Girls Prep Basketball Roundup: Hoquiam hammers Elma to take control of league-title race

Published 1:30 am Sunday, January 18, 2026

It was a busy weekend as we review girls prep hoops games on the Harbor.

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GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL

Hoquiam 55, Elma 31

Hoquiam added another statement win to its current league-leading season with a 55-31 victory over Elma on Friday at Hoquiam Square Garden.

With the two teams tied atop the 1A Evergreen League entering the game, the Grizzlies (9-5, 3-0 1A Evergreen) struck early and often against the Eagles (3-6, 2-1).

Hoquiam scored the first 11 points of the game, paced by eight point from sophomore forward Aaliyah Kennedy.

A Kennedy offensive rebound and putback put the Grizzlies up 23-3 with 1:16 to play before Elma sophomore sharpshooter Mikayla Roberts buried a 3-pointer to make it a 23-5 game after one quarter of play.

“We continue to work on our attack game,” Hoquiam head coach Chad Allan said. “Everyone was in their right spacing spots to be able to challenge and open up the avenues, which was part of our game plan tonight and, obviously, defense.”

Hoquiam went back up by 20 points when senior guard Lexi LaBounty hit 2-of-3 free throws with under a half-minute elapsed in the second quarter.

But Elma followed with a 10-0 run, capped by a pair of free throws from freshman guard Mercedes Carter, to get back in the game at 25-15 with just over two minutes left in the first half.

“We made some adjustments and switched to a 2-3 zone,” Elma head coach Brandi Henry said. “We were getting a lot of tips and going into the half, we had seven steals and we felt like that really made a difference.”

Eagles plans to enter the break down double digits were thwarted as another bucket from the low block by Kennedy followed by an and-1 basket in the paint and free throw from senior post Sydney Gordon had Hoquiam ahead 30-15 at halftime.

The Grizzlies put the game out of reach in the third quarter, leading by as much as 25 points when Kennedy hit a three with 2:45 on the clock and held a 44-21 lead entering the fourth after another low-post bucket from Gordon to end the period.

The Eagles opened the fourth quarter on an 8-1 run, highlighted by back-to-back threes from junior guard Kahlea Tolentino and Roberts, to trim the deficit to 45-29 with 6:04 remaining.

But Hoquiam went on to score the next seven points to secure the victory, claiming sole possession of the league’s top spot in the process.

“It’s super exciting for me as a coach to continue to work on the things we’ve been working on the past few years and actually see spacing, cuts, reading and working with each other,” Allan said. “It always takes a little time to gel, but at the same time, people are in the right areas, doing the right things and making better decisions.”

Kennedy had another monster game, recording a double-double with 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting (66%), grabbing 12 rebounds and recording a team-high six steals in another MVP-like performance.

Gordon scored 20 points and grabbed five board while sophomore guard Avery Brodhead pulled down 10 rebounds for a Hoquiam team that outrebounded Elma 33-23.

Hoquiam went 18-for-58 from the field (31%), made 13-of-18 free throws (72%) and committed 21 turnovers.

Elma was led by Roberts with 11 points and three steals.

The Eagles were hampered by foul troubles throughout the game, specifically to leading-scorer Olivia Moore, who took a seat early in the first quarter after picking up two quick fouls and spent significant time on the bench in the second half with four fouls.

“(Hoquiam) came out on fire and ready to go, and Olivia getting in foul trouble hurt us and put us in a hole,” Henry said of the young Eagles’ senior leader, who finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and two assists. “We need our Liv and our team knows that. We put a lot of trust in her.”

With Moore out for large swaths of the game, the Eagles struggled to knock down shots. Elma shot 21% from the field on 10-of-47 shooting, including 4 of 21 from beyond the arc (19%), and turned the ball over 21 times to just 13 for Hoquiam.

With the loss, Elma now sits in a tie for second place with Montesano, one game behind the Grizzlies in the league race.

“We were telling them, ‘Don’t hang your heads. This isn’t the be-all, end-all,’” said Henry to her players after the game, many of whom were experiencing an important, pressure-filled game for the first time in their varsity careers. “We have another opportunity. We believe in them and they believe too and that’s the key part. … We can be sad about this and be bummed, but we need to take it as a learning experience and get better from it for the next go-around.”

