Girls Prep Basketball Roundup: Hoquiam suffers first loss of season against Black Hills
Published 6:00 am Sunday, December 7, 2025
Hoquiam lost while Willapa Valley won as we review girls prep hoops games on the Harbor.
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GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Black Hills 52, Hoquiam 37
Hoquiam suffered its first loss of the season with a 52-37 defeat to Black Hills on Saturday at Black Hills High School.
The Grizzlies (1-1 overall) struggled to find much offense outside of its top two scorers in sophomore forward Aaliyah Kennedy and senior post Sydney Gordon, who accounted for 78% of Hoquiam’s points in the game.
The Grizzlies started slow, scoring just five points in a first quarter on three free throws and a lone field goal from Kennedy.
In the game at halftime trailing 24-17, Hoquiam saw the game get away from them in the third quarter as the Wolves (3-0) held an 18-8 advantage in the period, with Kennedy scoring six of the Grizzlies’ eight points in the frame.
The 17-point deficit to start the final quarter proved to be too much to overcome as Hoquiam felt defeat for the first time this season.
“Tough game on the road against Black Hills,” Hoquiam head coach Chad Allan said. “Super proud of the effort the team gave tonight. We just don’t have enough experienced players at this point, but we are getting better.”
Kennedy continued her solid start to the season with another double-double, scoring 17 points while grabbing 17 rebounds.
Gordon had 12 points and nine rebounds for a Grizzlies team that shot 28% from the field (28%) and 57% from the free-throw line (11-19).
Point guard Lexi LaBounty (2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals) was credited by Allan for her ability to “carry the team in so many ways offensively and defensively that don’t show up in the scoring column.”
By contrast, Black Hills shot 43% from the floor on 22-of-51 shooting.
Hoquiam also committed 20 turnovers in the game.
“Twenty turnovers and 28% shooting did not help us,” Allan said.
Hoquiam hosts Ilwaco in a non-league game at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Hoquiam 5 12 8 12 – 37
Black Hills 9 15 18 10 – 52
Scoring: Hoquiam – Kennedy 17, S. Gordon 12, Haskey 4, LaBounty 2, Betancourth 2. Black Hills – Venable 19, Buchanan 17, McMahon 6, O’Reilly 4, Morrison 4, Dolby 2.
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Willapa Valley 62, Ilwaco 25
Willapa Valley earned its first win of the season with a 62-25 victory over Ilwaco on Friday at Willapa Valley High School in Menlo.
The Vikings (1-1) held the Fishermen (0-2) to 13 points through the first three periods – including a scoreless third quarter – and had the game well in hand by halftime, leading 44-13.
“We came out with a plan to attack the basket and be aggressive on defense with a combination of good looks at the basket and a strong defensive presence throughout the whole game,” Valley head coach Dawn Keeton said. “It gave us that 19-point edge in the first quarter.”
Sophomore Tylar Keeton led the Vikings with 23 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Valley sophomore guard Kaelynn Ashley had 11 points and three steals while senior guard Lauren Matlock had a solid floor game with nine points, nine rebounds and a game-high seven assists.
Senior center Paislee Hurley had six points and a team-best 10 rebounds for the Vikings.
Willapa Valley shot 46% from the floor (23-50), including 6 of 13 from beyond the arc (46%).
The Vikings also got to the free-throw line, converting 10-of-23 shots from the charity stripe (43%).
Valley had 38 rebounds as a team, 12 steals to just seven turnovers, and dished out 20 assists.
”It was great to see the girls share the ball,” Coach Keeton said. “Sharing the ball was amazing today, a lot of great teamwork.”
The Vikings open 1B Coastal League play against Mary M. Knight at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at Mary M. Knight High School.
Ilwaco 6 7 0 12 – 25
Willapa Valley 25 19 12 6 – 62
Scoring: Ilwaco – Hughes 6, Bickell 6, Johnson 6. Willapa Valley – Keeton 23, Ashley 11, Matlock 9, Hurley 6, Andrews 5, Verboomen 5, Fluke 3.
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Aberdeen 56, Rochester 46
Aberdeen led wire to wire for a 56-46 victory over Rochester in the Bobcats season opener on Saturday in Aberdeen.
The Bobcats (1-0) led 14-9 after one quarter of play capped by a three from guard Bentley Brown and took a double-digit lead into the half after guard Sophia Knutson grabbed an offensive rebound – her sixth board of the first half – and scored on a put-back for a 28-18 lead.
In the third quarter, Brown helped Aberdeen extend the lead with a baseline drive and reverse layup followed by an offensive rebound and putback at 5:14 to play in the period.
Consecutive layups in transition from Knutson and Kensie Ervin put Aberdeen up 42-30 heading to the fourth quarter.
Aberdeen’s fast break continued to provide dividends in the final frame as Brown scored on two straight breakout layups keyed off outlet passes from Madi Ritter and Sawyer Shoemaker as Aberdeen scored 14 points in each quarter of the game.
“I am incredibly proud of the effort our girls displayed tonight. For a first game of the season, we moved the ball exceptionally well and consistently created the offensive opportunities we had targeted,” Aberdeen head coach Dan Brown said. “Our depth was a real asset, with Madi Ritter and Maddy Baker coming off the bench to provide significant, valuable minutes. Sophie did a masterful job managing the flow of the game, Bentley played a solid overall turnover-free game, and Kensie gave us the constant, tenacious defensive pressure that was crucial to our success.”
Knutson scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Bobcats.
Brown had 17 points with Ervin scoring nine points for Aberdeen.
Ritter had eight rebounds to lead the Cats.
The Bobcats shot 36% from the field on 23-of-64 shooting and hit 8-of-16 free throws (50%).
Rochester (0-3) went 13 of 73 from the field (18%) and converted 11-of-24 free throws (46%).
Aberdeen’s junior varsity team won 48-4.
Chelsea Reeves (16 points) and Anni Devine (12 pts.) led the Bobcats JV squad.
Aberdeen plays at Hoquiam at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Rochester 9 9 12 16 – 46
Aberdeen 14 14 14 14 – 56
Scoring: Rochester – Hoover 18, Dupont 14, Rodriguiz 7, Eshrada 7. Aberdeen – Knutson 22, Brown 17, Ervin 9, Shoemaker 4, Baker 4.
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Other games
Quilcene 45, Lake Quinault 5
