3 Washington high school basketball games with league-title implications you should not have missed

Scott Thompson certainly loves hanging 4A GSHL girls basketball championship banners in the rafters of the home gymnasium.

And the top-ranked Papermakers added to that total Friday night.

Led by Keirra Thompson's career-high 26 points, Camas emerged out of hostile cross-town rivalry territory with a 71-56 victory over Union.

The Papermakers now have won three 4A GSHL titles in a row - and four in the past five years, which is something Scott Thompson does not want his players to take for granted.

"I don't take those things lightly," Thompson said. "We won a game where we'll put a 2023 banner up in the rafters in the school. ... It was a cool moment."

And they had to survive a test - mainly in the form of ninth grader Brooklynn Haywood, who scored a game-high 36 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including six 3-pointers.

Sixteen of Haywood's points came in the first quarter as the Titans built an 18-8 lead.

But Keirra Thompson and the Camas' 3-ball - the Papermakers made 12 of them - slowly cut into the deficit.

And in the third quarter, they went on a 23-7 run over the first 5:56 to blow the game open, taking a 58-39 lead.

"We came out, and it was brilliant basketball in the third quarter," Scott Thompson said. "We kept moving (the ball), and it was landing in wide-open players' hands."

UNION BOYS DENY CAMAS FROM CLINCHING TITLE

Defending 4A GSHL champion Union wasn't in the mood to watch another team celebrate winning the league title on the Titans' homecourt.

So they did something about it - late.

Union ended the final 4:21 on a 14-0 run to clinch a 76-65 victory over Camas.

Yanni Fassilis had a big night - 31 points, school-record 18 rebounds and seven blocked shots - in fueling the comeback.

"Our kids pride themselves ... over our league (title) winning streak)," Union boys coach Blake Conley said. "We didn't want them to celebrate on our court."

And a 12th consecutive 4A GSHL title is still alive for the Titans, who have to beat Skyview next week, and hope Camas loses to Battle Ground to force a first-place tiebreaking game.

Camas dug out of an early hole behind 14 3-pointers, and held a 65-62 lead before the Titans finished with a flurry.

Josiah Baldassare's corner 3-pointer gave Union the lead for good - 67-65 - with three minutes to go.

Camas missed its final 10 field-goal attempts, including eight 3-pointers.

"We took some lumps early," Conley said. "Bottom-line, we are playing a lot better."

MEAD GIRLS WIN ANOTHER GSL TITLE THURSDAY

Quantae Anderson would never short-change his team on season-long expectations, but even he wasn't certain what to expect heading into this winter after graduating five seniors off a Class 4A fifth-place squad.

The results? Another Greater Spokane League crown.

And the Panthers had to run the gauntlet this week to clinch back-back league titles - first defeating 2019-20 state champion Central Valley (61-48) before sewing it up outright with a 54-37 victory Thursday at Mount Spokane.

"There is a little bit of both (lines of thinking) - expecting your team to be there because you know who you have, but also you know they are young and inexperienced in varsity basketball," Anderson said.

The catalyst, of course, is junior Teryn Gardner.

Gardner tallied 21 points in the win over Central Valley, then had a game-high 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, against the Wildcats.

In fact, Gardner's 3-pointers, as well as two other long-range shots from Addison Wells, came at an opportune time as the Panthers broke open a tight game for a 39-28 lead.

"The best part is her leadership right now - everyone on our team looks to her," Anderson said of Gardner. "She’s become a person who leads ... and brings people with her."