CENTRALIA — A three-sport athlete at King’s Way Christian, senior Bridget Quinn has played a part in multiple state-qualifying Knights teams. As of Saturday, Quinn will soon be adding girls basketball to that list of state-level accomplishments. King’s Way secured its place in the Class 1A girls basketball state tournament with a 31-24 win against Columbia-White Salmon in the District 4 playoffs at Centralia High School. The Knights clinched their second state berth in program history and first since 2019. “It’s really meaningful,” Quinn said. “I’ve been to state for other sports, but basketball, I’ve been playing it my whole life, so it’s really meaningful. This team is amazing, we lift each other up, so I’m super excited to see what more we can do this season.”

Led by nine points apiece from sophomores Addison Bagley and Kallan Sharp, with Quinn adding seven points, the Knights jumped out to 1 15-9 lead after the first quarter and led wire-to-wire over the Bruins. “I’m really happy to play for our seniors because I know they’ve been fighting for four years now,” said Bagley, who added nine rebounds. “Just really happy that we have the opportunity to take our team to state.” With a 23-12 lead at halftime, King’s Way outlasted Columbia in a defensive struggle over the final 16 minutes. Sharp played a key part by forcing seven steals, and the Knights held the Bruins to six field goals in the second half. “Before each game, we get a scouting report and go through each key of what we need to do and what players we need to focus on,” Quinn said. “I think we were all really locked in for this game because we knew how important it was.”

A result like Saturday was proof of how much King’s Way has grown as a team this season. The Knights suffered a 44-33 loss to the Bruins Dec. 18 and dropped to 3-2 on the young season. The loss ended up being a turning point, as the Knights won 11 of their final 13 regular-season games. Their only two losses came against Trico League and district champion Seton Catholic. “I feel like we’ve grown a lot emotionally and physically as a team,” Bagley said. “We ran lines together, we had a lot of team bonding, but really, our coaches strengthen us, our team strengthens us and we got here together.” KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN 31, COLUMBIA-WHITE SALMON 24 COLUMBIA-WHITE SALMON (14-9) — McKena Carlock 2, Halle Kock 6, Madison Russum 0, Sara Miller 8, Joella Posini 4, Claira Camacho 4, Jacquelin Huerta 0. Totals 10 (1) 3-6 24.

KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN (16-5) — Bridget Quinn 7, Ella Lopez 2, Kaitlyn Delamarter 0, Kallan Sharp 9, Kate Kesler 4, Addison Bagley 9. Totals 14 (2) 1-3 31. Columbia               9            3            6            6—24 King’s Way             15            8            4            4—31