Elma and Hoquiam are set to meet in a winner-to-state showdown as we review recent district girls basketball games on the Harbor.
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GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Elma 48, La Center 34
The Elma Eagles are one game away from the state tournament after beating La Center 48-34 in a 1A District 4 Tournament elimination game on Wednesday at Elma High School.
After both teams got off to a slow start, the Eagles (7-10 overall) took an eight-point lead into halftime thanks to a 19-point second quarter, paced by 10 points from sophomore guard Mikalya Roberts.
Elma held that lead over the Wildcats (10-13) heading into the fourth quarter, where the Eagles defense put the game away by holding La Center to five points.
PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma’s Mikayla Roberts (5) shoots a 3-pointer during a 48-34 victory over La Center in a 1A District 4 elimination game on Wednesday at Elma High School.
Elma was led by senior guard/forward Olivia Moore, who had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Roberts scored 17 points and had five steals while freshman Mercedes Carter scored seven points, grabbed seven rebounds, had five steals and blocked two shots for the Eagles.
Elma’s Kahleah Tolentino pitched in with five points, all of which came in the decisive fourth quarter.
The Eagles shot 27% from the field (18-67 FG) and made 9-of-18 free throws (50%) while being outrebounded 43-42, doing a much better job on the boards in the second half according to head coach Brandi Henry.
“I thought they responded well second half in the rebounding battle and took care of the basketball on the turnover front,” said Henry, whose team had 12 turnovers in the game. “We’re not ready to be done for our seniors, but we are ready to go to state after Saturday’s game.”
NICOLE SHANNON | MAIN FOCUS MEDIA Elma’s Olivia Moore (left) and La Center’s Lillian Cosmi battle for a loose ball during the Eagles’ 48-34 victory in a 1A District 4 elimination game on Wednesday at Elma High School.
Elma advances to a winner to state, loser out game against Hoquiam scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at Centralia High School.
La Center 6 13 10 5 – 34
Elma 8 19 10 11 – 48
Scoring: Elma – Moore 15, Roberts 14, Carter 7, Tolentino 5, Vest 3, Heley 2, Gonzales 2. La Center – Sherry 13, Smith 8, Kennedy 5, Kelly 3, Cosmi 3, Fa lig 2.
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Seton Catholic 50, Hoquiam 49
Hoquiam saw its lead slip away down the stretch of a 50-49 loss to Seton Catholic in a 1A District 4 seminfinal matchup on Wednesday in Vancouver.
The Grizzlies (18-8) led 32-26 at halftime over the Cougars (19-2) – the 5th-ranked team in WIAA RPI standings – led by senior guard Lexi LaBounty’s 13 points in the first half.
A baseline jumper by senior post Sydney Gordon followed by an and-1 bucket and foul shot by sophomore forward Aaliyah Kennedy staked the Grizzlies to a 47-43 lead with 3:18 left in teh game.
But the Grizzlies went cold over the next several minutes, allowing the Cougars to take the lead.
A Hoquiam pass was intercepted, with Naomi Jackson hitting a go-ahead three with 32 seconds left on the other end to put Hoquiam in a 49-47 hole.
LaBounty then drove to the paint, but had her shot from under the basket blocked by 6-foot forward Riley Seymer.
Forced to foul, Seton Catholic’s Remy Jenniges made 1-of-2 free throws.
Gordon scored on a layup with five seconds left, but with no timeouts remaining Hoquiam couldn’t stop the clock.
The Cougars didn’t even have to inbound the ball as time ran out, sending the Grizzlies to the elimination bracket.
“We definitely had an opportunity to win this game tonight as the players were following the game plan of attacking the basket and balancing inside and outside scoring,” Hoquiam head coach Chad Allan said. “Just a few less key mistakes and we might have been celebrating a monumental win, instead of a moral victory for our program.”
Kennedy (18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists), LaBounty (17 pts., 6 stl.) and Gordon (10 pts., 7 reb., stl.) each scored in double digits while Avery Brodhead had a team-high six assists and five steals for the Grizzlies.
“I have nothing but pride for how our team played tonight,” Allan said. “Basketball at times is won by the team who makes the fewest mistakes. We just made a few to many tonight. But we caused those troubles all night with the exceptional effort our players displayed tonight. I can tell you for a fact that our Grizzlies earned the respect of every person in attendance at that gym tonight. Love hearing opponents complimenting our players.”
Hoquiam went 15 of 34 from the field (44%), were outrebounded 30-23, had 16 steals as a team and committed 16 turnovers to 25 for the Cougars.
