Hoquiam’s girls became the latest team to demonstrate the unpredictability of rivalry games.
Rylee Vonhof scored 13 points and Karlie Krohn tallied nine of her 11 in the second half as the previously winless Grizzlies upended previously unbeaten Aberdeen, 42-31, in a non-league girls basketball game Friday night at Hoquiam Square Garden.
Nothing in either team’s resumé would have foreshadowed Friday’s outcome.
The Grizzlies had lost their previous three games by an average margin of 31 points. The Bobcats (now 2-1) were coming off a victory over Class 3A Capital.
But the Grizzlies, with only one starter taller than 5-foot-6, ruled the paint against the equally undersized Bobcats, garnering numerous second-chance opportunities and using defensive rebounds to trigger some transition chances.
In addition, Hoquiam’s predominantly man-to-man defense gave Aberdeen fits throughout. The Bobcats shot only 19 percent from the field while committing 23 turnovers.
“Obviously, our defense kind of shut them down,” Hoquiam coach Mark Maxfield said. “We figured the only way they’d beat us is with threes, so we just decided to get out on them and try to make them shoot over the top.”
Aberdeen made only three 3-point shots — two of them on bank shots.
“I expected us to control the boards more,” said first-year AHS coach Jeff Niemi, a stalwart on Hoquiam’s 2004 state boys basketball championship team. “And I expected us to execute better on offense, but we hadn’t seen any real man-to-man (yet).”
Senior guard Dani Buckman, cold from the perimeter but effective on drives, was Aberdeen’s lone double-digit scorer with 12 points.
Bobcat senior post Jillian Swor grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in her season debut. But junior forward Reagan Glanz, who pulled down 19 rebounds against Capital, was slowed by an ankle injury.
Although the Bobcats led just once, at 2-0, Hoquiam’s biggest advantage was only four during a turnover-filled first half that ended with the Grizzlies on top, 17-15.
The 5-10 Vonhof and 5-7 sophomore classmate Kylee Bagwell combined for eight of the third quarter’s final 10 points to widen the margin to 10 at 33-23.
Krohn, who came up big with six points in the fourth quarter, made it 37-25 on a basket with 5:14 remaining.
Following a pair of Glanz free throws, Aberdeen’s Angel Jones added a foul shot to trim the deficit to nine with 4:03 on the clock.
Krohn, however, connected from the right corner with 3:01 remaining and again from the baseline at the 1:45 mark to put the game out of reach.
“I’ve been trying to get the kids to make extra passes,” Maxfield noted. “I thought in the second half, we passed better and our spacing was better.”
He cited Vonhof (who was perhaps conservatively credited with eight rebounds) for her inside play and Maya Jump for her defense on Buckman.
Hoquiam returns to action Monday at home against King’s Way Christian. Aberdeen entertains Forks on Tuesday as part of a co-ed doubleheader.
Aberdeen 6 9 8 8 — 31 Hoquiam 9 8 16 9 — 42
Aberdeen (31) — Buckman 12, Glanz 7, Gallinger 3, Rabung 3, Jones 6, Swor, Walsh. FG — 10-53 (.189). FT — 8-13.
Hoquiam (42) — Mode 5, Jump, Parson 5, Krohn 11, Vonhof 13, Bagwell 8, Jade Cox, Dunn, Jordan Cox, German. FG — 16-59 (.271). FT — 10-19.
