ROCHESTER — Turnovers and a frigid shooting percentage from 3-point range doomed Raymond in a 59-35 loss to Ilwaco on Thursday in a District IV 2B tournament game at Rochester.
The Seagulls turned the ball over 10 times in the first quarter and totaled 28 turnovers on the night. When Raymond was able to take care of the ball, the shots didn’t fall for the Gulls. Raymond made just one of the 20 shots it took from behind the arc in the game against the Fishermen.
Raymond will now face Napavine on Saturday at Rochester in the fifth/sixth place game. The Gulls have already secured a spot in the state tournament due to owning the No. 4 RPI ranking, yet will face Ilwaco again in the regional round with the winner getting a bye in the first round at state.
“We have to look at the big picture for us,” Raymond coach Jason Koski said. “We are going to play them again at regionals for something more than district placing. Turnovers and missing shots put a little bit of pressure on us. Shooting 1-for-20 from three isn’t going to be anybody.”
Raymond forced three turnovers before Ilwaco was able to take its first shot. The Gulls scored the first two points of the game on a layup by Mikayla Collins, but from there the tide shifted to the Fishermen for good. Ilwaco went on a seven-point run and led the rest of the game.
The Gulls battled back to within four with a minute to play in the first quarter. However, Ilwaco went on another run to score six points and grab a 10-point lead after eight minutes.
Raymond worked to attack the Ilwaco zone and added five points from the foul line in the second quarter. While the Gulls were able to keep the margin from stretching much over 10 points, Raymond couldn’t get any closer with Ilwaco leading 33-21 at halftime.
The two teams traded baskets for much of the third quarter until Raymond went cold in the fourth quarter. The Gulls went without a basket in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the final quarter and Ilwaco built a 26-point lead.
Winter Newman led the Gulls with nine points and seven rebounds. Cydney Flemetis scored six points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Collins added six points and six rebounds.
Makenzi Kaech finished with 18 points for Ilwaco and Madeline Jacobson added 14 points.
Ilwaco 17 16 12 14 — 59
Raymond 7 14 12 2 — 35
Ilwaco (59) — Bannister, McMullen 9, Benenati 2, Kaech 18, Jacobson 14, Personius, Kulm 5, Thomas 6, E. Sheldon 2, Simonson 3, T. Sheldon. FG — 26-63. FT — 4-10.
Raymond (35) — Williams 4, Collins 6, Gardner 4, Newman 9, Flemetis 6, Mora 4, Harland 2, Souvannavanh, Warnstadt, Stepp, Quintana, Miller. FG — 12-48. FT — 10-14.
