Friday Prep Roundup: Willapa Valley sweeps Pe Ell, Raymond downs Ilwaco in basketball action
Published 1:30 am Saturday, May 22, 2021
Willapa Valley’s boys and girls basketball teams swept Pe Ell and Raymond’s girls team upended Ilwaco as we review Friday’s prep sports on the Twin Harbors.
BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Willapa Valley 50, Pe Ell 29
Despite losing three starters in the first few minutes of the game, Willapa Valley outplayed Pe Ell for a 50-29 victory on Friday in Menlo.
Willapa Valley (7-2 overall, 6-1 1B Columbia Valley) lost three starters in the first 2:30 of the game to injury, including leading scorer Tyler Adkins who left with a bloody nose.
“That’s when you are blessed to have some depth,” Willapa Valley head coach Jay Pearson said, referencing several sophomores that came off the bench to contribute to the win. “I think the first time experience at varsity level it took 1 1-2 quarters to get a little confidence. … Last three minutes of first half and whole second half was totally different game. You could see they had the confidence, believed in themselves and went for it.”
Vikings sophomore Derek Fluke recorded a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to lead Willapa Valley.
Fellow sophomore teammates Garrett Keeton (7 points, 10 rebounds) and Hunter Clements (7 pts.) also came off the bench to provide a spark to the Vikings.
Adkins returned to the lineup in the second half and scored nine points while senior Joseph Pulsipher led the Vikings with 14 rebounds, a stat Pearson said was key to the victory.
“Rebounding was key to game. We kind of controlled the boards and paint tonight,” Pearson said. “That was our goal, to play harder and more physical and we achieved that.”
Willapa Valley also hit 20-of-25 free throws (80%) in the contest.
Pe Ell 10 4 4 11 — 29
Willapa Valley 13 15 10 12 — 50
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Raymond 57, Ilwaco 49
In a game featuring two of the top three teams in the 2B Pacific League, Raymond kept the Ilwaco Fishermen at bay for a 57-49 victory on Friday in Raymond.
Raymond (5-1 overall, 2B Pacific) took a 13-8 lead at the end of the first quarter sparked by nine points on three 3-pointers from guard Kyra Gardner.
The game was a see-saw affair that saw the Seagulls jump out to several eight and nine point leads only to see Ilwaco (4-2) rally to cut the deficit assisted by 23 Seagulls turnovers.
But Raymond never gave up the lead as the two teams played an even 29-29 second half.
Gardner led Raymond with 22 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and seven steals in a solid all-around floor game.
The Seagulls got plenty of help for Gardner on Friday as Karsyn Freeman (13 pts., 4 reb.) and Kyndal Koski (12 pts.) also scored in double figures for a Raymond team that shot 32% as a team from the field, including 9-of-24 (37%) from 3-point range.
The Fishermen were led by standout Erika Glenn, who scored 21 points to go along with eight rebounds and eight steals.
Ilwaco 8 12 14 15 — 49
Raymond 13 15 13 16 — 57
Montesano 57, Hoquiam 27
Montesano jumped on Hoquiam early and cruised to a 57-27 victory on Friday in Hoquiam.
Playing with energy from the opening tip, Monte (7-1 overall, 5-1 1A Evergreen) opened up a 29-6 lead after the first quarter and never looked back in the 30-point victory.
Paige Lisherness led Monte with 21 points and nine rebounds.
Maia Young scored 15 points for the Bulldogs with Mikayla Stanfield grabbing 11 rebounds and four steals for Montesano.
Hoquiam (4-4, 2-4) was led by Sadie Carlyle’s eight points.
Montesano 29 11 10 7 — 57
Hoquiam 6 5 10 6 — 27
Willapa Valley 43, Pe Ell 42
Willapa Valley senior Cami Swartz’s 3-pointer with less that 30 seconds left gave the Vikings a rousing 43-42 victory over Pe Ell on Friday at Willapa Valley High School.
