Thursday's Girls Basketball: Pirates Topple Toledo

Posted

ADNA — Adna recovered from an eight-point deficit to reel off a 15-4 run and topple Toledo 45-43, in front of a fired up crowd here Thursday night in Central 2B League action.

The Pirates (14-2, 5-1) handed the Indians (14-2, 5-1) their first league loss and created a four-way tie between the two teams and Mossyrock (15-1, 5-1) and Wahkiakum (12-3, 5-1) in the C2BL with five league games left to go.

Adna snapped Toledo’s 12-game win streak, dating back to Dec. 9, and extended their win streak to six games.

“That was huge,” Adna coach Chris Bannish said.

At first it looked like Toledo might run away with it, racing out to a 20-12 lead in the second quarter. But Pirates senior Makaela Meister drained back-to-back 3s, part of a 15-4 run to end the half, giving Adna a 25-22 lead going into the locker room.

“They came out and punched us in the face,” Bannish said.

Adna held on the rest of the way, knocking down timely 3s in what became a coaching chess match with timeouts in the final few minutes, a duel that Bannish and the Pirates prevailed in.

Bannish praised his two sophomores, Faith Wellander and Kaylin Todd, who both stepped up in a high-pressure, high-intensity match. Wellander had a team-high 11 points, while Payton Aselton and Meister each tallied 10.

Adna’s defense held Toledo’s star Kal Schaplow to 12 points on the night, including just six in the final three quarters as her first six points came right out the gate.

“Defensively, I couldn’t ask my team for more,” Bannish said.

Adna travels to Napavine on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Then the Pirates have Napavine, Morton-White Pass, Wahkiakum and Mossyrock left in the regular season

“It’ll be a juggernaut at the top,” Bannish said. “Anywhere from one to five is wide open.”

Toledo travels to Forks on Saturday then closes out the season against Kalama, Onalaska, Toutle Lake and Rainier.

Gardner Lights Up Trojans

PE ELL — Raymond’s sensational sophomore Kyra Gardner exploded for 32 points and the Seagulls trounced Pe Ell 67-35 in a Pacific 2B League matchup here Thursday.

While Gardner was going off on the offensive end, the Seagulls were shutting down everything the Trojans threw at them as Pe Ell was held to 31 percent shooting from the floor on 12 of 38 shots.

“They play a very good defense and made it difficult for our offense,” Pe Ell coach Randy Driver said.

Kammi Hill had a team-high 11 points for the Trojans, while Charlie Carper and Annika Mason each chipped in seven. Mason also grabbed a team-high eight boards, but the Trojans were outrebounded by a margin of 42-25.

Driver credited freshman Payton Peterson for her formidable defense on the night. Even with the loss, the Trojans fared much better the second time around against the Seagulls, after taking a 68-18 lashing earlier this season.

“We did a lot better this time,” Driver said. “They played hard and didn’t give up.

Pe Ell (7-7, 7-5) travels to league-leader Ilwaco (14-1, 13-0) on Saturday.

Cardinals Hold Off Three Rivers

LONGVIEW — Missing their injured star, sophomore Addison Hall, Winlock eked out a 28-27 victory over Three Rivers Christian on the road Thursday.

Karlie Jones scored 10, Angela Gil-Munoz added eight and Azhia Camps four for the Cardinals in absence of Hall. Gil-Munoz, a freshman, also pulled down a career-high 11 boards.

“Gil stepped up big time,” Winlock coach Tori Nelson said. “ I put her at point guard and she took more shots than she’s used to.”

Sophomore guard Alexa Barragan swiped a game-high seven steals as the Cardinals piled up 17 total steals on the night.

“We pulled it out and we needed a win,” Nelson said.

They really did. Winlock needs to win three out of its final five games in order to qualify for districts on Feb. 10. It’s a challenge made even more difficult with the injury of Hall, who’s averaging over 20 points and 15 rebounds per game. Hall rolled her ankle vs. Adna on Tuesday. Nelson said Hall will try to go at practice Friday, but isn’t too hopeful she’ll be ready when they travel to Morton-White Pass on Saturday

Mossyrock Muzzles MWP

MORTON — The Timberwolves ran headlong into a top flight opponent here on Thursday as they fell 62-21 at the hands of Mossyrock in their Central 2B League girls basketball affair.