The win was another big notch in the belt for the Grizzlies as Elma entered the game seemingly having turned a corner with two straight victories.

Hoquiam now has league wins over Montesano and Elma, the two teams likely to challenge the Grizzlies for the league crown.

“For me, this was a tough game,” Allan said. “This was not only important for us, but the matchup was going to be difficult. … Elma has a couple of solid scorers and I expected it to be a tight game. We got lucky we kind of threw a few punches early, attacking and drawing fouls on the opponent. … My message to the kids was, ‘You have to stay hungry because now we have a target (on us). We’re going to get everybody’s biggest punch for the next section (of the schedule) and if you’re not ready for it, the opposing teams can take advantage of that.’”

Hoquiam plays at Rochester while Elma visits Montesano in league games set for 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday.

Elma – 5 10 6 10 – 31

Hoquiam – 23 7 14 11 – 55

Scoring: Elma – Roberts 11, Moore 10, Tolentino 3, Monroe 3, Carter 2, Vest 2. Hoquiam – Kennedy 28, S. Gordon 20, LaBounty 4, Betancourth 3.

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Tumwater 70, Aberdeen 42

Aberdeen lost its fourth league game in as many tries with a 70-42 defeat to Tumwater on Friday at Tumwater High School.

Aberdeen (3-9, 0-4 2A Evergreen) trailed 24-11 after one quarter of play and saw the game get away from them after the Thunderbirds (8-6, 3-1) won the third frame 21-9 to take a 59-35 lead after three periods.

Aberdeen had 35 turnovers in the game while Tumwater “dominated on 50-50 balls and offensive rebounds,” according to Bobcats head coach Dan Brown, leading to the T-Birds taking 34 more shots that the Bobcats in the game.

Aberdeen was led by sophomore standout Bentley Brown with 20 points.

Sophie Knutson (8 assists), Kensie Ervin (9 rebounds) and Cheyanna Kohn (5 rebounds) also made contributions to the Aberdeen effort.

“The game was very physical and Tumwater came out of the gates really strong. We were not ready for the intensity,” Aberdeen head coach Dan Brown said. “We fought back in the second quarter and closed the gap but shot 2 of 12 in the third quarter. When we got shots tonight, we shot a pretty high percentage and we made our free throws, but we turned over the ball too many times. Cheyanna Kohn came off the bench and rebounded well. I love the energy that Maddie Ritter brought on defense.”

Aberdeen shot 41% on 15-of-37 shooting from the field and 11-of-14 from the free-throw line (79%).

The Thunderbirds went 21 of 71 from the field (30%) and 19 of 30 from the charity stripe (63%).

Aberdeen sits in last place in the 2A Evergreen Conference and will host Black Hills at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Aberdeen 11 15 9 7 – 42

Tumwater 24 14 21 11 – 70

Scoring: Aberdeen – Brown 20, Knutson 6, Ervin 6, Shoemaker 4, C. Kohn 4, Ritter 2. Tumwater – Williams 23, Brewer 10, Wilson 8, Demaris 7, Buono 6, Eggers 6, Eygobrood 2, Burke 2, Lee 2, Cooper 2.

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Ocosta 46, North Beach 39

Ocosta defeated North Beach 46-39 in a non-league game on Friday at North Beach High School.

Ocosta (5-7) led 17-10 after a first quarter thanks to five different Wildcats scoring in the frame.

The Hyaks (4-10) responded with a big second quarter, led by 11 points from junior guard Elka Cox, to take a 26-21 lead into the half.

But North Beach’s offense went cold in the third quarter, with Cox hitting the Hyaks’ lone field goal in the period, while Ocosta surged ahead 32-28 thanks in large part to juniors Elly Mirante (6 points) and Peyten Morris (5 pts.).

Mirante scored seven of her game-high 20 points in the fourth, with sophomore Bristol Towle adding six points in the period, to lead Ocosta to the win.

Mirante led the way for the Wildcats with a double-double, adding 13 rebounds to her 20-point night.

Morris (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) and Towle (10 pts., 4 ast., 3 steals) also scored in double figures for Ocosta.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our girls for sticking with it, even when the scoreboard wasn’t going our way,” Ocosta head coach Hunter Hatton said. “Elly played her heart out inside for us tonight and we really needed it.”

