TUMWATER — The Thunderbirds jumped out to a 29-9 lead at halftime over W.F. West and never looked back, winning 56-33 here Friday night in Evergreen 2A Conference girls basketball action.
Chehalis was held to just 3 points in the second quarter, but hung with Tumwater in the second half — they were only outscored 27-24.
“We couldn’t take care of the ball in the first half. That was what did us in,” Bearcat coach Henri Weeks said. “We played a pretty decent even second half.
“They pressured us and we didn’t take care of the ball,” he added. “Because of the turnovers, they got more offense and they took advantage of that.
Uriah Thomas led the Bearcats with 12 points, followed by Kaylee Hartman (10). Hartman also had a team-high six rebounds.
“It was nice to see Kaylee and Uriah get back to their normal game,” Weeks said. “Offensively, they both did a good job of battling inside and rebounding real well. Those two worked hard.”
Collectively, Chehalis shot 12 of 40 from the field, while Tumwater neared 50 percent shooting with 19 of 41. The Thunderbirds also hit 15 of 19 free throws.
W.F. West (8-8, 4-6 league) hosts Elma Tuesday night.
“They’re all important games from here on out,” Weeks said. “We gotta come up with an answer.”
Wolves Maul Tigers
The Wolves showed respect before delivering a 68-42 Evergreen 2A Conference beating Friday night in Centralia.
Prior to the game, the Black Hills girls basketball game presented fund-raising money to the family of Darrin Canfield, a Centralia coach who is currently fighting a battle with leukemia.
“They made a very classy gesture,” Tiger coach Mark Westley said. “Their coach made a little speech and acknowledged respect for me as a coach, the program, the kids, as something they felt they wanted to do.
“That was really cool,” he added. “Darrin’s wife was there. They gave her a gift basket full of handwritten notes from their team. It was pretty amazing. It almost leaves you speechless.”
Chelsea Haskey guided the Wolves to a 29-19 lead after one half, and finished the game with 26 points and 18 rebounds.
“You have to take your hat off to player that outstanding,” Westley said. “She got her 26 with 10 free throws. We gave it our best effort and worked hard and we’re learning and growing.”
For Centralia, Jenny Milton was the only player to hit double figures with 11 points. She also tallied seven rebounds.
The Tigers shot 14 of 55 in the game, and 11 of 22 from the free throw line, which Westley wasn’t pleased with.
“We shot 20 percent in the first half which was not stellar,” he said. “We held Black Hills to 28 percent shooting (in the first half), but they kind of wore us down in the second half.”
Westley commended the play of Madison Creel, who hit a 3-pointer and a free throw in limited action off of the Tiger bench.
Centralia (4-12, 2-8 league) plays at River Ridge Tuesday.
