Thursday's Girls Basketball: Toledo Rolls Loggers on the Road

ONALASKA — Good players get their names known by scoring points. The elite ones get their name set in ink by playing barbed wire defense in the moments when their team appears the most vulnerable.

Toledo’s Kal Schaplow showed her mettle in both capacities here Thursday night as she helped her team hold off Onalaska in a 44-33 victory in Central 2B League girls basketball action.

Toledo used a 15-6 advantage in the second quarter to run out to a 29-16 lead at half. That advantage was primed by a rabid defensive trapping scheme and a series of strong drives by Schaplow that netted points in the paint, free throws, or both.

Although they looked bewildered at times in the first half, a classically gritty Onalaska team came out of the intermission intent on clawing back into the game.

“I think this is the first game all year that they’ve started the game a little timid and scared, and then they settled in and made a run,” said Onalaska coach Dracy McCoy.

The Loggers coach hypothesized that her team was still reeling from a loss to Adna on Tuesday during which they blew a big first half lead.

“(Toledo was) very aggressive but I also think that Adna took a lot out of us and with only one day rest I know a lot of the girls were tired,” added McCoy.

Despite a case of heavy legs weighing the Loggers down they managed to scrap tit-for-tat with Toledo for the entire second half. The third quarter was a try-hard slugfest that featured just four points for each team but that stilted play set Onalaska up to seize momentum in the final frame.

After falling behind by 15 points to open the fourth quarter the Loggers went on a spree that included a three point shot from Callie Lawrence to cut the lead to ten points with 3:30 remaining in the game. A free throw by Cierra Russ a moment later dropped their deficit to single digits and Onalaska appeared poised to put dot the I’s and cross the T’s on a good old fashioned comeback.

That happy ending for the home crowd proved too good to be true, though.

Instead, Kal Schaplow’s killer instincts took over. The Toledo junior exhibited a knack for grabbing loose balls and plucking risky passes from unsuspecting Loggers every time Onalaska seemed like they were going to grab the momentum for good.

Schaplow would finish the game with four steals to go along with a game-high 23 points. But it was defense that she enjoyed talking about after the game.

“I’m always trying to make that big play. Whether it’s a rebound, or a loose ball, or a steal. Whatever it is, I just always feel like there’s that one play that can turn the momentum right away,” said Schaplow.

Stacie Spahr added nine points, ten rebounds, and six steals for Toledo while Kyleigh Holmes scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds.

In a game where they shot just 23 percent from the field and 31 percent from the charity stripe it was an advantage in the overall rebounding department that helped Onalaska cut their deficit down as low as eight points with just over a minute remaining in the game. The Loggers finished with 33 rebounds to Toledo’s 26, with the Cleveland-Barrera sisters leading the way on the glass cleaning effort.

Schaplow admitted that when Onalaska cut the lead to single digits there was an inkling of doubt that crept into her mind.

“Of course you have that doubt in your mind like, ‘Oh no, they’re coming back, they’re coming back.’ But I’ve got faith in my girls. They work really hard and I just know that no matter what we’ve got each other backs and we’re going to come out on top,” said Schaplow.

Toledo coach Brian Layton said he was anticipating a run by Onalaska and was happy to see time run out on their effort.

“They are a solid team so we knew they’d make a comeback. We’d hoped to close it out earlier but they made the comeback and we couldn’t quite get over the hump,” said Layton, who lauded the defensive prowess of Schaplow. “We know she’s capable of playing really good defense so hopefully she can continue improve on that. And as a whole we need to continue to improve on defense. We need to win more fifty-fifty balls and rebounds.”

Lawrence and Carmen Cleveland-Barrera led Onalaska with nine points each. Carmen Cleveland-Barrera also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds while her sister, Alex, scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds.

“I knew they were capable of making that run,” said McCoy. “I was proud of the girls. They’ve been working hard. They have kind of a ‘We want to win now instinct.’ We’re in every game so we need to find a way to win.”

McCoy added that she was encouraged by the way freshman Cierra Russ played after getting called up from junior varsity for her first extended varsity action. She noted that Russ was charged with containing Schaplow for spurts as the spy defender in a box-and-one defensive scheme.

On Tuesday, Toledo (11-3, 4-0 league) will host Rainier, while Onalaska will play at Napavine.

