Bulldogs roll past Forks, 75-17

MONTESANO — A bank 3-pointer at the buzzer put Shayla Floch’s name into the record books as Montesano added another notch in the win column on Friday.

The Bulldogs rolled over Forks 75-17 in an Evergreen 1A League game at Bo Griffith Gym.

The Bulldogs (3-0, 12-2) started the game on a 23-0 run behind 11 points from Floch. The senior cashed in a 3-pointer just 13 seconds into the contest and added two more in the first six minutes of play.

However, it was the last shot of the night by Floch that emptied the bench with an eruption of cheers. Floch finished the game with 29 points, which included a school-record seven 3-pointers, a record set by current Montesano head coach Julie (Mattson) Graves in 1995.

“I was just relaxed and it was just flowing,” Floch said. “Josie Toyra almost got the record against Elma so my teammates were keeping track and they told me when I had five. It is pretty exciting because I’ve gone a few nights where I just cannot hit a shot and I came out tonight and it was like I’m a different person.”

Graves was happy to have some company in the record book.

“Records are made to be broken,” Graves said. “We’ve been trying to get extra shots in practice, especially on the perimeter and she just came out and shot well. Sometimes you are just in the zone and Shayla was in the zone tonight.”

Floch isn’t the only one to add her name to the record book this year as senior Toyra set the career mark for most 3-pointers made in a career when she hit her 68th against Elma on Tuesday. Toyra notched another 3-pointer on Friday and added seven of her nine points in the first quarter. Jordan Spradlin, who missed on her only 3-point attempt of the night, added 19 points in the paint, including three old-fashion 3-point plays.

Montesano’s full-court pressure crippled Forks offensively in the first half. The Bulldogs forced 16 turnovers in the first half and forced 28 turnovers on the night. When they weren’t pressing, Montesano ran a 1-3-1 zone to near perfection to hold Forks to 13 shots in the first half and only six in the second half.

Spradlin grabbed 13 rebounds, while Cheyann Bartlett finished with four assists, Hannah Quinn had three assists and Toyra added three assists and three steals.

“We preach to come out and play hard and try to get stops on every possession and hopefully that can lead to transition points for us,” Graves said. “Our defense got after it and our shots were falling tonight.”

The Bulldogs cruised out to a 54-9 lead at halftime and didn’t let up much as the reserves took over much of the playing time in the second half.

Forks 2 7 6 2 — 17 Montesano 28 26 13 8 — 75

Forks (17) — Rowley, Olson 1, DeMatties 4, Baar, Peters 12, Kratzer, Hoagland, Rondeau, Howell. FG — 5-19. FT — 9-16.

Montesano (75) — Bartlett 3, Talley 2, Toyra 9, Floch 29, Spradlin 19, Granstrom, Ekerson 1, Hutchings 6, Quinn 2, Lovell 4, Grubb. FG — 29-63. FT — 5-7.