Adna jumped out to an 11-4 lead, fell into a rut in the second quarter and couldn’t claw back in it during a 47-38 season-opening defeat to Class 1A La Center Wednesday.
The Pirates, playing after having just six practices together as a full team due to the soccer team advancing to the state championship, looked crisp at the start.
But a non-serious ankle injury to formidable post Karlee Von Moos and a slew of fouls in the second quarter, in which the Wildcats hit 7 of 7 free throws, turned the game against the Pirates.
Adna had game-planned to get the ball in the post to Von Moos, who was the Pirates’ second-leading scorer a year ago. But without her inside presence, La Center was able to shift the momentum.
“When Von Moos went out with that injury, we lost our identity,” Adna coach Chris Bannish said. “They outplayed us, and there’s not many times I can say a team outworked us.”
Kaylin Todd, the Pirates returning leading scorer from a year ago, scored a game-high 14 points. Faith Wellander and Natalie Loose each added six points.
Banish hopes to wipe this game, take it as a learning opportunity and tweak some things on the defensive end.
“We’ve gotta find our identity,” Bannish said. “We’re trying to get this team to buy into man-to-man (defense). We’re trying to blend freshmen into the mix with seniors.”
Adna (0-1) will next head to Class 1B Mossyrock (1-0), the defending 1B District 4 champion, for a 2 p.m. matchup on Saturday.
