal was never able to reclaim the lead it relinquished in the second quarter.

Despite the loss, which was in the loser-out round of the state tournament, the Panthers looked to keep their heads held high.

“We showed great character,” Knotts said. “We fought, we battled and didn’t just roll over so I’m proud of my girls for that.”

LYNDEN 55, WASHOUGAL 46
WASHOUGAL—Kiara Cross 6, Beyonce Bea 15, Ashley Gibbons 8, Mckinley Stotts 7, Skylar Bea 0, Alexis Maniscalco 0, Maggie Hungerford 0, Emilee Smart 2, Tiana Barnett 8. Totals 17-39 (6-11) 6-9) 46.
LYNDEN—Livia Tjoelker 12, Sierra Smith 6, Keylie Hershey 18, Ruby VanderHaak 0, Natalie Amos 7, Anna VanderYacht 0, Blakely Deorge 0, Faith Baar 10, Madison Canales 0, Keyna Holleman 2, Kyla Bonsen 0. Totals 18-47 (2-15) 17-23 55.
Washougal 13 6 15 12—46
Lynden 8 19 15 13—55