The Pe Ell girls basketball team came out on top of a defensive battle with Willapa Valley, as the Trojans topped the Vikings 27-21 in the 1B District 4 third-place game.
With the win, the Trojans claimed District 4’s third and final state tournament bid.
Pe Ell (17-5) was moving the ball around well early and had good looks at the basket, but shots weren’t falling. While that could have frustrated the girls, Pe Ell head coach Kelsey Lennox said that they instead made up for it on the defensive end.
The Trojans caused four shot violations and consistently hounded the Vikings and prevented them from getting into a rhythm.
“The girls didn’t hang their heads one time, which is something we’ve been working on with this young group,” Lennox said.
The Trojans never really got going either, but they did enough to eke out a win. Karli Phelps led Pe Ell on both sides of the ball, scoring 11 points while also grabbing 10 steals and tallying five rebounds and three assists.
“She just flat out showed up to play,” Lennox said.
Brookelynn King added six points and four rebounds, Devyn Shannon scored five, and Peyton Zock added four points. Emma Kissner led the team with 10 rebounds.
The Trojans await their seeding and regional matchup, which will be released on Sunday.
