High School Sports

KENT — Brittany McPhee promised her Mount Rainier team would play with a chip on its shoulder after losing for the first time.

It must be the size of a two-by-four.

The second-ranked Rams avenged that loss by clubbing No. 4 Federal Way, 60-40, in the championship game of the West Central/Southwest 4A bi-district girls basketball tournament Monday night at the ShoWare Center.

When the teams played for the South Puget Sound League title 10 days earlier on the same floor, Federal Way's Darah Huertas-Vining singed the Rams with six third-quarter three-pointers to spark a 58-50 victory.

That didn't sit well with Mount Rainier.

"We all came out really intense, wanting to show that we could play better and do better than we did," McPhee said.

Huertas-Vining saw little daylight Monday and finished with 10 points.

McPhee, a sophomore forward, hit for 22 and twin Jordan McPhee added 11. Kiana Gandy contributed 14.

The Rams (24-1), in just their second year at Class 4A, play Bethel at 6 p.m. Saturday at Auburn. Federal Way (21-4), which had won 11 straight, also plays at Auburn at 8 p.m. against the winner of Tuesday's play-in game between No. 7 Stanwood and Skyline.

Mount Rainier never trailed Monday and took control with a 13-2 run to end the first half, fueled by Maylynn Mitchell's two three-pointers.

Federal Way, which won last year's tournament and went on to place second at state, also got 10 points from Dyesha Belhumeur.

Other title games

3A: Prairie 59, Wilson 44

The top-ranked Falcons (23-1) were thrown off their normal routine when their bus was delayed in traffic and the game started 20 minutes late. It showed for a half as they led the No. 3 Rams just 15-9.

"I think it broke up our rhythm, but I'm not going to make any excuses," coach Al Aldridge said.

Prairie, which also won last year's title and went on to finish second at state, has won 23 in a row since a season-opening loss to 4A Skyview of Vancouver. It was the first in-state loss for Wilson (20-3), which had won 16 in a row.

The Falcons were up by 15 entering what turned out to be a wild fourth quarter, where both teams exploded for 30 points. Wilson was within nine with 5:04 to play, but got no closer. Kaysha Fox scored 15 of her 19 in the final stanza for the Rams.

Cori Woodward led a trio of Prairie players in double figures with 19, 10 in the fourth. Megan Lindsley scored 10 of her 17 in the fourth.

Both teams play in the regional at Rogers of Puyallup Saturday. Wilson takes on Cleveland at 4, while Prairie plays Juanita at 6.

2A: White River 41,

Port Angeles 32

Freshman Amanda Lance hit four straight three-pointers to open the second quarter and jump-start the fifth-ranked Hornets (24-2), who were ice cold to start the game. They missed their first 13 shots, including a pair of three-point tries by Lance.

But like any good shooter, she kept firing and heated up in a hurry, finishing with 15 points.

"I just thought, I've got to do what I've got to do to help the team and be there for everybody," Lance said. "So I tried as hard as I could and focused."

"She saved us there," coach Chris Gibson said. "She got on a great run and we found her open. That was big. We were really struggling offensively."

Kennedy Hobert contributed 12 points and eight rebounds, while Cassidy France was good for eight points and five steals.

Port Angeles (17-8), who also lost to White River in the subdistrict semifinals 11 days earlier, got off to a 6-0 start, then went scoreless for than 11 minutes as the Hornets went on a 17-0 run.

White River faces Sehome Friday at 6 p.m. at Mount Tahoma.