Aberdeen, Hoquiam and Montesano each picked up late-season league victories as we review girls hoops action on the Twin Harbors.
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Montesano 58, Eatonville 39
A season that began with so many questions surrounding the Montesano Bulldogs just got some more answers.
Monte moved one step closer to another 1A Evergreen League title with a 58-39 win over Eatonville on Tuesday at Montesano High School.
The Bulldogs (10-8 overall, 6-0 1A Evergreen) jumped on the Cruisers (9-4, 3-2) early, using a stifling defense and running the floor en route to a 19-7 first-quarter lead.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Hazel Jones, right, reaches for a loose ball during the Bulldogs’ 58-39 win over Eatonville on Tuesday in Montesano.
Monte continued to apply the pressure in the second quarter to lead 32-12 at halftime.
“This was a real solid team effort,” Monte head coach Mark Mansfield said. “We ran the floor pretty well. We got a couple of turnovers and steals at the end of the first quarter and kept it going in the second quarter, and our defense was very solid in the first half.”
Eatonville did a better job rebounding in the second half to outscore Monte by one over the final 16 minutes of the game, but it was far too little as the Bulldogs remained unbeaten in 1A Evergreen League play.
Monte went 19 for 67 from the field (28%) and 18 for 26 (69%) from the free-throw line, including hitting 11-for-16 foul shots in the fourth quarter (69%).
The Bulldogs also outrebounded the sizable Cruisers 45-27, led by sophomore forward Jillie Dalan with 17, and forced 28 Eatonville turnovers.
Sophomore forward Lex Stanfield had a game-high 18 points, eight steals, six rebounds and four assists to lead Monte.
PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano point guard Tieander Olson, left, is defended by Eatonville’s Lillian Bickford during the Bulldogs’ 58-39 win on Tuesday in Montesano.
Freshman point guard Tieander Olson had 17 points and six rebounds for the Bulldogs.
With the win, Montesano sits just one game away from clinching the league crown, a task that seemed unlikely for a team entering the season with just one senior and one returning starter.
“We’ve grown so much as a group. We still make some youthful mistakes, but this group has really learned how hard they have to play,” Montesano head coach Mark Mansfield said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the effort they give every night out there.”
Mansfield said his team seeing the results on the court of the hard work put in at practice has paid dividends.
“You can tell them, ‘You’ve got to work hard.’ Until they go out and do it and then see the results, I think that’s the real growth for us,” he said. “They go out and work hard and are seeing the positive results from it.”
The Bulldogs play at Elma at 7 p.m. on Thursday with a chance to lock up a league title.
Eatonville 7 5 12 15 – 39
Montesano 19 13 11 15 – 58
Scoring: Eatonville – Smith 12, Anderson 9, Meyer 7. Montesano – Stanfield 18, Olson 17, Forster 6, Parkin 6, Dalan 5, Jones 4, Schrader 2.
Aberdeen 43, Rochester 30
About three weeks ago, the door appeared to be closed on Aberdeen’s hope of a playoff berth.
After playing clutch to win three straight games, the Bobcats have busted that door open.
Aberdeen’s magic number is down to one after the Bobcats earned an impressive 43-30 victory over Rochester on Tuesday at Rochester High School.
The Bobcats (11-6, 5-5 2A Evergreen) did it with defense, holding the Warriors (8-9, 3-7) to 10 points in the first half to take a 10-point lead by halftime.
Rochester never got closer than eight points the rest of the way as the Bobcats earned the crucial victory.
Senior standout and league MVP candidate Annie Troeh led the way with 17 points, including two consecutive steal-layup plays to put the Cats up by 15 with four minutes left in the game.
Twin sister Zoe Troeh led the Bobcats with 15 rebounds while freshman guard Bentley Brown had seven points and eight boards for the Bobcats.
Aberdeen had a season-low eight turnovers in the game and took seven charges as a team – four alone by freshman guard Sophia Knutson – leading to three Warriors starters fouling out of the game.
“We have been emphasizing taking charges and they really responded tonight,” Aberdeen head coach Curtis Eccles said.
