Adna’s defense held Onalaska to 23% shooting from the field and forced 22 turnovers to hold on for a tight, 33-30, road victory in what was the season opener for both teams on Wednesday.
Both teams were held to single-digit scoring in each of the first three quarters as Onalaska came out in man-to-man defense and Adna started off with a 2-3 zone. The Pirates held a 12-9 lead at the break as both teams struggled to find the hoop.
“It definitely looked like the first game for both teams,” Onalaska coach Alana Olson said. “First-game jitters. We had a lot of turnovers against their press. They ran their press well.”
Onalaska fell behind by six points in the fourth quarter, but Olson said her team battled back, put pressure on the Pirates, forced a couple turnovers and kept it close the rest of the way.
“Really proud of the girls’ effort,” Olson said. “We had a lot of people step up. Happy with how we attacked on offense and our offensive rebounds.
Alex Cleveland-Barrera led the Loggers with a team-high 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, including seven offensive rebounds. Morgan Hamilton chipped in five points.”
The Pirates were led by junior point guard Kaylin Todd’s game-high 14 points. She was 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
“She was tough to stop,” Olson said.
Faith Wellander added eight points for the Pirates, Summer White had seven and Karlee Von Moos finished with four.
Adna hosts Rainier on Friday and Onalaska travels to Winlock on Thursday.
Wahkiakum’s one-two punch of Jansi Merz and Paige Mace combined for 38 points to deliver a 57-29 drubbing to Napavine during both team’s season opener in Cathlamet on Wednesday.
Merz had a game-high 22 points and 15 rebounds, while Mace finished with 16 points and six assists.
The Tigers were held to just 26 percent shooting from the field on the night. Dani Tupuola finished with seven points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Keira O’Neill scored seven points and hauled down seven boards.
Avery Shutz chipped in six points and Rae Sisson, Vannie Fagerness and Natalya Marcial each scored three. Marcial added five boards.
The Tigers lost the rebound battle, 42-37.
Napavine (0-1) hosts Toutle Lake at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Kaeley Schultz scored 12 of her game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Rainier Mountaineers pulled away from the Toledo Indians to the tune of 44-29.
Stacie Spahr led Toledo with 7 points and 10 rebounds, and Greenlee Clark added 6 points and 12 boards.
Toledo had cut Rainier’s once comfortable lead to one after three quarters, but somebody put a lid over the Indian’s basket prior to the final period, and Rainier had no such problem.
“We lost a lot of scoring from last year,” Toledo coach Brian Layton said. “We feel like we got a chance to be really good. It’s gonna take a few games to get into that.”
Rainier (1-0) visits Adna on Friday at 7 p.m. Toledo (0-1) hosts Wahkiakum on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Addison Hall pumped in a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds as Winlock cruised to a season-opening 49-30 victory over Morton-White Pass on the road Wednesday.
“Addison is an awesome player,” MWP coach Curt Atkinson said. “I enjoy watching her play, just not when she’s playing against us.”
Winlock scored in double digits in each of the first three quarters and held a 30-26 advantage at the half.
Madison Vigre added 10 points, 12 rebounds, seven steals and six assists for the Cardinals, while Karlie Jones finished with eight points.
“We gave up a lot of size to them,” Atkinson said.
The Timberwolves were led by Natalia Armstrong’s team-high nine points, while McKenzee Mays and Maddie Clevenger each scored six. Emarey Hampton chipped in three.
“Proud of the girls,” Atkinson said. “They worked their butts off and never gave up. Couldn’t be more pleased with how we played.”
Morton-White Pass (0-1) hosts Kalama in Randle on Friday. Winlock (1-0) hosts Onalaska on Thursday.
Ashley Schow scored 25 points as the Tenino Beavers played four good quarters to down the La Center Wildcats, 51-38, in a non-league girls basketball game on Wednesday.
In a departure from Monday’s debut, in which the Beavers waited until the second half to get going, Tenino showed up early on Wednesday with a quicker trigger finger.
“We had some girls willing to step up and take shots,” Beavers coach Scott Ashmore said.
Kayla Feltus was one of those. Ashmore said he and his staff have been trying to get the junior to shoot for two years, and she finally pulled a pair of 3-pointers and hit both.
“We got scoring from a lot of people and it made a big difference,” Ashmore said.
He also praised the defensive efforts, holding the skilled Kylie Stephens to 10 points and Alyse Webberly to four.
Tenino (1-1) hosts Montesano on Friday at 7 p.m.
Down 19 at halftime, the Pe Ell Trojans roared back to claim a 49-45 over the Naselle Comets, a state participant from a year ago.
Annika Mason led the Trojans with 19 points, Charlie Carpenter added 14 and Carolann Baldwin had 11. Jada Baldwin and Kayla Miller also played well on defense.
Pe Ell scored a total of eight first-half points and trailed 27-8 after the initial two periods. Trojans coach Danny Cox just gently reminded them what they needed to do after halftime, and they responded.
“The difference is they let the other girls in their heads in the first half,” Cox said. “We started moving the ball and started playing defense. It’s a good win for us. But we got (Willapa) Valley at home (on Thursday). It’s gonna be another challenge.”
That contest starts at 7 p.m.