Raymond-South Bend settled into its game for a win over Elma as we review Thursday’s Twin Harbors prep basketball action.
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GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Raymond-South Bend 57, Elma 28
Raymond-South Bend’s defense bolstered the Ravens to a 57-28 win over Elma on Thursday at Elma High School.
Both the Ravens (1-1 overall) and Eagles (0-2) exhibited some early-game franticness as miscues and missed shots piled up for both team.
RSB was further hampered in when starting senior center Ava Baugher picked up her second foul midway through the first quarter and had to sit the bench for the remainder of the first half.
But the Ravens responded by opening the second period on a 9-0 run, sparked by its press defense that forced Eagles turnovers and turned a 5-point lead at the end of the first quarter to a 21-7 advantage.
Elma got its first field goal of the second quarter on a corner three from junior guard Kahlea Tolentino to trim the deficit to 24-10 with 3:38 left in the first half.
But a three followed by a steal and euro-step layup from Ravens senior guard Emma Glazier put RSB up 29-10 a little over a minute later.
“We were able to lengthen the floor a little bit and (Elma) couldn’t play in a condensed area,” RSB head coach Jason Koski said of his team’s second-quarter run without top defender and rebounding Baugher on the floor. “Our guards did a really good job and I thought (Ravens senior guard) Kassie (Koski) did a great job rebounding in there. … Everybody kind of did a little bit more than what they’ve had to do before.”
“With Ava going out, I thought our bench did a really good job coming in and kept up the intensity,” Kassie Koski said. “Emma played phenomenal defense and I thought helped pick us up when Ava went out.”
Elma would cut the RSB lead down to 14 points at the half after a Mikayla Roberts layup followed by a pair of free throws from freshman forward Emmalin Gonzales in the final minute.
The Eagles would get as close as 11 points after scoring from inside the paint on three straight possessions early in the third quarter.
A Tolentino breakaway layup on a precise outlet pass from Eagles senior Olivia Moore followed by back-to-back buckets in the low post from sophomore forward Killie Vest cut the Ravens’ lead to 32-21 halfway through the third period.
But RSB responded with a clutch corner three from sophomore guard Elizabeth Lewis followed by an acrobatic catch and layup from Glazier to go up 37-21.
Glazier continued to make a high-energy impact with a sideline-tightrope steal and layup to push the lead out to 39-21 with 1:20 left in the third.
A steal and layup from Moore followed by Ravens junior Ava Stigall hitting 1-of-2 free throws make it a 40-23 game entering the fourth quarter.
RSB owned the final eight minutes of play as six different Ravens scored in the frame, led by senior guard Kassie Koski, who scored six points including an open three to kick start a Ravens 8-0 run to close out the game.
“Today’s phrase was, ‘Play together,’ because against Napavine, we didn’t play together and we weren’t really connected with each other,” Coach Koski said, referencing his team’s 55-27 loss to the Tigers on Tuesday. “That was a big deal for us tonight and I think the kids understand how important that is, especially the seniors.”
Koski led the Ravens with 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
Glazier provided value off the bench with 13 points – most of those coming off of layups due to the Ravens’ pressure defense – to go along with a pair of steals.
RSB went 20 of 63 from the field (32%) and 9 of 18 from the free-throw line (50%).
“We have quite a few freshman and sophomores, so we’re trying to get them to feel comfortable,” Kassie Koski said when asked about how the Ravens looked nervous in the first quarter but settled in to execute the game plan after that. “Us seniors, we already have that, so it’s mainly just getting them comfortable and once they are, I feel we’re pretty locked in and set.”
The Ravens had its share of foul troubles with six players with three or more fouls in the game and a total of 21 fouls as a team.
Elma was led by Moore and freshman guard Mercedes Carter with seven points each.
Moore had four rebounds and two assists while Carter, who played much of the second half with her face bandaged up after getting rapped in the beak and suffering a bloody nose, had six rebounds and an assist for Elma.
Elma went 9 of 34 from the field (26%) and hit 10-of-16 free throws (63%).