The Wildcats shot 31% from the floor on 17-of-54 shooting and made 9-of-10 free throws (45%).

North Beach was led by Cox with 19 points.

The Hyaks shot 25% from the field on 13-of-53 shooting, including 7 of 26 from beyond the arc (27%) and made 6-of-12 free throws (50%).

Ocosta hosts Wishkah Valley in a 1B Coastal League game at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

North Beach hosts Chief Leschi in a 2B Pacific League game at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Ocosta 17 4 11 14 – 46

North Beach 10 16 2 11 – 39

Scoring: Ocosta – Mirante 20, Morris 11, Towle 10, Gutierrez-Murillo 3, Pratt 2. North Beach – Cox 19, Bryson 8, M. McCrory 7, Hendricks 3, Z. McCrory 2.

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Naselle 46, Mary M. Knight 42

Despite another solid defensive effort, Mary M. Knight fell to Naselle in a 1B Coastal League game on Friday at Mary M. Knight High School.

The Owls (7-6, 3-4 1B Coastal) held the first-place Comets (11-4, 6-0) to 17% field-goal shooting in the game, but struggled against the Naselle press, leading to the Comets attempting 24 more shots than MMK.

Though league-MVP Cloey Fletcher had fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter, the Owls had tied the game at 39-all with two minutes left to play.

But Fletcher wasn’t the only Owls player in foul trouble as senior post Maelynn Nygaard and eight-grade guard Peyton Gonzales fouled out down the stretch.

Without three of its top players, Mary M. Knight eventually suffered a disheartening four-point loss.

“We just couldn’t finish it off,” MMK head coach Jake Goldy said. “When you are nine girls deep and you only play six most of the time, it gets a little tough.”

Naselle shot 17% from the field on 12-of-70 shooting and made 19-of-34 free throws (56%).

The Owls made more shots from the field than the Comets, converting 16-of-46 field goals (35%), and hit 7-of-14 free throws (50%).

But MMK committed 34 turnovers against Naselle’s press defense, leading to the difference in attempted shots.

“In the first quarter, I felt pretty good. Then the turnovers started mounting,” Goldy said. “We are starting to play really well except for the turnovers. … We just threw the ball away too much.”

Senior guard Carissa Reeves led MMK with 13 points.

Junior forward Bella Buck had a team-high 10 rebounds while Nygaard added eight boards, three steals and a block for the Owls.

With the loss, Mary M. Knight can finish no better than third placed in the 1B Coastal League.

The Owls face Willapa Valley in a key league matchup at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Willapa Valley High School.

Naselle 7 11 18 10 – 46

MMK 16 5 14 7 – 42

Scoring: Reeves 13, Fletcher 8, Ziegler 6, Buck 5, Gonzales 5, Nygaard 5. Naselle – M. Dunagan 12, Rose 8, Davis 8.

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Ocosta 38, Shoreline Christian 26

Ocosta won its second non-league game in as many days with a 38-26 victory over Shoreline Christian on Saturday in Shoreline.

The Wildcats (6-7) showed no ill effects of a long road trip, shutting out the Chargers (2-11) in the second quarter en route to a comfortable 26-4 halftime lead.

Ocosta was outscored 22-12 in the second half, but held on for the victory.

Junior Elly Mirante led the Wildcats with another double-double, scoring 15 points, grabbing 13 rebounds with four steals.

Sophomore Bristol Towle scored in double figures with 13 points to go along with five steals and five rebounds while freshman Allie Byers “was all over the floor, defensively,” with six steals, according to Ocosta head coach Hunter Hatton.

“Our girls played great ball early, especially considering the 2 1/2-hour bus ride,” he said. “Defensively we played very well, staying out of foul trouble. … It was great team win.”

Ocosta went 13 for 43 from the field (30%) and made 11-of-19 free throws (58%).

Ocosta 10 16 5 7 – 38

Shoreline Christian 4 0 12 10 – 26

Scoring: Ocosta – Mirante 15, Towle 13, Morris 6, Gutierrez 2, Wolfley 2. Shoreline Christian – A. Deaokkoek 9, Taylor 8, Martin 3, E. Deaoekkoek 2, Smith 2.

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Other games

Willapa Valley 53, Wishkah Valley 41

Neah Bay 73, Taholah 34 (Saturday)