Montesano’s season came to an end while Ocosta made more history as we review Wednesday’s state-playoff basketball games involving Twin Harbors teams.

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GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL

Cashmere 35, Montesano 28

Montesano’s defense did what it had to do for the Bulldogs to be successful, but the offense came up far short.

Montesano managed just six points in the first half en route to a 35-28 loss to Cashmere in the 1A State Tournament Round of 12 on Wednesday at the Yakima SunDome.

Tenth-seeded Monte (18-8 overall) was held to just two points in the first quarter and trailed by as much as 12-2 in the second quarter until a free throw by junior forward Jillie Dalan followed by a three from sophomore guard Tieander Olson cut the deficit to six points with 2:11 to play in the first half.

But No. 7 Cashmere (18-8) responded with a 7-0 run to close out the frame to lead 19-6 at halftime.

“I thought early on we had some good opportunities, we just could not get anything to fall,” Montesano head coach Mark Mansfield said. “We were doing a good job on the defensive end. Eventually, (Cashmere) made a couple of baskets and I felt if we got just one shot to fall, it might have changed things. … I kind of felt like the longer we went without scoring, the smaller the basket got for us.”

PHOTO BY HAILEY BLANCAS Montesano’s Makena Blancas (right) defends Cashmere’s Allie McKenna during a 35-28 loss in a 1A State Tournament Round of 12 game on Wednesday at the Yakima SunDome.

Cashmere extended its lead to as much as 18 points at 29-17 on a fast-break bucket by post Addie Talley with 2:16 to play in the third quarter, but back-to-back threes followed by a layup from Olson got Monte back in the game at 29-17 with just over a minute to play in the frame.

Monte trailed 31-19 entering the final eight minutes of play, and possibly the final quarter of the season.

Montesano got the score to within double digits after a three from senior Ali Parkin to make it a 33-25 game with 1:46 left to play.

But Cashmere’s Adysen Bjorklund followed with a bucket and Monte wouldn’t hit another shot until Paige Busz buried a three at the buzzer as Montesano saw its season end in the Round of 12 for the second-consecutive season.

“We fought back, we just had a couple of inopportune sequences,” said Mansfield, referencing a made three that was nullified by a traveling call and a reversed call on an out of bounds play that turned into an inbound bucket for Cashmere. “When we made a run at them, it felt like (Cashmere) would get a little anxious, a little nervous. It was like, could we get one more stop and one more basket? We couldn’t quite get that one basket to get it down to four or five and make things interesting.”

Monte’s defense held Cashmere to 29% on 8-of-28 shooting from the field, but aside from Olson – who had a game-high 16 points and hit 4-of-7 3-pointers – Montesano didn’t find much offense.

Dalan had six points – five of those in a less than one minute span of the third quarter – and tied with senior Ava Schrader for the team-lead in rebounds with seven.

Olson was named one of the game’s MVPs.

Monte went 10 of 50 from the field (20%) – 6 of 15 from beyond the arc (40%) – and had 10 turnovers in a first half that saw them shoot 2 of 20 from the field (10%).

“It just seemed like we were on the edge of either falling off the cliff or we were climbing back up,” Mansfield said. “We said from our first day of practice on Nov. 18 that we were going to go as far as our defense would take us. Our defense did the job again today and played well enough to get us to the next round. We just didn’t make enough shots.”

The loss ends the prep basketball careers for seniors Schrader, Parkin and Hazel Jones.

“It’s such a fun group because they get along. They take it seriously, it means something to them, but they also have fun,” Mansfield said. “They were obviously disapointed. It was another good season. Hopefully, we learn a few more lessons and continue to get better.”

Montesano 2 4 13 9 – 28

Cashmere 7 12 12 4 – 35

Scoring: Montesano – Olson 16, Dalan 6, Busz 3, Parkin 3. Cashmere – Kunz 12, McKenna 8, Talley 8, Bjorklund 4, Schoengarth 2, Miller 1.

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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL

Ocosta 48, Wellpinit 38

The Ocosta Wildcats put another long streak to rest in what is turning out to be one of the more memorable postseason runs in the program’s history.

Ocosta earned its first state-tournament victory in 54 years with a hard-fought 48-38 win over Wellpinit in a 1B State Round of 12 game on Wednesday at the Spokane Arena.

“It is huge for our school and program,” Ocosta head coach Jason Quinby said. “I’ve spent a lot of time trying to get to this point and to see the guys not only get there, but win a game, is just unbelievable.”

The eighth-seeded Wildcats (17-8) were tied twice with the No. 9 Redskins (19-7) before trailing 11-9 at the end of the first quarter.

Ocosta opened the second frame with a 6-0 run highlighted by a Dalton Welch three and capped by a step-back jump shot from guard Jesus Agramon to take a 15-11 lead, its largest of the first half.

Wellpinit responded to tie the game at 15 and 17-all before taking a short-lived 18-17 lead.

But four straight points from Ocosta guard Luis Solis on two free throws and an offensive rebound and putback gave the Wildcats a 21-18 halftime lead.

”I thought the boys were a little hurried at the beginning of the game and took awhile to settle down,” Quinby said. “We took a little momentum into halftime, where the talk was about not beating ourselves by staying home better on defense and by making sure we took better care of the ball.”

Wellpinit tied the game at 21-21 early in the third quarter before Ocosta made its move.

A 7-0 run highlighted by a three from senior guard Kayden Turner put the Wildcats up 28-21.

Ocosta would earn a double-digit lead when guard Noah Prigmore hit a three for a 34-23 advantage at 3:32 in the third quarter, its largest lead of the game.

But the Redskins would score the final five points of the frame to trim the Cats’ lead to 37-31 heading into the final period.

Wellpinit got to within five points on a free throw by Franky Wynne to start the fourth quarter, but a pair of free throws from freshman post Sonny Beard followed by a clutch three from Welch off a kick-out assist from Turner put the Wildcats back up by 10 at 42-32 at the 6:30 mark.

The Redskins would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way as Agramon sunk two free throws with 32.8 ticks left to complete Ocosta’s 10-point victory.

“We did a lot better job in the second half of (taking care of the ball) and stretched the lead out a bit, which is big for us,” Quinby said.

Welch had 13 points and four rebounds while Beard (11 points, 18 rebounds) and Turner (11 pts., 10 reb.) each had a double-double for Ocosta.

Turner was named the game’s MVP.

Ocosta shot 34% from the field on 17-of-50 shooting, including 6 of 19 from the 3-point line (31.5%).

The Wildcats had 45 rebounds to 39 for Wellpinit and 12 turnovers to nine for the Redskins.

Wellpinit went 13 of 57 from the field (23%), including 3 of 28 from beyond the arc (11%).

With the win, Ocosta advances to the quarterfinal round and will face No. 2 Lummi Nation at 9 p.m. on Thursday.

Wellpinit 11 7 13 7 – 38

Ocosta 9 12 16 11 – 48

Scoring: Ocosta – Welch 13, Turner 11, Beard 11, Agramon 6, Solis 4, Prigmore 3. Wellpinit – Wynne 13, Hughes 10, Norman 7, Cullooyah 6, Moyer 2.