Survive and advance was the name of the game for several Twin Harbors teams as we review recent prep basketball district tournament results.

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GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL

Hoquiam 35, King’s Way Christian 28

The Hoquiam Grizzlies continue to overcome adversity with a 35-28 win over King’s Way Christian in a 1A District 4 Tournament first-round game on Friday at Hoquiam Square Garden.

Already having dealt with transfers and departures that have left just seven players on the varsity roster for the better part of the second half of the season, the Grizzlies (15-7 overall) were also dealing with illness as they opened the postseason against the Knights (14-6).

Hoquiam relied on its defense, holding a young Knights squad to eight points or less in each quarter and 14 points scored in each half.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Hoquiam guard Lexi LaBounty (2) steals the ball during a 35-28 win over King’s Way Christian in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Friday at Hoquiam High School.

With star senior guard Lexi LaBounty playing through an illness, sophomore standout forward Aaliyah Kennedy shouldered the offensive load for Hoquiam.

Kennedy scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to complete the double-double.

Late in the third quarter, Kennedy scored nine-straight points to extend what was a one-point lead to 31-20.

The 1A Evergreen League MVP candidate also had four steals and four blocks in the game and had a two-minute stretch of play where she scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds.

“Sickness within a team of seven that affects our typical high-energy defense took away some of our strength on offense and defense. But, the athletes kept their composure and handled the game in stride,” Hoquiam head coach Chad Allan said. “It does not hurt to have a player like Aaliyah go off in a two-minute stretch. … Sydney Gordon also came up big for us when we needed it. Lexi LaBounty came in super sick and sucked it up for the team and never stopped playing aggressive defense.”

Gordon finished with eight points and 10 rebounds while LaBounty added seven points, four assists and three steals in the win.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Hoquiam’s Sydney Gordon (42) competes for a rebound against King’s Way Christian’s Addison Bagley during the Grizzlies’ 35-28 win in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Friday at Hoquiam High School.

Hoquiam went 13 of 41 from the field (32%), outrebounded KWC 38-29 and had 18 turnovers to 15 for the Knights.

“Survive and advance is what happened today,” Allan said. “So proud of our team to find another way to come out in top at this time of year. We needed every single person doing all the little things today to balance out our challenges that faced us. It was a great win at home to get us one step closer to a state birth in a season full of challenges. Super happy for our team to be where we are.”

Hoquiam advanced to the district semifinals where it will face Seton Catholic at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Seton Catholic High School, with the winner securing a spot in the state tournament.

King’s Way Chr. 8 6 6 8 – 28

Hoquiam 13 2 16 4 – 35

Scoring: KWC – Bagley 20, Diehl 5, Fusco 2, Lopez 1. Hoquiam – Kennedy 20, S. Gordon 8, LaBounty 7.

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PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma’s Mikayla Roberts (5) defends the perimeter against Columbia (White Salmon) senior Sara Miller during the Eagles’ 44-43 loss in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Friday at Columbia High School.

Columbia (White Salmon) 44, Elma 43

Elma just missed a spot in the semifinals after a 44-43 loss to Columbia (White Salmon) in a 1A District 4 Tournament first-round game on Friday at Columbia High School.

The Eagles (6-10) held a 19-14 lead at the half and had its chances to win late in the game against the Bruins (13-5). But the Eagles would go scoreless over the final 1:30 of the game to suffer its second-consecutive one-point loss.

Standout senior Olivia Moore led Elma with 19 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in the game.

PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma senior Olivia Moore (33) drives to the hoop against Columbia (White Salmon)’s Claira Camacho during the Eagles’ 44-43 loss in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Friday at Columbia High School.

Elma’s McKenna Monroe and Mikayla Roberts had nine points apiece while freshman Mercedes Carter had a team-high 12 rebounds and four assists for Eagles.

Elma shot 33% from the field, including 25% from 3-point range, and 83% from the free-throw line.

The Eagles face La Center in a district-elimination game at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Elma.

PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma’s Kenna Monroe (3) puts up a shot during a 44-43 loss to Columbia (White Salmon) in a 1A District 4 Tournament game on Friday at Columbia High School.

Elma 12 7 12 12 – 43

CWS 10 4 13 17 – 44

Scoring: Elma – Moore 19, Monroe 9, Roberts 9, Carter 4, Vest 2. CWS – Posini 14, Kock 10, Carlock 7, Miller 6, Barajas 4, Camacho 3.

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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL

Forks 64, Raymond-South Bend 54

Raymond-South Bend’s season came to an end with a 64-54 loss to Forks on Friday in a 2B District 4 Tournament elimination game in Rochester.

The Ravens (9-13) led 15-14 after one quarter of play before seeing the Spartans (12-8) take a halftime lead with a 19-9 second quarter.

RSB trailed 52-37 entering the fourth quarter and, while outscoring Forks 17-12, it wasn’t enough to extend its season.

RSB was led by seniors Chris Banker (20 points), Aaron Somero (19) and Carson Ridderbush (7 points) in the loss.

“We started strong playing with them in the first, but couldn’t make a shot or stop (Spartans guard Malachi) Rowley from grabbing offensive boards and scoring. Looking back at this season, I am proud of the effort the kids put out and very thankful for our seniors.”

Raymond-South Bend 15 9 13 17 – 54

Forks 14 19 19 12 – 64

Scoring: RSB – Banker 20, Somero 19, Ridderbush 7, Schray 4, Morris 2, Silva 2. Forks – Rowley 32, Foster 12, Bennett 6, Barajas 4, M. Rowley 4, Coberley 2.

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Ocosta 44, Pe Ell 32

Ocosta handed Pe Ell a season-ending defeat 44-32 on Friday in a 1B District 4 Tournament elimination game at Raymond High School.

Up 17-14 after a low-scoring first half, the Wildcats (9-12) took control of the game with a 19-5 third quarter, led by standout sophomore center Sonny Beard with 11 points as Ocosta made a concerted effort to get the ball inside the paint.

Ocosta’s 17-point lead entering the fourth quarter turned out to be enough as, despite the Wildcats’ committing 10 turnovers in the period, the Trojans (12-10) were unable to get within double digits throughout the remainder of the game.

“Despite having 26 turnovers, we won tonight because I think Pe Ell had just as many if not more,” Ocosta head coach Jason Quinby said. “After halftime, we made the decision to try and speed things up and see if we couldn’t jump start our offense. It worked, as forcing turnovers with our press led to some easier buckets and opened up some space for Sonny to get to work. … Thankfully, we played our butts off on defense tonight as our offense was definitely lacking tonight. But the name of the game is survive and advance and we did that tonight.”

Beard led the way with 21 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and a pair of steals.

Logan White added 10 points and nine rebounds while guard Bryce Bottleson had a team-high seven assists for Ocosta.

The Wildcats will face the loser of the Willapa Valley-Columbia Adventist semifinal in a district-elimination game at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at Raymond High School.

Ocosta 5 12 19 8 – 44

Pe Ell 8 6 5 13 – 32

Scoring: Ocosta – Beard 21, White 10, Solis 6, Bottleson 4, Priest 2, Griffith 1. Pe Ell – Nelson 10, Mason 7, Morales 6, Howard 4, Harris 3, Edgar 2.