HS Girls Basketball: King's Way Christian Takes Down Kalama in OT Thriller

1/28/25

(Kalama, WA) With the top four teams from the Trico 1A conference making it to the district tournament and the top two getting to host a quarterfinal matchup, Tuesday night’s showdown between the King’s Way Christian Knights and Kalama Chinooks would go a long way in deciding who the #2 team would be in the league. With everyone chasing Seton Catholic, the Knights entered the game with a one game lead over Kalama after winning the first game between the teams, 54-42. For Kalama, Tuesday night gave them an opportunity to create a tie between them and the Knights for that second seed with just three games to go.

Things did not start off good for either side as it seemed early on in the opening quarter both teams tried to play too fast. The magnitude of the game was a wrinkle for both teams as Kalama took a 3-1 lead as the offenses struggled. An even larger issue popped up for Kalama as Hannah Johnson picked up two 1st quarter fouls. The senior was tasked with guarding King’s Way Christian’s leading scorer in Addison Bagley so she had to play smart defense. The Knights would go on a 10-0 run to end the 1st with five different players scoring. After the first eight minutes, KWC held an 11-3 lead.

Kalama would make a change on defense as Bridgette Hollifield was switched onto Bridget Quinn who used her speed to help that 10-0 run. Hollifield was able to cut off the initial drives from Quinn and the Chinooks would go on a 6-0 run to begin the 2nd. Aubrey Doerty and Hannah Johnson were the scorers on that run but the good vibes for the Chinooks didn’t last. Bridget Quinn would sink a couple of threes to wake up the Knights on offense. 8th grader Ella Lopez would also sink a shot at the buzzer to end the half on an 8-0 run for the Knights. Going into halftime, it was King’s Way Christian with a 19-9 lead.

Everything changed in the 3rd quarter as Kalama’s defense shutdown King’s Way Christian while the Chinooks got going on offense. Leading scorer on the season, Aubrey Doerty took the game over for Kalama but when she did miss, Hannah Johnson was there to clean up the second chance opportunities. Johnson only picked up one more foul in the game after two in the 1st quarter which kept the senior on the floor for the bulk of the second half. Rylie Cadigan also drilled a three to put Kalama out in front for the first time since it was 3-1. However, Alana Poe continued her great game for King’s Way Christian with a huge and-one in the final seconds of the quarter. Poe would hit the free throw to give the Knights a 24-23 lead going into the 4th.

With just eight minutes remaining, the two teams put on a fun and exciting 4th quarter. Doerty and Johnson continued to pour in points for Kalama as the Chinooks ended up with an eight-point lead after Doerty cashed in a three right in front of the Kalama student section. However, Bridget Quinn drained another huge three while Addison Bagley really got going inside for the Knights. Kallan Sharp also knocked down a big shot as the game ended up being tied at 36-36 in the final minute. With time for an inbounds play and a shot to win it, Kalama would elect to have Delaney Rinard take the final shot. A three from Rinard would bounce in and back out as the horn sounded. A great look just didn’t drop and we were off to overtime.

One four-minute period would decide this one and it was the Knights who took control. Quinn hit her fourth three of the game to give KWC the lead early in OT and then the defense took over. Kalama couldn’t get going on offense and after Bridgette Hollifield fouled out, the Knights were able to drive and get to the free throw line often. King’s Way Christian went 11-20 from the free throw line while Kalama went 5-14 from the stripe. That was the difference in the game as King’s Way Christian iced it away from the free throw line to knock off Kalama in OT, 47-41.

Our Thorbeckes MVP of the game went to Bridget Quinn for King’s Way Christian. She would score all 18 of her points in short spurts, but her four threes all came in huge situations. Not only did Quinn hit a three in OT that put the Knights ahead for good, she also sealed the game away with a couple of free throws in the overtime period as well. Scoring ten points more than her season average, Quinn stepped up in a huge way as the senior point guard was the difference maker for the Knights.

With the win, King’s Way Christian moves to 12-3 on the season and 9-2 in league play. The Knights can lock up a quarterfinal home game in the district tournament with a win on Thursday night at home against La Center. Kalama drops to 10-7 overall and 7-4 in league play. The Chinooks will just need to win one of their final three games to lock up a spot in districts and their first chance comes on Thursday when they visit the first place Seton Catholic Cougars.

Scoring

King’s Way Christian: Bridget Quinn 18, Addison Bagley 10, Alana Poe 5, Ella Lopez 4, Kallan Sharp 4, Kate Kesler 4, Kaitlyn Delamarter 2

Kalama: Aubrey Doerty 19, Hannah Johnson 13, Rylie Cadigan 6, Rylie Bromley 3

Link to watch full game replay on the NFHS Network (subscription required)

ESN Postgame Show