In the moments after the final buzzer sounded at W.F. West early Saturday afternoon, Toledo coach Randy Wood was disappointed. Toledo’s season was over, after all, as the Riverhawks fell to Forks 50-31 in the 2B District 4 fifth-place game.
While bummed about the result of the game, Wood was nothing but proud when thinking about Toledo’s campaign as a whole, one where the Riverhawks exceeded expectations and finished just one win shy of a state tournament appearance.
“We were predicted to finish eighth in league, and we finished fifth,” Wood said. “Predicted to be out of districts in two games, and we made it to Saturday. That’s always been our goal.”
The final Saturday of the district tournament didn’t go as planned for the Riverhawks, who lost their second-straight winner-to-state game to end the year.
The Toledo offense hit a cold spell at the worst time, as the Riverhawks scored just 51 points combined in their last two games.
“The shooting went south on us the last couple of games,” Wood said.
For the first half against Forks, the Riverhawks were able to play well enough defense to keep it close, as they trailed by just five at halftime.
But when Forks pulled away in the third, Toledo just couldn’t muster enough offensively to close the gap. In the second half, Forks’ Keira Johnson scored 18 points, including 11 in the third, to outscore the Riverhawks by herself across the final two frames.
Toledo continued to struggle from the field, and they also gave away several opportunities by turning the ball over 21 times.
“That was a winnable game for us,” Wood said. “That one stings.”
Following the game, Wood took a moment to talk with both of his seniors in the locker room, Quyn Norberg and Stefani Arceo-Hansen.
Regardless of how things ended on the court, Wood said he wanted to take a moment to tell them how much he appreciated their leadership, especially on a Toledo team that has three freshmen and two eighth graders.
“There were a lot of wet eyes in there,” Wood said. “Their leadership in the locker room means a heck of a lot more than anything they put in the stat book. Those girls mean a ton to the program and we couldn't have kept it together without them.”
Toledo finishes its season 15-11.
