Panthers prevail
It was a magical moment inside the Yakima Valley SunDome on March 2, as the Washougal Panthers girls basketball team won its school’s first state basketball title.
It was a magical moment inside the Yakima Valley SunDome on March 2, as the Washougal Panthers girls basketball team won its school’s first state basketball title.
When it comes to girls’ basketball in Washougal there are two eras — before and after Beyonce Bea arrived on the Panthers hardwood.
As the buzzer sounded and the Washougal girls basketball team screamed with excitement on March 2, their state championship celebration was drowned out for a moment by the noise coming from a small sea of orange-clad fans in the stands.
A six-hour van ride is a long time to prepare for a game, but the Washougal Panthers girls basketball team made good use of the extra time, arranging a short practice in the Tri-Cities along the way and bonding as a team all the way to their 2A regional seeding playoff game in Spokane, where they topped East Valley, the No. 2-ranked team, 52-45.
The Camas gymnastics team pulled off one of its greatest stunts to date last week, winning the 4A state meet for the second consecutive year and earning one of the top three scores in Washington state history at the state gymnastics championships, held Friday, Feb. 22, at Sammamish High School in Bellevue.
Washougal High School may have to build a larger trophy case as the Washougal girls basketball team continues to bring home substantial hardware during its quest for a state championship.
The Washougal High girls basketball team made history even before the postseason started by wrapping up the program’s first-ever undefeated league season with a 66-27 victory over the Columbia River Chieftains at a home game, Feb. 5.
In a season that started with a new coaching staff, new systems, new plays, and even new players, as most starters from last year’s league championship team graduated, the Camas girls basketball has pushed through the changes to continue its championship ways.
There was a time early this season when the Camas boys basketball team was ranked among the top 10 in the state. As the season progressed, the Papermakers record shifted away from the top of the pack, and landed at 12-8 overall by the time Camas was set to play the Battle Ground Tigers on Jan. 30, for a spot in the playoffs.