OLYMPIA — The River Ridge Hawks are a win away from representing the Puget Sound League’s Nisqually Division in the PSL title game and securing an automatic bid into the District 3 3A Tournament.
Led by 30 points from senior Dominique Harper, the Hawks throttled Capital 83-54 on the road Monday night to put themselves in position to control their own postseason destiny with just one more regular season game to play.
River Ridge, now on a four-game winning streak in which it has won all four games by 15 or more points, sits atop the PSL-Nisqually at 10-5, while Lakes creeps behind in second at 9-6. A potential PSL title game berth is just the first step for a Hawks team hungry to return to the state tournament for the first time in 10 years.
“It would mean everything to me,” Harper said of a chance to play for a league title. “Our team has put in a lot of work. We’ve worked our butts off to get here.”
The Hawks had to work from behind in the opening minutes against Capital. Mason Price and Jayce Choi scored the first four points of the game for the Cougars, but that promising start turned lopsided rapidly.
River Ridge finished the first quarter on a 21-3 blitz, including a run of 13 unanswered points where the Hawks held Capital scoreless for over three minutes. Harper outscored the Cougars in the first quarter, with eight points to their seven, while Zachary Ward cashed a pair of triples in the frame.
Capital’s offense ran into a buzzsaw in River Ridge’s press defense in the first half. The Hawks swarmed Cougars ballhandlers as soon as the ball was inbounded and forced them into ill-advised passes across the court, often leading to turnovers and transition baskets on the other end.
“Once they put the press on us, they sped us up, and then we just turned it over,” Capital head coach Marcus Whittaker said. “We got into the halfcourt, we didn’t run the play, couldn’t run the play, and that’s what really hurt us.”
Midway through the first half, River Ridge’s lead ballooned to 20. The Hawks got looks in the paint at will and, if they missed, they repeatedly attacked the offensive glass for second-, third-, and even fourth-chance opportunities. River Ridge led 40-21 at the half.
After a scoreless first quarter, Capital junior Carter Pennington came alive in the second quarter with nine points. He scored another nine in the third, with six coming from the free-throw line.
But it was too much Harper for Capital to handle. The senior flashed his complete arsenal of skills, including his signature athleticism with dunks and emphatic blocks, as well as his passing, ball-handling, rebounding on both ends, and on-ball defense.
Harper credited his time in the AAU circuit for developing all aspects of his game. His well-rounded toolkit has landed him six collegiate offers and counting.
“I got in a lot more guard work. I had some good teammates, players up in Seattle. I was able to get my game to the next level by passing and working on my handle,” Harper said of his AAU development.
River Ridge led by 25 after three quarters and sailed to the finish line in the fourth behind 10 from Harper in the frame.
Ethan Thomas and Ward added a dozen points apiece for River Ridge, and Ani Hicks scored nine. Alex Jones tallied six, Jorden Walker and Joaquin Garcia both logged five, and Donovan Smith contributed four. River Ridge was without junior forward Ryzen Nunez, who was sidelined due to an illness.
Pennington finished with 23 for Capital, but only one other Cougar — Price — scored more than seven. A total of 10 Capital players registered at least two points.
Even in the 29-point loss, Whittaker is beginning to see signs of growth from his young team, especially with a consistent starting lineup of Choi, Pennington, Kennon Valentine, Nolan Potts and Price in the past four games.
“I told them in the locker room that we showed spurts of how good we can be. After Christmas, our first two games were rough, but after that, we’ve been playing pretty good,” Whittaker said. “They’re starting to figure it out. Players are starting to buy in. It’s looking promising for next season.”
River Ridge (11-8, 10-5 PSL) looks to finish off its regular season with a Nisqually Division-clinching win over North Thurston (4-15, 2-13 PSL) on the road Wednesday night. A victory would pin the Hawks against PSL Narrows Division champion Bellarmine in the PSL Championship Game on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Foss High School.
Capital (5-14, 2-13 PSL) will host Timberline (6-13, 6-9 PSL) on its senior night Wednesday night in a game Whittaker called a “must-win game.” A Cougars win and losses by both Peninsula and North Thurston Wednesday will put Capital into a three-way tie for the fourth seed in the Nisqually.
As the top three seeds get automatic district bids, the winner of a Feb. 7 matchup between the No. 4 seeds from the Nisqually and Narrows divisions at Foss High School will get the fourth district spot.
“We’ve got to have a good day of practice tomorrow and come out on Wednesday locked in and ready to go,” Whittaker said. “It’s going to be a dogfight. It’s senior night. Emotions are gonna be high, but we’ve got to be clear-headed and put in work.”