Down seven points in the first half and in “bad foul trouble,” according to Vikings head coach John Peterson, Willapa Valley faced even further misfortune when leading scorer Lanissa Amacher left the game due to injury.
Peterson went deep into his bench and called upon inexperienced freshmen Chayse Coady, Lauryn Emery and Hadlee Russell to invigorate the Vikings.
The move paid off as Emery made a steal and a basket and Coady scored 11 points in the game as Willapa Valley turned the first half around to lead 29-24 at halftime.
“We had to play freshman that have never really played before,” Peterson said. “They really played well. … They really gave us quality minutes.”
With approximately 1:35 left in the game, Willapa Valley led 40-35 when Pe Ell’s Annika Mason hit a three followed by a steal and score to tie the game at 40-40.
After another Trojans steal and score gave Pe Ell the lead at 42-40, the Vikings worked the ball around to Swartz, who stepped back and nailed a three with 21 seconds to go.
The Vikings held on for the victory 43-42 victory.
Swartz led Willapa Valley with 14 points with Hannah Hamilton grabbing eight rebounds to lead the Vikings.
Amacher had 10 points before leaving the game due to injury.
Mason led Pe Ell with 17 points, including five 3-pointers.
Pe Ell 14 10 6 12 — 42
Willapa Valley 10 19 9 5 — 43
Other scores
Forks 59, South Bend 7
Northwest Christian 49, North Beach 23
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Grays Harbor 86, Lower Columbia 71
The Grays Harbor Chokers played solid basketball to earn an 86-71 victory over Lower Columbia to close out the regular season on Friday in Longview.
The Chokers (5-8 overall, NWAC West) had four of five starters score in double figures in a 28-for-60 (46.7%) shooting performance as a team.
Justin Evans led Grays Harbor with a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Evans went 5-of-10 (50%) from the field and hit an impressive 11-of-12 (92%) from the free-throw line to lead a Chokers team that went 77% from the line (23-30).
Anthony Saunders scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
Justin Loveless (16 pts., 9 reb.) and Tristan Schoepf (10 pts., 6 stl.) also scored in double figures for the Chokers.
Grays Harbor held a 42-27 advantage on the glass against the NWAC West Region’s second-place team.
Grays Harbor 38 48 — 86
Lower Columbia 32 39 — 71
BOYS PREP SOCCER
Aberdeen boys soccer program announces year-end awards
The Aberdeen boys soccer team announced its year-end awards on Thursday.
Scholar Athletes (3.2 GPA or higher) — Oscar Galeana, Isaiah Johnson (Top Scholar, 4.0 GPA), Kaleb Myers, Luke Niemi, Edwin Quintana, Juan Serrano Hernandez
Varsity Awards — Miguel Martinez (Team MVP), Antonio Torres (Offensive MVP), Angel Sanchez (Defensive MVP), Logan Sias (Hustle Award)
Most Improved Players – Griffin Kinkade, Javier Garcia
Team Captains – Angel Sanchez, Antonio Hernandez, Carlos Campos
Varsity Letterwinners — Angel Sanchez, Antonio Hernandez, Carlos Campos, Griffin Kinkade, Logan Sias, Miguel Martinez, Kaleb Myers, Alan Avalos, Hugo Garcia, Javier Garcia, Julian Garcia, Antonio Granados, Gilberto Lopez, Carlos Mendoza, Colby Mendoza, Edwin Quintana, Juan Serrano
Managers — Evan Sanchez, Ramon Gonzalez, Angel Mendez
Junior Varsity Awards — Isaiah Johnson (Team MVP), Mateo Gonzalez (Hustle Award), Oscar Galeana (Most Improved Player)
Junior Varsity Players — Noah Johnson, Luke Niemi, Daniel Guzman, Mateo Gonzalez, John Muniz, Isaac Gil, Estevan Isidro, Gustavo Martinez, Nelson Torres, Ruben Oropeza, Isaiah Johnson, Camden Friberg, Jose Ortuno, Oscar Galeana, David Alavez
