RIDGEFIELD — The volume was turned all the way up inside Ridgefield High’s gymnasium Wednesday for a showdown between the Spudders and Columbia River to settle first place in the 2A Greater St. Helens League.
For the visiting Rapids girls basketball team, the atmosphere was especially loud.
“We couldn’t even hear our coach (Tuileisu Anderson) calling plays,” River sophomore Gracie Glavin said. “We just had to stick together.
“Our coach just kept saying, ‘be a baller.’ If we can’t hear, we know how to play in a motion, so just play through it.”
Whether it was opposing fans, the school band or their opponent on the court, the Rapids were unfazed by the noise thrown their way.
River, the defending 2A GSHL champion, took sole possession of first place in a 54-47 win over Ridgefield, sweeping the season series against the Spudders.
“We were just entirely building up to this game this whole week,” senior Emma Iniguez said. “We have the best support on our team and our coaches. It means a lot for us to win together, and all the energy for all of our team.”
The Rapids had a short rotation, with just six players seeing significant minutes Wednesday, but each of them — Iniguez, Glavin, Marley Myers, Peyton Dukes, Paige Johnson and Camy Drake — had a hand in their win.
Led by Iniguez, who scored 16 of her 21 points in the second half and drilled five 3-pointers, the Rapids responded to several Ridgefield challenges during a back-and-forth second half.
Janessa Chatman (18 points) and Jalise Chatman (17 points) helped Ridgefield extend its lead to five points midway through the third quarter before River closed on a 10-3 run, capped off by an Iniguez 3-pointer, to take a four-point lead to the fourth.
“She’s a shooter,” Glavin said of her senior teammate.
“I’m building up my confidence for sure,” Iniguez said. “My team relies on scorers — (Gracie) is a scorer, I’m a scorer, Marley is a scorer. We have scorers, so I wanted to take that step up in that role.”
River held on to a slim lead throughout the final eight minutes. After Ridgefield’s Savannah Chanda hit a 3-pointer to bring the Spudders within one point with four-and-a-half minutes left, River’s defense clamped down and allowed just one made basket for the remainder of the game.
Glavin (15 points) provided the dagger, a 3-pointer to put River up seven with under two minutes left. Myers added 10 points and Dukes chipped in eight points.
“Just staying locked in, we know mistakes are gonna happen. One small mistake on (offense), that’s OK, get back, get the ball on offense, get a steal. We do what we have to do to stay locked in the entire time,” Iniguez said.
The Rapids’ league title in 2022-23 and subsequent run to the 2A state opening round was a significant building moment for the program.
With two regular season games left in the next week against Fort Vancouver and Hockinson, the Rapids have the inside track on adding another league title.
“We’ve been together for so long, we’re building a culture,” Glavin said. “We’re locked in. We work together really well.”
COLUMBIA RIVER 54, RIDGEFIELD 47
COLUMBIA RIVER — Marley Myers 10, Peyton Dukes 8, Camy Drake 0, Paige Johnson 0, Emma Iniguez 21, Kaya Mirtich 0, Gracie Glavin 15. Totals 18 (9) 9-13 54.
RIDGEFIELD — Abigail Vance 0, Savannah Chanda 8, Ellie Petersen 0, Jalise Chatman 17, Elizabeth Swift 0, Kaylen Wingerd 0, Morgan Goode 4, Kate Wikstrom 0, Janessa Chatman 18. Totals 18 (5) 6-8 47.
Col. River 12 5 21 16—54
Ridgefield 8 11 15 13—47
