Richland boys, Kamiakin girls come out on top on Mid-Columbia Conference championship weekend

RICHLAND, Wash, - The Mid-Columbia Conference athletic directors couldn’t have put together a better basketball schedule for the last weekend of the regular season Friday night.

And Tri-City high school basketball fans knew it too, as they showed up to Art Dawald Gym at Richland High School — almost full capacity at 3,800 people — to watch the top two MCC teams in both the boys and girls standings battle.

Richland athletic director Mike Edwards said it was the largest crowd at Dawald since the gym was remodeled 10 years ago.

In the end, Richland’s boys beat Kamiakin, 59-57, to clinch the MCC crown, maintaining their unblemished MCC record at 14-0 (16-2 overall). Kamiakin fell to 11-3 and 13-5.

In the girls opener, Kamiakin rallied from the 23-9 deficit to beat the Bombers, 54-49 — clinching the MCC title with a 14-0 record with two games left, sitting at 16-2.

BOMBERS BOYS WILL BE TOP MCC DISTRICT SEED

In the past three years, Kamiakin and Richland have either taken turns winning the conference title (Kamiakin in 2021, Richland in 2023), or shared the crown (in 2022).

And the first time the teams met, on Jan. 10 at Kamiakin, the Bombers won 72-66 in overtime.

So it didn’t seem out of character when the two teams traded the lead 10 times in the first 12 minutes.

It wasn’t until Richland senior Jordan Valencia came into the game late in the second quarter that the Bombers started to take control.

Trailing 25-24, Valencia exploded on the next three possessions by:

* Sinking a short jumper for a 26-25 Bombers lead.

* Hitting a wide-open 3-point field goal attempt.

* Stripping a Kamiakin guard of the ball at the top of the key, leading to a short bucket by Josh Woodard.

Suddenly, Richland had a 31-25 lead, and the Bombers would never give up the lead again — although Kamiakin would make it close several times down the stretch.

"(Winning the conference title) means a lot," said Woodard, who was the game’s star with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. "Kamiakin is a big rival game for us, and going undefeated in conference play is always a goal of ours."

But Woodard was quick to give credit to Valencia, who has handled not being a starter with grace.

"Jordan is such a team player. He just wants to win," Woodard said.

The other standout for Richland had to be senior Jace Vopalensky, who also scored 11 points.

But it was his in-your-face-defense on Kamiakin sharpshooter Peter Dress — who normally can sink 30-foot 3-pointers with ease.

On this night, though, Dress scored 11 points — every one of them hard earned. He used fadeaways, leaners, and turnaround shots — anything to get away from Vopalensky. Dress finished 5-for-13 from the floor, 1 for 5 from 3-point range.

"Remarkable," said Richland head coach Earl Streufert, who broke Dawald’s win record at the school a few weeks ago. "We didn’t give Jace much help, either."

KAMIAKIN GIRLS REMAIN UNBEATEN

All season long, Lane Schumacher’s Kamiakin girls have shown how deep their lineup is

It doesn’t matter if seniors Nikole Thomas (headed to Memphis next season) or Maddy Rendall (Idaho State) are having problems scoring.

Someone else always seems to step up.

On Friday night, it was junior post player Mia Howard who made the move, scoring eight points and dominating the glass with 13 rebounds.

Considering the Braves were down 23-9 in the first half — and down 29-20 at intermission — Schumacher had to remind his players who they were.

"Things were going against us. And we kept grinding, and grinding," Schumacher said. "I told the team we average 70 points a game. What’s with the 20 points at the half?"

In the third quarter, Kamiakin made a 9-2 run on Richland to cut the Bombers’ lead to 31-29.

But the Bombers’ Kylee Fox — headed to Fresno State next season — sank two 3-pointers for 41-31 lead.

There is a reason, however, why the Braves sit in first place.

They cut into the lead — even when Howard fouled out with 5:11 to go, and Thomas collected her fourth foul with 4:27 remaining.

The run came in the form of junior Nicole Wertenberger, sophomore Liv Whitemarsh, and freshman Emaunii Smith.

With Howard out, Whitemarsh and Smith starting to dominate the boards, dishing assists off to each other in the middle of a 17-2 run to end the game.

"We didn’t lose a bit at all when we lost Howard," said a smiling Schumacher. "Emauni Smith just stepped up."

Smith finished with six points and 10 rebounds.

Wertenberger scored seven of her team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter. And Thomas provided a big four-point play in that run, showing why Kamiakin is the best in the MCC.

Fox, a two-time MCC MVP, scored a game-high 19 points.