For a team that has played hide and seek with its offense at times this season, the Elma Eagles found it when it was needed most on Thursday.
In danger of losing what was a double-digit fourth-quarter lead, the Eagles came up clutch late in the game to keep their season alive with a 42-34 win over Castle Rock in a 1A District 4 Tournament elimination game at Montesano High School.
Neither team showed much offense early on as the two teams combined for six points in the first quarter and – after Elma was unable to crack double-digits in the second period – were tied at 13-13 at halftime.
The Eagles offense woke up from its slumber in the second half as Elma (9-11 overall) jumped out to a 21-15 lead halfway through the third quarter thanks in large part to a pair of 3-pointers from junior guard Mia Monroe.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Elma junior guard Mia Monroe hits one of her three 3-pointers in the second half of a 42-34 victory over Castle Rock in a 1A District 4 Tournament elimination game on Thursday at Montesano High School.
A three by senior guard Aaleigha Weld with 2:10 left in the third gave Elma its largest lead of the game at 27-16.
Elma led by 10 points twice in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter after senior forward Eliza Sibbett scored off an offensive rebound to make it a 29-19 game followed later in the frame by a jumper from sophomore post Olivia Moore, staking the Eagles to a 34-24 lead with 5:55 to play.
But Elma’s offense chilled after that, allowing the Rockets (9-15) to get back in the game with a 6-0 run, drawing to 34-30 after a three by senior point guard Laynee Logan and forcing an Elma timeout with 3:25 left in the game.
“I just made sure we were on the same page and could execute effectively and patiently,” Elma head coach Brandi Henry said. “That was a big thing was for them to remain calm. Our press-break was working, we just had to get some ball-reversals and if we did that, we just had to take care of the basketball down on our end.”
“Just control the basketball,” Moore said of her coaches’ words during the critical timeout. “The game was ours. We had it and we knew we did. So take control of the game and win it. … I think everyone was confident we had it and believed we could do it and then pursued it.”
Elma freshman post Keke Bol stemmed the tide with a bucket off an inbound pass from senior guard Emmie Spencer to put Elma up 36-30 with just under three minutes to play.
But the Rockets responded with two consecutive field goals, drawing to within a bucket at 36-34 after a layup by sophomore power forward Dakota Davis at the 2:21 mark.
Elma clutched up over the game’s final two minutes, with Moore hitting a free throw followed by crashing the boards to keep a possession alive with an offensive rebound. She was rewarded when Sibbett found her in the high post, scoring on a step-through layup to give the Eagles a 39-34 lead with just over a minute left.
“I think I just felt really confident and I knew I had it in me,” said Moore of making the key plays in the game’s final minutes. “So I felt that was the best option for myself and my team at that time.”
“She really flipped the switch there,” Henry said of Moore. “She was not going to let us lose this game and she took control. She was very physical down low and finished when we needed the ball to go in the hoop. She did a great job.”
With Castle Rock forced to foul, Bol hit two free throws followed by Sibbett converting 1 of 2 from the charity stripe to ice the game and secure Elma’s 42-34 victory.
“We worked hard in the second half. We had a lot to prove after the first half,” said Moore, who scored five of her seven points in the fourth quarter. “Everyone was pretty excited. It was pretty loud in (the locker room).”
The Eagles were led by Monroe and Spencer with nine points apiece and went 15 of 55 from the field (27%) as a team.
Elma hit 7-of-16 free throws in the game (44%), including 4 of 8 in the fourth quarter (50%).
The Rockets were led by Logan, who had a game-high 14 points – 11 in the fourth quarter – as Castle Rock went 12 for 48 from the floor (25%) and 6 of 14 from the free-throw line (43%).
With the victory, Elma advances to a state-or-elimination game against Eatonville – a team that beat the Eagles twice this season – at noon on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.
“We’re just going to go in and play our hardest because you either make it or you don’t,” Moore said. “I think we’re just going to give it everything we have because that’s all we got.”
“We have nothing to lose at this point,” Henry said. “I think a lot of people didn’t think we could make it this far. I think it’s a Cinderella story and a lot could happen and I think we have a lot of basketball left.”
Castle Rock 2 11 6 15 – 34
Elma 4 9 14 15 – 42
Scoring: Castle Rock – Logan 14, Ogden 6, Bayes 6, Davis 3, Poyner 3, Miller 1, Cole 1. Elma – Monroe 9, Spencer 9, Bol 8, Moore 7, Weld 5, E. Sibbett 4, Lewis 2.
