State Basketball Roundup: Clock strikes midnight on Willapa Valley’s Cinderella story

Published 1:30 am Thursday, March 3, 2022

Willapa Valley’s Cinderella run into the state tournament was cut short after a 46-32 loss to Pomeroy Wednesday night in Spokane.

Sixteenth-seeded Willapa Valley (13-10 overall) opened its Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 1B State Girls Basketball Tournament in unwelcome fashion — dealing with cold shooting and low-offensive output.

Vikings senior forward Hannah Hamilton hit a pair of free-throws to give Willapa Valley an early 2-0 lead in the game’s opening minutes, but a long cold spell soon followed that had the Vikings behind the 8-ball. The Vikings went 0-for-9 from the field in the first quarter to fall behind 10-2 and their offensive struggles continued into the second period.

Willapa Valley missed its first eight shots in the second quarter until junior point guard Brooklyn Patrick hit a jump shot at the 3:08 mark of the frame, cutting the deficit to 18-7 against the No. 8 Pirates (15-5).

But aside from five free throws and Patrick’s jumper, that was all the offense Willapa Valley could muster, going 1-for-22 from the field in the first half (4.5%) and trailing 21-7 at halftime.

Putting the first half behind them, Willapa Valley found some offense over the game’s final 16 minutes, going 10-for-24 from the field (41.7%) in the second half.

The Vikings pulled to within two possessions at 25-19 on a Patrick jumper with 1:31 left in the third quarter.

But that was as close as the Vikings would get as Pomeroy would hold a 10-12 point lead through much of the fourth quarter to cut Willapa Valley’s playoff run short.

The Vikings were led by Patrick, who scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting (57%), but Willapa Valley went 11-for-46 (23.9%) from the field in the game.

Willapa Valley senior Lanissa Amacher scored nine points and a team high 11 rebounds while Hamilton scored seven points and grabbed six boards for a Vikings team that outrebounded the Pirates 42-39.

Pomeroy was led by Keely Maves, who scored 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.

Willapa Valley was dealt a blow early in the game when the team’s “emotional leader” in senior Chayse Coady went down with a knee injury and was unable to return.

“That shook us and took us a while to recover,” said Willapa Valley head coach John Peterson, who commended the way his team battled back in the second half and held the Pirates to 20-of-61 (32.8%) shooting on the evening. “They have big hearts and play for each other. It’s a team sport and they are a team to the nth degree.”

Though the season didn’t end the way he had hoped, Peterson said the current crop of Vikings have much to be proud of, including a second-place finish in the 1B Columbia Valley League, the program’s first trip to a district-title game in 19 years, and a top 12 finish in the state.

“On January 1st, we were 5-7. On February 4th — 35 days later — we were 12-8,” he said. “Once the sting of this (loss) wears off, we’re going to realize we had a heck of a good year.”

Willapa Valley 2 5 14 11 — 32

Pomeroy 10 11 13 12 — 46

Scoring

Willapa Valley (32) — Patrick 10, Amacher 9, Hamilton 7, Chavez 4, Russell 2

Pomeroy (46) — Maves 23, Caruso 13, Herres 6, Gingerich 4

Thursday’s quarterfinal games

1B Boys — No. 3 Northwest Yeshiva vs. No. 4 Willapa Valley

9 a.m., Spokane Arena

Willapa Valley will face No. 3 Northwest Yeshiva (16-3) in an early tip-off state semifinal.

The Lions defeated Naselle 60-48 on Wednesday, led by Yoel Kintzer’s 22 points and 11 rebounds.

2B Girls — No. 5 Raymond vs. No. 3 Colfax

12:15 p.m., Spokane Arena

The Seagulls face District 7 champion Colfax (19-1) , which has just one loss on the season — to No. 7 Liberty (Spangle) on Dec. 21 — and features one of the classes top players in senior guard Asher Cai.

1A Girls — No. 6 Freeman vs. No. 4 Montesano

3:45 p.m., Yakima Valley SunDome

A well-rested Montesano Bulldogs will play for a spot in the state’s final four when they face Freeman (15-5), which needed overtime to dispatch of No. 11 King’s 43-40 on Wednesday.