Prep Basketball Roundup: Hoquiam routs Ilwaco for first home win of season

Also: Elma’s Moore, Ocosta’s Beard had breakout performances on Tuesday

Some breakout performances from a selection of the Twin Harbors’ best prep basketball players highlight Tuesday’s local games.

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GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL

Hoquiam 55, Ilwaco 14

Hoquiam cruised to its first home victory of the season with a 55-14 shellacking over Ilwaco on Tuesday at Hoquiam High School.

The Grizzlies (2-1 overall) had little troubles against a young, inexperienced Ilwaco team, allowing just six points to hold a commanding 24-6 lead at the half and outscored the Fishermen (0-3) 21-2 in the third quarter, paced by nine points from sophomore forward Aaliyah Kennedy.

Kennedy had a huge game as the Grizzlies emerging star had a double-double with 25 points and 13 rebounds to go along with six steals and three blocked shots.

Senior standout post Sydney Gordon also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds while starting point guard Lexi LaBounty had a solid all-around floor game with eight points and team highs in assists (9) and steals (7).

“All three are getting back into the basketball swing of things,” Hoquiam head coach Chad Allan said. “We are just scratching the surface.”

Hoquiam shot 37% from the field on 24-of-64 shooting while holding Ilwaco to 13% field-goal shooting (4-30).

The Grizzlies held a 39-20 advantage in rebounding – 15 of Hoquiam’s rebounds coming on the offensive glass – and took care of the ball with 15 turnovers to 35 for Ilwaco.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Hoquiam’s Sydney Gordon (42) had a double-double in the Grizzlies’ 55-14 win over Ilwaco on Tuesday at Hoquiam High School.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Hoquiam’s Sydney Gordon (42) had a double-double in the Grizzlies’ 55-14 win over Ilwaco on Tuesday at Hoquiam High School.

“First, I want to say hats off to the Ilwaco coaches and team. People quickly forget our program was once at the starting point as they are now. We lost many games badly until players put in the work to get us where we are now. Loved how hard Ilwaco plays with true class,” Allan said. “We had many positive things happen tonight, but we are still working on finding roles and improvements to become the team we know we can. … The biggest benefit was everyone was able to get in tonight. We need our youth to get as much experience as possible to see who can help us out down the road.”

Hoquiam hosts Aberdeen in a Myrtle Street Rivalry game at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Ilwaco 2 4 2 3 – 14

Hoquiam 14 10 21 10 – 55

Scoring: Ilwaco – 25 11, 2 3. Hoquiam – Kennedy 25, S. Gordon 18, LaBounty 8, Stankavich 2, Kruger 2.

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NICOLE SHANNON | MAIN FOCUS MEDIA Elma’s Olivia Moore (33) leaps for a rebound during a 59-49 loss to Black Hills on Tuesday at Elma High School. Moore led all scorers with 28 points.

NICOLE SHANNON | MAIN FOCUS MEDIA Elma’s Olivia Moore (33) leaps for a rebound during a 59-49 loss to Black Hills on Tuesday at Elma High School. Moore led all scorers with 28 points.

Black Hills 59, Elma 49

Elma played arguably its best game of the season thus far in a 59-49 loss to Black Hills on Tuesday at Elma High School.

Despite playing their fourth game in less than a week, the Eagles (0-4) held their own against a good Black Hills team, thanks in large part to the performance of Eagles senior Olivia Moore. The standout guard/forward had a season-high 28 points to lead all scorers on 11-of-21 shooting (52%) and converted 6-of-13 free throws (46%) to go along with nine rebounds (7 offensive) and two assists.

Freshman guard Mercedes Carter added seven points and grabbed a team-best 19 rebounds for Elma, which shot 35% from the field on 20-of-58 shooting and hit 6-of-15 free throws (40%).

The Wolves (5-0) were led by junior guards Tyler Venable and Natalie Buchanan with 20 points apiece.

The 49 points Elma scored was the most undefeated Black Hills has allowed through five games this season.

PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma’s Mercedes Carter (10) puts up a shot during a 59-49 loss to Black Hills on Tuesday at Elma High School.

PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma’s Mercedes Carter (10) puts up a shot during a 59-49 loss to Black Hills on Tuesday at Elma High School.

The Eagles took care of the ball with just 14 turnovers and outrebounded the Wolves 42-34 (15-9 offensive).

Elma is back in action on Thursday with a game against Kalama at 7 p.m. at Kalama High School.

Black Hills 15 19 12 13 – 59

Elma 10 7 15 17 – 49

Scoring: Black Hills – Venable 20, Buchanan 20, Morrison 8, O’Reilly 6, Dolby 3, McMahon 2. Elma – Moore 28, Carter 7, Roberts 5, Smith 5, Vest 4.

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Ocosta 47, Lake Quinault 18

Ocosta picked up its first win of the season with 47-18 victory over Lake Quinault in a 1B Coastal League opener on Tuesday in Westport.

The Wildcats (1-2, 1-0 1B Coastal) had the game well in hand by halftime, jumping out to an 18-3 lead after one quarter took a 33-10 lead into the break thanks to 16 points from junior forward Elly Mirante and 11 points from sophomore guard Bristol Towle.

Ocosta put the game away by holding the Elks (0-3, 0-1) to a single free throw in the third quarter.

Lake Quinault scored no more than seven points in any quarter of the game.

Mirante finished with a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds with four steals and two blocks.

Towle also scored 18 points to go along with seven steals and five rebounds.

“Elly Mirante was dominant inside,” Ocosta head coach Hunter Hatton said. “Bristol Towle was outstanding for us. … (Towle’s performance) shows how complete her game is.”

Wildcats junior guard Peyten Morris added nine points, sophomore guard Bella Pratt had three assists and freshman forward Annabelle Wolfley had six rebounds in the win.

Ocosta eighth-grader Imani Ramirez mad her varsity debut and grabbed two rebounds on the defensive glass.

“I’m really proud of our girls tonight. We came out with great energy and set the tone early, which is big for such a young team,” Hatton said. “When our players compete like that on both ends of the floor, it lifts the whole team. This was a great first league win and an important step forward for us.”

The Elks were led by sophomores Kiana Butler and Joslynn Osborne with nine and seven points, respectively.

Lake Quinault had a non-league game against North Beach at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday in Amanda Park.

Ocosta plays at Wishkah Valley in a league game at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

Lake Quinault 3 7 1 7 – 18

Ocosta 18 15 18 6 – 47

Scoring: LQ – Butler 9, Osborne 7, Kowoosh 2. Ocosta – Towle 18, Mirante 18, Morris 9, Saunders 2.

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Other games

Willapa Valley 62, Wishkah Valley 33

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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL

Ocosta 69, Lake Quinault 32

Ocosta had three players score in double figures en route to a 69-32 win over Lake Quinault in a 1B Coastal League game on Tuesday in Westport.

The Wildcats (2-2, 2-0 1B Coastal) jumped out to a 39-19 lead by halftime and were led by standout sophomore post Sonny Beard, who dominated with 28 points on 13-of-16 shooting (81%), grabbed nine rebounds, recorded three steals and blocked four shots.

Point guard Bryce Bottleson had 13 points and a team-best five assists in the win while sophomore Kristar Ashby added 11 points and “played great defense,” according to Wildcats head coach Jason Quinby.

“Well, tonight we did a much better job of taking care of the ball, limiting our turnovers to 11 and had much better ball movement as evidenced by our 17 assists,” Quinby said. “I was pleased to see that the things we’ve been focusing on offensively showed themselves tonight. We have a bunch to clean up on defense now, but we’re headed in the right direction.”

Lake Quinault was led by sophomore Daniel Valdez-Arreguin led the Elks with 11 points, including two 3-pointers in the first half.

Ocosta takes on Neah Bay in a non-league matchup at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Neah Bay High School.

The Elks host North Beach in a non-league game at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Scoring: LQ – Valdez-Arreguin 11, Tiemeyer 9, Fisher 5, Pope 5, Mason 4. Ocosta – Beard 28, Bottleson 13, Ashby 11, Priest 8, Solis 5, White 2, Lewis 2.