A balanced attack on offense combined with a sturdy defensive effort enabled the Bearcats to top the Wolfpack 32-15 in the Washington Youth Basketball League 8-9-year old championship game.
It was a battle of the division’s two top teams as the Bearcats and Wolfpack split the regular season championship and headed into Tuesday’s matchup with matching 9-1 records.
“We’re very excited, the team is elated,” Bearcats coach Erin Riddick said. “They wanted this game very bad, we lost to this team the last time we played them.”
The Bearcats had a bevy of contributors as a total of six players posted points in the win. Terry Moore led all scorers with 13 points, while Jaden Hambric and Ashton Woolard scored six, Messiah Ebron tallied four, Devin Windley scored three and Christian Smith tallied two.
“We have a very unselfish team,” Riddick said. “We stress team play versus individual play and I think that’s the difference.”
The Bearcats busted out of the gate as they outscored the Wolfpack 10-3 in the first before taking a 20-4 lead into halftime.
The Wolfpack fought hard, particularly on the glass, and was led in scoring by Hundley Stallings’ six points. Sam Jones added five for the Pack, while Hayden Pippin scored three and Jadyn Thomasson scored one.
“The effort tonight was there,” Wolfpack coach Chase Stallings said. “We hustled and played hard, it’s just the Bearcats were the better team tonight. That’s just the way it goes. We beat them once during the regular season but tonight it was just their night.”
The Wolfpack adjusted in the second half and played even with the Bearcats but it was not enough to overcome the first two quarters.
Overall, the season was a success for the Wolfpack as it earned a share of the regular season championship and advanced all the way to the title game.
“It’s been a fun year,” Stallings said. “My team has been a lot of fun and were good at learning. They were very coachable and had a great set of parents and when you have great kids and great parents it makes it really easy to do. It was a lot of fun coaching these guys.”

Wolfpack    3    1    5    6    —    15
Bearcats    10    10    6    6    —    32
Wolfpack (15)
Hayden Pippin 3, Hundley Stallings 6, Jadyn Thomasson 1, Sam Jones 5.
Bearcats (32)
Jaden Hambric 6, Terry Moore 13, Messiah Ebron 4, Devin Windley 3, Ashton Woolard 6, Christian Smith 2.