2B Girls Basketball: Tigers Wake Up, Shut Down LCA

KELSO — For the first time since December, the Tigers found themselves in a close game.

And, given the way things turned out, they’re happy to remember what it feels like.

“It was fun,” Tiger senior forward Melissa Lee said. “I haven’t been that excited to play a good game like that in a long time.”

The ‘close’ game was, in fact, a comfortable 55-38 win over Life Christian on Wednesday night in the District 4 2B Girls Basketball Tournament semifinals.

Given that Napavine’s only two games to be decided by less than 20 points were a semifinal win (53-50) and a finals loss (60-54) in the Ayala Best of the West Tournament in Los Angeles over Christmas break, they’ll take whatever they can pass off as close.

“It was a good environment, a close game, and the game wasn’t over after the first quarter, so that set the girls off a little bit — not being in an atmosphere where the game’s over and they have to play a full four quarters,” Napavine coach Jeremy Landram said. “But they fought through and figured it out in the fourth quarter, which is good, to be able to end it the way we did.”

The win secures a spot in the regional playoffs for Napavine (21-1) as well as a spot in the District 4 finals Saturday night against Ilwaco at W.F. West High School.

Point guard Mollie Olson scored 21 points to lead Napavine, but Life Christian — the runner-up in the Pacific 2B League — led 14-13 after a quarter.

The Tigers were 5 of 21 from the field in the first, and just 1 of 6 from long range.

“Everything just seemed two feet off, all the way around,” Landram said. “From rebounds to loose balls to shots to passes, everything was just two feet off and out of rhythm a little bit.”

Becca Snaza and Olson knocked down back-to-back 3s midway through the second quarter, though, and the Tigers had a 5-point lead at halftime. Lee scored all 12 of her points in the second half, and nine LCA turnovers in the third frame helped Napavine extend the lead before heating up in the fourth quarter.

“I was really excited for the girls to fight through all the adversity, with shots not falling and balls not bouncing our way,” Landram said. “They stayed with it, and finally broke through in that fourth quarter.”

Napavine went 8 of 16 from the field in the fourth but didn’t allow an Eagle field goal for the first five minutes, extending its lead to 16 points.

“That fourth quarter was definitely speaking good for going ahead (in the playoffs) and playing big games,” Landram said.

Landyn Lovelady led Life Christian with 15 points, and Alea Yun added 12. Olson added 11 rebounds to lead Napavine, with Lee grabbing eight, and Snaza hit three 3s to finish with 9 points.

Note: Ilwaco beat Wahkiakum, 45-44, in Saturday’s other semifinal.

Adna Ends Toledo’s Season in Districts

CASTLE ROCK — Adna and Toledo battled for four quarters, with the Pirates’ earning a 48-44 win here in a District 4 2B Girls Basketball Tournament consolation game.

Payton Aselton led Adna with 18 points and Sam Foster chipped in 13 points. Toledo’s Kal Schaplow recorded 17 points and Alyssa Ewers and Anna Tauscher each had 10 points. Kyleigh Holmes had a team-high 6 rebounds.

“It’s probably our best game of the year, as far as putting a whole game together,” Adna coach Chris Bannish said.

The Pirates led 40-32 in the fourth quarter before a 6-0 run by Toledo cut the lead to 2 with just under three minutes left to play, but Abby Krueger went 4 of 4 at the foul line down the stretch and Adna held on to win.

Adna (15-9) faces Wahkiakum on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Rochester. The winner secures a regional berth and advances to the third-place game on Saturday in Chehalis, while the loser plays for the fifth and final regional berth on Saturday in Rochester against either Mossyrock or Life Christian.

Toledo ends the season at 15-8 overall. It was the final game in the prep basketball careers of Toledo’s Abigail Rowe, Ally Bacon, Emily Tyner, Tauscher and Ewers.

“I was really proud of how hard we competed. We played hard, and that’s all you can ask for,” Toledo coach Brian Layton said. “It was a good game. It was loud, great atmosphere, but we came out on the other end. I’m really proud of our girls. Our seniors really stepped up tonight.”

Mossyrock Downs Ocosta to Stay Alive

CASTLE ROCK — Lainee Grose scored 18 points to help the Vikings earn a 61-43 win over Ocosta in a loser-out District 4 2B Girls Basketball Tournament consolation game here on Wednesday.

Stephanie Fried recorded 16 points and Heather Edgar added 13.

Mossyrock held Ocosta to 8 points in the first quarter and led 30-21 at halftime.

“We played really well. We had to work hard the entire game,” Mossyrock coach Autumn Moorcroft said. “I’m proud of my entire team and how we played defense. They were talking on defense and that’s what set us apart tonight.”

Mossyrock (17-6) faces Life Christian on Friday at 6 p.m. in Rochester. The winner secures a regional berth and advances to the third-place game on Saturday in Chehalis, while the loser plays for the fifth and final regional berth on Saturday in Rochester against either Adna or Wahkiakum.