Montesano advanced to the semifinals as we review Thursday’s girls basketball playoff games on the Harbor.
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GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Montesano 53, La Center 26
Montesano rode a strong defense to a 53-26 victory over La Center in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Thursday at Montesano High School.
The Bulldogs (14-7 overall) opened the district playoffs with a defensive performance that held the Wildcats (10-12) to just a lone 3-pointer in the second quarter to lead 23-11 at halftime and put the game away with a 22-4 third frame.
”We really locked them down and were able to get some transition buckets,” Monte head coach Mark Mansfield said. “Our defensive effort was really good. We were flying around and creating some havoc. That was the difference. We just didn’t give them many good looks at all.”
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Ashlyn Lytle (left) and Paige Busz defend against La Center’s Lillian Cosmi during the Bulldogs’ 53-26 victory in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Thursday at Montesano High School.
Montesano was led by senior star forward Jillie Dalan, who had 16 points, 11 rebounds and was one steal away from a triple-double with nine.
Freshman wing Ashlyn Lytle had 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals while junior wing Makena Blancas added nine points and was credited by Mansfield for her defensive efforts.
“(Blancas) was just all over the court, defensively,” he said. “She did a really nice job.”
Monte shot 30% from the field on 21-of-69 shooting and hit 11-of-19 free throws (60%).
The Bulldogs outrebounded the Wildcats 41-16 (21-3 offensive) and had 25 turnovers to 38 for La Center.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Makena Blancas shoots during a 53-26 win over La Center in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Thursday in Montesano.
“We’ve talked all week about how defensively it’s got to be all 32 minutes,” Mansfield said. “And we really brought the defensive intensity tonight.”
Montesano moves on to the district semifinal round where it will face the winner of Elma-Columbia (White Salmon) on Wednesday at Montesano High School (time to be determined).
La Center 8 3 4 11 – 26
Montesano 13 10 22 8 – 53
Scoring: Montesano – Dalan 16, Lytle 10, Blancas 9, Wintrip 5, Hart 4, Perry 4, Williamsen 3, Fry 2.
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Raymond-South Bend 59, Ilwaco 23
Raymond-South Bend cruised to its third victory over Ilwaco this season with a 59-23 victory in a 2B District 4 Tournament elimination game on Thursday at Centralia High School.
The Ravens (16-6) held a comfortable 16-4 lead after a first quarter where six different RSB players scored at least one field goal and had the game in hand by halftime, leading 27-10.
RSB put the game away with an 18-6 third quarter against the Fishermen (3-15), led by six points from senior post Ava Baugher and two 3-pointers from guard Avalyn Stigall.
“Another good game to get playing time for total roster and to get to rest a few high-minute kids,” said Ravens head coach Jason Koski, who rested his starters for the fourth quarter. “Really good team rebounding and our guards did a nice job limiting turnovers. As the saying goes, ‘Survive and advance.’”
Baugher led RSB with a double-double, scoring 16 points while pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds, 10 on the offensive glass.
Stigall finished with nine points while senior Kassie Koski and sophomore Liz Lewis scored eight points each for the Ravens.
RSB outrebounded Ilwaco 50-22 – including 29 offensive rebounds – and had just 10 turnovers to 22 for the Fishermen.
The win was the third this season for the Ravens over their Pacific League rivals, having defeated Ilwaco by an average score of 67.5-16 in their two previous meetings.
RSB advances to face another familiar opponent in Mossyrock in a district-elimination game at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Castle Rock High School.
Ilwaco 4 6 6 7 – 23
Raymond-South Bend 16 11 18 14 – 59
Scoring: Ilwaco – Petry 13, Johnson 6, Kary 2, Bickle 2. RSB – Baugher 16, Stigall 9, Lewis 8, Koski 8, Mark 5, Glazier 4, Pine 4, Kongbouakhay 2, Bale 2, San 1.
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Mary M. Knight 51, Oakville 38
Mary M. Knight battled through a foul-plagued, physical game to beat Oakville 51-38 in a 1B District 4 Tournament elimination game on Thursday at Raymond High School.
The Owls (11-10) overcame foul troubles to beat the Acorns (6-13) despite four players ending the game with four or more fouls, including leading-scorer Cloey Fletcher, who fouled out in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
Owls senior guard Carissa Reeves stepped up in Fletcher’s absence, scoring a career-high 17 points – 12 in the second half – to go along with three steals.
Reeves hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter and added two dagger threes in the fourth to help keep the Owls’ season alive.
Junior forward Bella Buck had 15 points before fouling out in the final period.
Fletcher finished with seven points after spending significant time on the bench due to foul issues.
Oakville was led by junior Ui’lani Siufanua with 23 points and had foul problems as well, with two players fouling out and three additional Acorns finishing the game with four fouls.
“We played well, but just couldn’t put them away,” said Owls head coach Jake Goldy, who added the constant whistles made it difficult to get into any kind of rhythm. “There was just no flow to the game.”
MMK went 17 of 62 from the field (27%), made 10-of-23 free throws (43%) and had 17 turnovers in the game.
The Owls advance to face the loser of the Wahkiakum-Naselle semifinal game in a district-elimination game at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at Raymond High School.
Mary M. Knight 12 13 13 13 – 51
Oakville 6 8 13 11 – 38
Scoring: MMK – Reeves 17, Buck 15, Fletcher 7, Nygaard 5, Gonzalez 3, P. Hughes 2, Ziegler 1. Oakville – Siufanua 23.
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Other games
1B District elimination game
Willapa Valley 55, Columbia Adventist 32
