TACOMA — The road just got too tough.
And, the Woodinville High School girls basketball team didn’t help itself at the most critical point of the season, chasing a repeat Class 4A state title.
Losing in last Saturday’s regional round earned the top-seeded Falcons a state quarterfinal date against the team no one wants to face in second-seeded Camas.
The Papermakers thwarted Woodinville’s run-it-back attempt with a strong second-half effort, scoring a 59-46 victory in the Class 4A state quarterfinals on Thursday night at the Tacoma Dome.
Reagan Jamison, who returned recently after about two months away with a hip injury, led Camas with 13 points. Point guard Keirra Thompson directed the second-half resurgence for the Papermakers and had nine points — all on three-pointers — and five assists and Riley Sanz added 11 points.
Brooke Beresford led the Falcons with 17 points and eight rebounds.
“Honestly, they’re really hard working. They pass the ball well, and they had a really good game tonight,” Beresford said. “I think it could’ve gone either way tonight, but they just made their shots at the end.”
Camas (23-3) advances to Friday’s Class 4A state semifinals against Tahoma (23-3) at 9 p.m. The Papermakers rode five second-half three-pointers to pull away in the second half in the quarterfinal and looked poised to bring home the school’s first state crown in the sport.
Woodinville (25-3) drops into the consolation bracket to face Gonzaga Prep (19-8) in a loser-out contest on Friday at 2 p.m.
The Papermakers finished the third quarter on an 11-4 run to take a 42-35 lead into the third quarter. Jamison supplied a pair of fast-break baskets in the run. The lead was stretched to 48-36 with 6:38 left in the game on the strength of three-pointers by Sanz and Thompson.
“I think we kept our composure really well,” Thompson said. “Throughout the game it was really close, and we all just stayed together.”
Thompson drained another trey with 4:43 left to boost the Camas’ lead to 53-39 and put Woodinville in a dire position.
Camas jumped out to a 12-5 lead, thanks to a pair of three-pointers, but the Falcons fought back and trailed 12-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Woodinville’s McCartney Noe tied the game 14-14 with a three-pointer from the left corner 50 seconds into the second quarter. Beresford gave the Falcons their first lead at 16-14 with a jumper in the lane with 6:05 to go in the second quarter.
Camas went back in front 19-16, but Woodinville responded with an 8-0 run, which included six points from Beresford. But the Papermakers closed on a 5-0 surge to tie the game 24-24 at halftime.
“Our freshmen really stepped up, and everyone just had to do what they could do and then we got on a run and it felt good,” Beresford said. “It could’ve gone either way. I think it was an awesome season, no matter what happened.”
Woodinville, the defending Class 4A state champions, made its job much tougher when it fell to No. 8 seed Emerald Ridge 67-58 in last Saturday’s regional round of the state playoffs. The Falcons had to get past No. 9 seed Richland 55-46 in a loser-out contest on Wednesday to reach the state quarterfinals.
Woodinville beat Sumner 65-63 in the championship game in 2022 to claim its first state title in the sport. Camas was fourth in 2022, the Papermakers’ first placing at state in girls basketball.
This was the first meeting at state between the two schools.