The win continues a remarkable turnaround for the Bobcats, which sat at 1-4 in league after a loss to W.F. West on Jan. 3.
Aberdeen has now won three straight league games, the last two against two teams the Cats lost to earlier in the season in Tumwater and Rochester.
An Aberdeen win or a Rochester loss over the last two league games of the season and the Bobcats will secure the fourth and 2A Evergreen Conference’s final playoff spot, a situation that seemed unlikely a few short weeks ago.
“I told them at the end of the game how proud I am of them,” Eccles said. “They knew what was at stake and that we needed to approach this like it was a playoff game. They did and they rose to the challenge. The did a phenomenal job and it was great to see them come together. … We’re really playing well at the right time.”
Aberdeen plays a non-league game at 7 p.m. on Monday against Hoquiam for Senior Night at Aberdeen High School.
Aberdeen 10 10 9 14 – 43
Rochester 4 6 9 11 – 30
Scoring: Aberdeen – A. Troeh 17, Brown 7, Phimmasone 6, Knutson 6, Z. Troeh 3, Mainio 2, Lamont 2. Rochester – Kinsella Cintron 9.
Hoquiam 40, Tenino 25
Hoquiam snapped a five-game losing streak with a 40-25 win over Tenino on Tuesday in Tenino.
The Grizzlies (4-12, 2-4 1A Evergreen) and Beavers (2-17, 0-6) were tied at 11-11 after one quarter, but Hoquiam took over in the second frame, holding Tenino to four points to take a 22-15 lead into halftime.
The trend continued in the second half as Hoquiam outscored the Beavers 18-10 over the final 16 minutes of play, led by a big game from sophomore guard Lexi LaBounty, who had 14 points, eight rebounds and six steals on the eve of her birthday.
Hoquiam sophomore post Sydney Gordon had six points and a team-best 12 rebounds.
The Grizzlies, which have struggled to take care of the ball this season, had a season-low 14 turnovers in the game.
“Good win for the Grizzlies tonight,” Hoquiam head coach Chad Allan said. “The key was keeping our turnovers down to 14 tonight, half of our average. So happy for the players to earn that winning feeling.”
With the victory, Hoquiam will lock up the 1A Evergreen League’s fourth and final playoff spot with a win or Tenino loss over the final two league games of the season.
The Grizzlies play a non-league contest at Onalaska at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at Onalaska High School.
Hoquiam 11 11 13 5 – 40
Tenino 11 4 8 2 – 25
Scoring: Hoquiam – LaBounty 14, Little 8, Gordon 6, Howard 5, Brodhead 3, Stewart 3, Brook-Andrew 1. Tenino – Asay 10, Thoren 6, Goodwin 4, Grayless 4, Woodward 1.
Willapa Valley 61, Three Rivers Christian 14
Willapa Valley took care of business with a 61-14 1B Columbia Valley League victory over Three Rivers Christian on Tuesday in Menlo.
The Vikings (9-9, 5-4 1B CVL) held the Eagles (0-10, 0-8) to two points in the first half and took control of the game with a 24-point second quarter.
Ten different Vikings scored in the game, led by Lauren Matlock (17 points), Hadlee Russell (10 pts.) and Lina Clerc, a foreign-exchange student who had six points and seven rebounds in her first start.
“I wanted to give her that opportunity (to start). I need to commend her because she’s learned so much never having touched a basketball before coming here,” Valley head coach Dawn Keeton said of her Swiss senior. “She’s a great kid and she’s learned a lot. Getting six points and seven rebounds in a varsity game is pretty awesome for her.”
Valley’s Emily Wilson also had six points and seven rebounds for a Vikings team that had 44 rebounds and went 29 of 63 from the field (46%).
The fourth-place Vikings have a key league game against third-place Naselle at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday at Willapa Valley High School.
Three Rivers Chr. 0 2 4 8 – 14
Willapa Valley 6 24 19 12 – 61
Scoring: Willapa Valley – Matlock 17, Russell 10, Clerc 6, Wilson 6, Keeton 6, Hurley 5, Fluke 5, Merkel 2, Neva 2, Ashley 2.
Other scores
Taholah 76, Lake Quinault 2