The Grizzlies take on Elma in a winner to state, loser out game at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at Centralia High School.
Hoquiam 16 16 10 7 – 49
Seton Catholic 13 13 13 11 – 50
Scoring: Hoquiam – Kennedy 18, LaBounty 17, Gordon 10, Brodhead 4. SC – Seymer 20, Jackson 10, Jenniges 9, Moore 8, Whitehouse 2, Lubisich 1.
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Raymond-South Bend 41, Forks 29
Raymond-South Bend earned a trip to the state tournament with a 41-29 win over Forks in a 2B District 4 elmination game on Thursday at Rochester High School.
The Ravens (18-6) won the rubber match against league-rival Forks (12-11) on the back of a defense that held the Spartans to seven points or less in three of the game’s four quarters.
“We started out of the tip a little slow getting down 6-2, but defensively we settled in and we were able to control the boards, giving up only two offensive rebounds in the first half,” RSB head coach Jason Koski said.
The Ravens led 24-13 at halftime thanks to 11 first-half points from senior forward Kassie Koski and two second-quarter threes from junior guard Avalyn Stigall.
The Spartans cut into the Ravens’ lead after hitting two 3-pointers and going 5 for 9 from the free-throw line in the third quarter.
But the Ravens defense held Forks to two field goals in the fourth quarter while senior post Ava Baugher scored six of her team’s 10 points in the period to secure the victory.
Koski finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points while grabbing 10 rebounds to go along with a team-best four steals, one assist and a blocked shot.
Baugher also scored in double figures with 11 points and had six rebounds and a blocked shot.
Forks was led by junior guard Bailey Johnson with eight points while guarded by Ravens senior guard Megan Kongbouakhay for much of the game.
“Our focus in the second half was to not let Johnson get going and Megan’s primary-defensive assignment was great with just enough help so we didn’t allow them to get off any good looks from the three,” Coach Koski said. “Kids did a great job with the short turnaround of only one day to prepare for them. Super happy for the kids to get to continue for another week, they deserve it.”
Raymond-South Bend has secured a spot in the state tournament and will face Adna in the district’s third-place game at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at W.F. West High School.
Raymond-South Bend 8 16 7 10 – 41
Forks 6 7 11 5 – 29
Scoring: RSB – Koski 11, Baugher 11, Lewis 7, Stigall 6, Glazier 4, Kongbouakhay 2. Forks – Johnson 8, Crowder 7, Rondeau 5, Dilley 4, Peters 3, Neel 2.
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Wahkiakum 50, Mary M. Knight 41
Mary M. Knight’s season came to an end with a 50-41 loss to Wahkiakum in a 1B District 4 elimination game on Thursday at Raymond High School.
The Owls (11-11) were plagued by poor shooting and too many turnovers in the loss to the Mules (10-7), particularly in the second half.
Mary M. Knight trailed 28-24 in the first half but had 15 of their 25 turnovers in the second half while shooting 14 of 66 from the field (21%) and 12 of 29 from the free-throw line (41%) for the game.
“We didn’t shoot well and we threw the ball away,” said Mary M. Knight head coach Jake Goldy, whose team held Wahkiakum to one field goal in the fourth quarter. “We kind of fell a little bit short of where we wanted to go. We didn’t quit and played hard right until the final deal. Wahkiakum was the better team and I wish them well.”
Senior Cloey Fletcher closed out her outstanding prep career with 14 points, nine rebounds, three steals, three blocks and an assist to lead the Owls.
Senior post Maelynn “Lefty” Nygaard, still playing with a cast on her broken right hand, had seven points and a team-best 17 rebounds while junior forward Bella Buck had eight points, five rebounds and an assist for MMK.
Goldy took time to reflect on a senior class that, in addition to Fletcher and Nygaard, included guard Carissa Reeves (5 points) and post Andiana Ziegler (4 pts.) to round out a senior class that reached the district tournament each year since they started playing varsity in the eighth grade and competed in the state tournament last season.
“They left everything they had on the floor tonight. They never quit and led us all year long,” Goldy said. “In my opinion, they are the greatest bunch of girls senior ball players we’ve ever had. I’m going to miss the hell out of them.”
Mary M. Knight 12 12 9 8 – 41
Wahkiakum 14 14 13 9 – 50
Scoring: MMK – Fletcher 14, Buck 8, Nygaard 7, Reeves 5, Zeigler 4, P. Hughes 2, Gonzalez 1.
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Other scores
2B District 4 Elimination game
Taholah 46, Willapa Valley 32
(Willapa Valley eliminated)
