The first half was not pretty for Toledo on Friday against Rainier, but the Riverhawks picked it up in the second half to come away with a 31-25 victory in a defensive battle.
The Mountaineers dominated defensively early, holding Toledo to just three points in the first and five in the second. Unfortunately for Rainier, the Riverhawks were also stout on defense, and Rainier entered the locker room only up 15-8.
“The focus was to make defense our identity,” Rainier coach Jordan Hunt. “But we couldn’t hit our shots.”
Toledo’s offense got going in the second half.
Kailea Lairson and Ellie Fallon combined for 11 points in Toledo’s 13-point third, helping the Riverhawks take a 21-20 lead into the fourth.
In the last frame, Taysia Miller scored five points, and the Riverhawk defense continued to stifle Rainier’s offense. In the second half, Toledo outscored Rainier 23-10.
Lairson and Fallon finished with seven points each, and Lairson also tallied seven rebounds and three steals, Ryah Stanley scored five points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Taysia Miller scored five points of her own.
Sidney Kruger scored four points and had seven rebounds of her own, Peyton Holter scored two points and nabbed four steals, and Zaya Norberg tallied one point.
Lexi Beckman and Kaysen Bravo led the Mountaineers with seven points each, while Zaylee Bravo tallied six and Alexis Myers logged five.
Rainier (6-7, 0-3 C2BL) will be back at home on Wednesday to face White River before hosting Morton-White Pass on Thursday.
“We’ll get back to work,” Hunt said. “We have a young crew and are working on putting everything together. I have no doubt this team can do that.”
Toledo (10-2, 2-0 C2BL) will head to Onalaska on Tuesday and host Adna on Thursday.