Tigers Earn First EvCo Win Over Aberdeen

Centralia’s Hannah Porter scored 15 points to lead the Tigers to a 50-29 win over Aberdeen in an Evergreen 2A Conference girls basketball game in Centralia on Thursday.

Carissa Kaut chipped in 12 points. Makayla Erickson added seven points and six rebounds and Danika Jensen recorded six points and six rebounds.

Aliyah Tageant led Aberdeen with 11 points.

Centralia led just 19-13 after one quarter, but held Aberdeen to three points in the second quarter to claim a 32-16 lead at halftime.

The Tigers again held the Bobcats to three points in the third quarter to take a 45-19 lead to cruise to the win in the fourth quarter.

Centralia shot 32 percent from the field while holding Aberdeen to 24 percent shooting.

“It was really nice to see the offense come around. We had two in double figures, Erickson had an all around good game and I was happy with total team defense,” Centralia coach Doug Ashmore said. “Our offense helped us relax which was good to see tonight.”

Centralia (3-11, 1-1) hits the road to face Rochester on Wednesday in an EvCo game.

Tumwater Edges W.F. West

It was a close battle between Tumwater and W.F. West in Chehalis on Thursday, with the Thunderbirds hitting a late free throw and fending off a last second shot to tie the game by the Bearcats for a 49-46 win in an EvCo girls basketball game.

Madi Haakenson had a big game for W.F. West, recording a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Madi Mencke chipped in eight points and Drea Brumfield recorded seven points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

Isabella Lund led Tumwater with 19 points and Katie Cunningham added nine points.

W.F. West didn’t have their best night shooting, converting 32 percent of their field goal attempts while Tumwater made 38 percent of their field goals. The Bearcats were also outrebounded 43-34.

W.F. West coach Tom Kelly also pointed out the three of 20 shooting from behind the arc as a reason for the loss.

“We picked the wrong night to shoot like that,” Kelly said. “Tumwater, they came right after us. They played hard the whole game. It was a very even game, they played extremely hard. They hit shots when they had too and what it all boils down to, we didn’t shoot well. When you hit shots, it covers up a multitude of things and we didn’t do that.”

Kelly was pleased with the performance from Madi Haakenson and Madi Mencke.

“She played great, she played so hard. Mencke played extremely hard too, she played really well,” Kelly said. “They were doing their thing. Haakenson with our high-low stuff and inside, she was tough. How hard she played is what I noticed and she had a great game.”

Tumwater led 15-10 after one quarter, but W.F. West was able to close the gap and trail just 22-19 at halftime.

The Bearcats came out of the locker room strong in the third quarter and gained a 35-31 lead going into the final frame. Tumwater gained a 40-38 lead midway through the fourth and was able to keep enough distance down the stretch to preserve the win.

“It was a good game and a fun game for people to watch,” Kelly said.

W.F. West (7-5, 2-1) plays another big game on Wednesday, traveling to Tumwater to take on Black Hills in an EvCo contest.

Mossyrock Closes Game Strong to Top Winlock

WINLOCK — The Cardinals led going into the fourth quarter, but the Vikings stormed into the lead and never looked back, earning a 48-40 win in a Central 2B League girls basketball game here on Thursday.

Heather Edgar led Mossyrock with 14 points. Madison Vigre chipped in 12 points and Andee Nelson added 11 points.

Addison Hall led all scorers with 25 points for Winlock. Jenna Jones added six points and Makayla Allbritton led the Cardinals with eight rebounds.

Mossyrock led 23-22 at halftime, but Winlock came out strong in the third quarter and gained a 36-34 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Nelson scored eight of her 11 points in the final quarter and Winlock’s struggles at the free throw line came back to haunt them, converting 8 of 15 attempts on Thursday.

Mossyrock won the rebounding battle 36-24.

“The fourth quarter killed us. We were only able to get to the FT line once in the second half and we got them in early foul trouble,” Winlock coach Tori Nelson said. “Heather (Edgar) and Vigre were very aggressive on the boards. We didn’t keep up.”

Nelson did commend the performance of Hall, noting the Vikings had a tough time stopping Hall in getting to the basket.

Mossyrock (5-5, 3-2) hosts Battle Ground at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday in a non-league game while Winlock (3-10, 1-4) travels to Adna on Tuesday for a C2BL game.