The Eagles host Mossyrock at 7 p.m. on Monday.
Raymond-South Bend plays at Toledo at 7 p.m. on Monday.
RSB 12 17 11 17 – 57
Elma 7 8 8 5 – 28
Scoring: RSB – Koski 14, Glazier 13, Lewis 8, Kongbouakhay 7, Baugher 6, Stigall 6, Pine 3. Elma – Moore 7, Carter 7, Tolentino 4, Gonzales 4, Vest 4, Roberts 2.
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Tumwater 41, Montesano 37
Montesano went cold in the fourth quarter en route to a 41-37 loss to Tumwater on Thursday at Tumwater High School.
The Bulldogs (0-2) trailed by two points after a low-scoring first quarter but found its offense in the second frame to take a 24-21 lead at halftime.
Monte trailed by two points late in the game, but couldn’t get a stop when needed as the Thunderbirds (2-1) scored on a layup with just two seconds left to put the game away.
Junior guard Makena Blancas led Monte with nine points to go along with seven rebounds.
Senior forward Jillie Dalan had 10 rebounds while guard Jordyn Perry led Monte with three assists.
The Bulldogs shot 12 of 50 from the field (24%), hit 11-of-20 free throws (55%) and held a 41-36 advantage on the glass.
“We had a much better effort tonight than on Tuesday,” said Montesano head coach Mark Mansfield, referencing his team’s 49-29 loss to Mossyrock in Tuesday’s season-opener. “We just couldn’t get a shot to fall in the fourth quarter and we had a couple of defensive lapses at inopportune times. Only scoring five points in that fourth quarter, that did us in.”
Montesano hosts Toutle Lake at 6:45 p.m. on Monday.
Montesano 5 19 8 5 – 37
Tumwater 7 14 12 8 – 41
Scoring: Montesano – Blancas 9, Wintrip 7, Dalan 6, Perry 5, Busz 4, Lytle 4, Forster 2.
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Other games
Quilcene 35, Wishkah Valley 8
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BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Wahkiakum 76, Ocosta 40
Ocosta fell behind early and never recovered in a 76-40 loss to Wahkiakum on Thursday at Ocosta High School in Westport.
The Wildcats (0-2) kept the game close through the first four minutes until the Mules (1-0) pulled away, racing out to a commanding 41-11 lead by halftime, paced by 12 points from senior Parker Leitz in the second quarter.
Ocosta rallied to play a more competitive brand of basketball in the second half, being outscored by three points in each of the final two quarters, but it was too little, too late as the Wildcats dropped their second game to open the season.
“We got taken to the woodshed tonight by a very good Wahkiakum team,” said Ocosta head coach Jason Quinby, whose team turned the ball over 15 times in the first half. “Defensively, we did a terrible job of keeping the ball out of the paint which created a lot of open looks for Wahkiakum’s shooters. After being challenged at halftime, I thought our guys responded very well in the second half, matching Wahkiakum’s energy and physicality.”
Ocosta was led by sophomore post Sonny Beard, who had a team-best 19 points – 14 of those coming in the second half – and completed a double-double performance with 10 rebounds.
Turnovers were a problem for the Wildcats as they finished the game with 30 total as a team, 15 per half. It’s a statistic that had a profound impact on the Wildcats’ comeback hopes.
“Sonny played big inside in the second half and we started using our dribble to penetrate and open up opportunities for our offense to score,” Quinby said. “Unfortunately, we continued to turn the ball over at too high of a rate and couldn’t close the gap any further.”
Ocosta plays at Pe Ell at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Wahkiakum 18 23 17 18 – 76
Ocosta 7 4 14 15 – 40
Scoring: Wahkiakum – Leitz 23, Robbinson 12, West 10, Stoddard 10, Ohrborg 8, Camson 4, Merz 3, Veike 2. Ocosta – Beard 19, Solis 7, White 4, Turner 3, Ashby 2, Griffith 2, Priest 2, Bottleson 1.
