Riverhawk battle ends in runner up finish
A heartbreaking end to an otherwise successful season for the Umpqua Community College women’s basketball team came Tuesday evening, March 4 at the Toyota Center in Kennewick, Washington.
An estimated 1100 hostile Columbia Basin Hawk fans made a short journey from Pasco and the surrounding Tri-Cities to support their local team in the championship final. Their effect on the game was evident from tip-off.
Columbia Basin (27-4, 13-1 East) forced the Riverhawks (24-7, 10-2 South) into 14 first-half turnovers, that fed a 25-1 run mid-way through the half. CBC stretched their lead to 42-19, before the Riverhawks responded with five unanswered points to close out the half.
Umpqua came out swinging in the second-half with a 10-0 run. Back-to-back baskets by freshman Ashli Payne helped cut the Riverhawk deficit to 34-42 with 16:48 to play.
Columbia Basin responded with a pair of 3-pointers stretching their lead back to double digits. Umpqua continued trading baskets with the CBC Hawks before Payne and Smith fouled out with more than five minutes to play in regulation.
CBC would go on and cruise to an 86-74 victory, sparking a celebration at mid-court. Many of the Columbia Basin Hawk fans continued to heckle the visibly upset Riverhawks players well after the final buzzer sounded. It was Columbia Basin’s fourth NWAACC title in school history.
Tuesday evening’s championship marked the final game in a Riverhawk uniform for sophomores Asia Smith, Kyndal Charleston, Leilani Morris, Rachel Sample and Hannah Hawkins.
“It’s really unfortunate to have worked so hard for the last six months and lose in the championship game,” Hawkins stated. “It’s even harder to see everyone so emotional afterwards.”
“Hard to believe how far we’ve come since the beginning of season and how much we have accomplished,” forward Marcel Ortiz added. “It has been an unbelievable year. We’ve done so much and are so close it’s hard to imagine a better team.”
Umpqua kept the contest close due to a number of key contributions. Smith recorded her second straight double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore Rachel Sample had her second straight 20 point game coming off the bench. Forward Kayla Bice added four points and a game-high 13 boards, while Payne contributed 15 points and five assists. Kyndal Charleston chipped in 11 points, two assists and two blocks.
“Really blessed to coach this group, I hate to see the season end,” coach Dave Stricklin stated.
Despite coming up short in the championship final, the future looks bright for the Riverhawks. They look to bring back a number of key players from this season’s team. Conference player of the year, Ashli Payne, along with starters Romanalyn Inocencio and Kayla Bice are tenative to return in 2014-15 for their sophomore seasons.