ELMA — For three-plus quarters, Elma and Hoquiam engaged in a tough, tumble, defensive basketball game that was rough on both teams’ offenses.
In the fourth quarter, the Eagles found just enough room to pull away, turning a tightly-contested Evergreen 1A League game into a Senior Night victory, 43-33, on Tuesday night.
Sophomore Molly Johnston nearly completed an unorthodox triple-double — a game-high 13 points, 20 rebounds and nine blocked shots — for Elma (5-1, 10-7). Senior Peyton Elliott, who was honored in a pre-game Senior Night ceremony with McKenzie Neary and Tawni Heller, added 12 points.
“It wasn’t that we were playing bad, we just couldn’t get anything to drop,” Elma head coach Lisa Johnson said. “I give Hoquiam credit — they came out intense and they made our (interior players) work a lot harder than they were used to. The key in the second half was to battle. We got shots to fall and kept on battling.”
“Both teams played great defense; it was physical, but it was fair,” HHS head coach Mark Maxfield said. “No one could get going (on offense). That’s been our M.O. all year. Teams that have played us know we’re going to make it tough on them. It is tough to transition when you can’t get rebounds and their size really bothered us — several blocked shots tonight.”
Neither team got untracked on offense, leading to a rumbling style of play with scrums at both ends of the floor for rebounds. Hoquiam took a 12-10 halftime lead into the locker room.
The second half was more of the same — the Grizzlies continued to make life difficult for Johnston and the Eagles’ interior players, while Elma’s height and reach forced Hoquiam to shoot from the perimeter and give up rebounds. Johnston’s blocked shots reinforced the Eagles’ dominance in the paint, especially in the second half.
Johnston found a sliver of room for seven of her 13 points in the third quarter, including an inside step-through layup in the final seconds for a 25-23 Elma lead at the buzzer. Elliott’s long-range banked 3-point basket gave Elma its first lead of the game with 2 minutes left in the third.
Rylee Vonhof and Kylee Bagwell did their scoring work inside and mid-range shooting to keep the Grizzlies close, with Vonhof scoring five of her seven points in the third.
Elma called timeout early in the fourth to reinforce its plans, leading 26-25 and got baskets on three consecutive possessions — free throws from Johnston and a driving basket each from Elliott and Quin Mikel — to take a 32-25 lead with 4:20 remaining.
Hoquiam continued hitting mid-range shots to try and stay close, but it wouldn’t trim the deficit. Karlie Krohn, who led the Grizzlies with 12 points, scored six of her team’s last eight points in the final 4 minutes.
On Thursday, Elma hits the road to face East County rival Montesano. On Friday, Hoquiam will host Forks.
Hoquiam 10 2 11 10 — 33 Elma 6 4 15 18 — 43
Hoquiam (33) — Cox, Mode 2, Jump 2, Hernandez 8, Parson, Krohn 12, Bagwell 2, Vonhof 7, German. FG — 15-60. FT — 3-12.
Elma (43) — Elliott 12, Sutherby, Olson, Neary 2, Johnson 1, Mikel 8, Heller, Johnston 13, Sackrider 7. FG — 14-54. FT — 13-28.