Hyaks Top Trojans

NORTH BEACH — Pe Ell had trouble finding offense against North Beach here on Thursday, falling to the Hyaks 45-24 in a Pacific 2B League girls basketball game.

Charlie Carper recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Katie Davis added four points and 14 rebounds for the Trojans.

Adelina Desamours led all scorers with 16 points and Lorin Cox added 14 points for the Hyaks.

Pe Ell won the rebounding battle 43-33, but shot just 22 percent from the field and made two of 14 free throw attempts.

Pe Ell coach Chris Phelps called his team’s play ‘undisciplined’.

“Tonight was probably our worst performance as far as offensive and defensive execution,” Phelps said. “We need to put points on the board to put W’s in the win column.”

The team’s were tied at seven after one quarter, but North Beach was able to gain a 17-13 lead at intermission.

It was all Hyaks in the second half, outscoring Pe Ell 38-11.

Even in the loss, Phelps was happy to see Carper continue to play well for the Trojans.

“(She’s playing) fantastic. We’ve got to have others step up,” Phelps said. “I’m pleased with her play. She’s one of our most consistent players and I’m pleased to have her come up early.”

Pe Ell (2-12, 2-10) hosts Life Christian at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday in a P2BL game.

Schultz Leads Rainier Past Adna

RAINIER — Kaeley Schultz scored 31 points to lead Rainier to a 43-37 win over Adna in a Central 2B League girls basketball game here on Thursday.

Payton Aselton led the Pirates with 15 points and Ellie Sliva came off the bench and added 11 points.

Adna coach Chris Bannish said the game plan was to stop Schultz and it wasn’t executed.

“When your game plan is based around stopping her and you still weren’t able to do it, credit to her,” Bannish said. “We held her down until the second quarter. She leaked out of the top of the zone and we didn’t get back on our shots. She started to hurt us. People defending her did a good job, but the help didn’t do their job.”

Bannish did applaud the play of Sliva coming off the bench and keeping the Pirates in the game.

Adna led 10-9 after one quarter, but Schultz started heating up and helped Rainier to a 28-17 lead at halftime. The Pirates cut into the deficit in the third quarter and trailed just 34-28 going into the final frame, but the Mountaineers held on down the stretch for the win.

Adna (9-4, 3-1) hosts Mary M. Knight on Monday in a non-league game.

Second Half Helps Kalama Past Napavine

KALAMA — Kalama scored 30 points in the second half to earn a 48-38 win over Napavine in a Central 2B League girls basketball game here on Thursday.

Napavine’s Sydney Purvis and Rae Sisson each scored 10 points and Vannie Fagerness added eight points.

Akura Rocha led all scorers with 14 points and Gracie Stemkoski added 11 points for the Chinooks.

Kalama shot 45 percent from the field while Napavine shot just 26 percent from the field.

It was a tale of two halves, with the Tigers leading 27-18 at halftime. Kalama scored 30 points in the second half while Napavine scored just two points in the third quarter and could never recover.

“Vannie Fagerness was a little spark plug for us today. I thought we played a good first half of basketball,” Napavine coach Shane Schutz said. “We struggled in the second half both offensively and defensively. We are continuing to learn how to compete for four quarters.”

Napavine (5-9, 2-2) hosts Onalaska on Tuesday in a C2BL game.

Wolves Devour Warriors

TUMWATER — Black Hills held Rochester to just nine points in the first half to cruise to a 61-36 win in an Evergreen 2A Conference girls basketball game here on Thursday.

Lexi Sederberg-Jones led the Warriors with 15 points and six rebounds. Paige Winter added nine points and Sophie Sand chipped in eight rebounds.

Megan River led all scorers with 23 points and Lauren Sayahod chipped in 11 points for the Wolves.

There was a lid on the basket for the Warriors, shooting just 17 percent from the field.

Black Hills led 33-9 at halftime. The Wolves won the second half by one point to preserve the win.

“We’ve just got to put four quartets together. That’s kind of been the way it’s been played the last three games,” Rochester coach Davina Serdahl said. “We played the three top teams. They fought hard but we’ve things we’ve got to work on for sure.”

Rochester (7-6, 0-3) hosts Centralia on Wednesday in an EvCo game.