The Vikings had four girls score in double figures on their way to the 41 point win. Andee Nelson led the Vikings with 14 points and Faith Mulligan chipped in 13 points. Payton Torrey added 11 points and Caelyn Marshall scored 10 points.

“Torrey plays good defense. She gets in your face and had plenty of steals,” said Morton-White Pass coach Curt Atkinson. “We’re just not very good when they’re in our face and attacking us on the dribble.”

The rims were tight all night for the Timberwolves as they made just 8 of 55 field goal attempts for a 14 percent clip.

“We’re really young. I started three eighth graders so sometimes we don’t look to shoot it when we catch it and they are a very aggressive defensive team,” said Atkinson.

McKenzee Mays led MWP with 8 points.

Morton-White Pass (2-13, 1-4 league) will play play a makeup game against Winlock on Saturday in Randle at 7 p.m.

Mossyrock (15-1, 5-1 league) will host Wahkiakum on Tuesday.

Mules Tame Tigers

CATHLAMET — Wahkiakum reeled off a 26-point second quarter to surge past Napavine 54-25 in Central 2B League play Wednesday night.

The Tigers were held to just 19 percent shooting on the night against the Mules’ tenacious defense, hitting just 9 of 47 shots from the field. The Tigers couldn’t get it going from long range either, connecting on 3 of 14 3-pointers. Napavine committed 25 turnovers to Wahkiakum’s 19.

Natayla Marcial led Napavine with eight points and five rebounds. Vannie Fagerness added six points and Chloe Stewart five. Dani Tupuolo had a team-high six rebounds.

Paige Mace led the Mules (12-3, 4-1) with a game-high 15 points, while Jansi Merz grabbed a game-high 11 boards. Wahkiakum won the rebounding margin 42-32.

Napavine fell to 6-9, 3-3 and hosts Adna at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Beavers Clamp Down Forks

TENINO — Sophomore Ashley Schow scored a game-high 24 points and the Beavers used a 15-point fourth quarter to hold off Forks for a 43-31 Evergreen 1A League victory here Thursday.

Tenino has now won six of its last seven to improve to 6-7, 2-1 on the season.

Beavers coach Scott Ashmore praised the 6-foot-1 Schow for her elevated play against Forks.

"She's pretty versatile," Ashmore said. "She's exanding her game outside. She played wing tonight and she's hitting good jumpers."

Tenino and Forks entered the fourth quarter tied at 28, then the Beavers ripped off a 15-3 run to end the game, putting a stamp on the win.

"The defense came up solid," Ashmore said. "And every girl that took the court."

Tenino hosts league foe Elma on Saturday.

Rainier Runs Through Loggers

RAINIER — Sophomore Kaeley Shultz dropped a game-high 28 points and Rainier pummeled Onalaska 70-33 in Central 2B League play on Thursday night.

Senior guard Sophie Beadle combined with Shultz to wreak havoc on the Loggers defense as the Mountaineers scorched the nets on 27 of 55 shooting for a blazing 49 percent from the floor.

"We did not execute our game plan as designed, defensively," Onalaska coach Dracy McCoy said.

The Loggers not only struggled defensively, they were missing their own shots on the offensive end. Ony connected on just 25 percent of their 50 shots from the field, including an abysmal 0 for 25 from beyond the arc.

"Rainier left our shooters open at the 3-point line," McCoy said. "And we were 0 for 25. We had an off night and we need to learn to play hard through the ups and downs of a basketball game."

The Loggers were led by Carmen Cleveland-Barrera's 13 points, along with freshman Morgan Hamilton's 10. McCoy credited the two with strong efforts on the night.

Rainier got 14 points from Sophie Beadle and eight from Faith Boesch. The Mountaineers travel to Toutle Lake on Thursday. Onalaska hosts Toutle Lake on Tuesday.