Willapa Valley’s Cinderella run into the state tournament was cut short after a 46-32 loss to Pomeroy Wednesday night in Spokane.
Sixteenth-seeded Willapa Valley (13-10 overall) opened its Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 1B State Girls Basketball Tournament in unwelcome fashion — dealing with cold shooting and low-offensive output.
Vikings senior forward Hannah Hamilton hit a pair of free-throws to give Willapa Valley an early 2-0 lead in the game’s opening minutes, but a long cold spell soon followed that had the Vikings behind the 8-ball. The Vikings went 0-for-9 from the field in the first quarter to fall behind 10-2 and their offensive struggles continued into the second period.
Willapa Valley missed its first eight shots in the second quarter until junior point guard Brooklyn Patrick hit a jump shot at the 3:08 mark of the frame, cutting the deficit to 18-7 against the No. 8 Pirates (15-5).
But aside from five free throws and Patrick’s jumper, that was all the offense Willapa Valley could muster, going 1-for-22 from the field in the first half (4.5%) and trailing 21-7 at halftime.
Putting the first half behind them, Willapa Valley found some offense over the game’s final 16 minutes, going 10-for-24 from the field (41.7%) in the second half.
The Vikings pulled to within two possessions at 25-19 on a Patrick jumper with 1:31 left in the third quarter.
But that was as close as the Vikings would get as Pomeroy would hold a 10-12 point lead through much of the fourth quarter to cut Willapa Valley’s playoff run short.
The Vikings were led by Patrick, who scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting (57%), but Willapa Valley went 11-for-46 (23.9%) from the field in the game.
Willapa Valley senior Lanissa Amacher scored nine points and a team high 11 rebounds while Hamilton scored seven points and grabbed six boards for a Vikings team that outrebounded the Pirates 42-39.
Pomeroy was led by Keely Maves, who scored 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
Willapa Valley was dealt a blow early in the game when the team’s “emotional leader” in senior Chayse Coady went down with a knee injury and was unable to return.
“That shook us and took us a while to recover,” said Willapa Valley head coach John Peterson, who commended the way his team battled back in the second half and held the Pirates to 20-of-61 (32.8%) shooting on the evening. “They have big hearts and play for each other. It’s a team sport and they are a team to the nth degree.”
Though the season didn’t end the way he had hoped, Peterson said the current crop of Vikings have much to be proud of, including a second-place finish in the 1B Columbia Valley League, the program’s first trip to a district-title game in 19 years, and a top 12 finish in the state.
“On January 1st, we were 5-7. On February 4th — 35 days later — we were 12-8,” he said. “Once the sting of this (loss) wears off, we’re going to realize we had a heck of a good year.”
Willapa Valley 2 5 14 11 — 32
Pomeroy 10 11 13 12 — 46
Scoring
Willapa Valley (32) — Patrick 10, Amacher 9, Hamilton 7, Chavez 4, Russell 2
Pomeroy (46) — Maves 23, Caruso 13, Herres 6, Gingerich 4
Thursday’s quarterfinal games
1B Boys — No. 3 Northwest Yeshiva vs. No. 4 Willapa Valley
9 a.m., Spokane Arena
Willapa Valley will face No. 3 Northwest Yeshiva (16-3) in an early tip-off state semifinal.
The Lions defeated Naselle 60-48 on Wednesday, led by Yoel Kintzer’s 22 points and 11 rebounds.
2B Girls — No. 5 Raymond vs. No. 3 Colfax
12:15 p.m., Spokane Arena
The Seagulls face District 7 champion Colfax (19-1) , which has just one loss on the season — to No. 7 Liberty (Spangle) on Dec. 21 — and features one of the classes top players in senior guard Asher Cai.
1A Girls — No. 6 Freeman vs. No. 4 Montesano
3:45 p.m., Yakima Valley SunDome
A well-rested Montesano Bulldogs will play for a spot in the state’s final four when they face Freeman (15-5), which needed overtime to dispatch of No. 11 King’s 43-40 on Wednesday.
