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Chatman sisters help Ridgefield girls basketball take next stepSubscriber Exclusive

Spudders in state playoffs for first time since 2007

By Meg Wochnick, Columbian staff writer

Published: February 23, 2024, 6:01am

2 Photos

Ridgefield freshman Jalise Chatman entered the postseason leading the Spudders in scoring at 13.7 points per game. (Will Denner/The Columbian) Photo Gallery

RIDGEFIELD — As the two youngest in a family of 10 where basketball runs deep, Janessa Chatman and Jalise Chatman have also grown up knowing how hoops intersects with life.

“Our dad correlates life to how you are as a basketball player,” Janessa Chatman said. “How hard you work, how much you work, and what you’re willing to put in can tell you how well you might do in life. If you’re willing to go through all the hard things to get to where you want and to have the will.”

That hard work is twofold for the Chatmans and Ridgefield girls basketball on the court.

For one, Janessa Chatman and Jalise Chatman, both starting all-league guards for the Spudders, are Ridgefield’s two leading scorers in their first season playing high school basketball together.

And second, it’s the first time Ridgefield (19-3) has qualified for state since head coach Lauren Hefflin led the Spudders there as a player her senior season in 2007 as part of a four-year state run from 2004-07.

Ridgefield plays Kingston (14-9) in Friday’s 2A opening round loser-out game at Battle Ground High School. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. as part of a doubleheader and the winner advances to the Hardwood Classic round of 12 next week at the Yakima Valley SunDome.

Basketball is deeply rooted in the Chatman family. Their father, Jeff Chatman, is a former Brigham Young University great whose 1,824 career points from 1984-88 rank sixth all-time in program history.

The Chatman sisters are the youngest of eight siblings, most of whom grew up with a basketball in their hands in Clark County and shined on area high school rosters.

Jordan Chatman and Jessica Chatman went onto play Division I basketball after graduating from Union, and Jordan Chatman signed a professional contract in 2019. Jace Chatman, who finished his prep career in Utah after leading Skyview to the 2020 Class 4A state tournament, is playing college basketball at Snow College.

Now, it’s Janessa and Jalise’s turn to forge their own path.

While it’s the first high school season Janessa Chatman, a junior, and Jalise Chatman, a freshman, together at Ridgefield, it’s not the first time they’ve been on the court at the same time. They also did an AAU season together, which is no surprise, they say, their on-court chemistry is top notch.

Soon, they extended basketball compliments to one other.

“I think Janessa is really hard working and the effort she puts in,” Jalise Chatman said. “Whatever she does, she will go and get it.”

Said Janessa Chatman: “She’s (Jalise) a very skilled player. She has a lot of talent. She works hard, which makes her talent even better. The way she can just get to the hoop and just go back on defense.”

Hefflin, in her second season as Ridgefield’s coach, speaks highly of the players’ abilities to score and defend. Jalise Chatman entered the postseason leading the Spudders in scoring at 13.7 points per game, and Janessa Chatman right behind at 12.8. But what separates the two guards is what Hefflin and her coaching staff can’t teach.

The few times the Spudders have had adversity-filled moments this season, the Chatmans are among the first to take challenges head on, the coach said. The most recent example came in last week’s winner-to-state district game against Washougal when the Spudders trailed 8-0 and 14-5 in the first quarter. Ridgefield went on to win, 63-35.

“Every time it comes up,” Hefflin said of the adversity, “it’s been those two who’ve been the first two to be unfazed. I love it. … It’s fun to have athletes like that who are unfazed.

“There’s nothing that scares them.”

Two seasons ago, Janessa Chatman was the lone freshman on a Ridgefield team that went 7-14 and is now part of the turnaround that has Spudders in the state playoffs for the first time in 16 seasons. The 19 victories so far this season is the most by a Ridgefield team since the 2007 team went 18-8.

And the Chatman sisters are enjoying the team success on the court together.

“We really created a plan in the beginning,” the elder Chatman said. “Having a goal of making it to state and putting it all together.”

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