KELSO — Less than two weeks ago, the Mossyrock Vikings walked off the floor in Rochester after a loss to Onalaska.
They had scored just 20 points in the first-round loss, and because of the loss, they needed to string together three straight wins to earn a state tournament berth. A week later, they got their first win of the district tournament, a win over Toutle Lake.
“After we beat Toutle Lake, we kept our heads high and said we keep pushing or we give up,” Adyson Barrows said. “And we don’t give up. That’s not who we are. So we kept pushing and kept our heads up.”
Mossyrock won its third and final game necessary to claim a state spot on Thursday, defeating Raymond-South Bend 43-36 to earn its fifth consecutive trip to the state tournament.
“I’m happy for them,” Mossyrock coach Nick Rashoff said. “They’ve worked their butts off all year to keep getting better, and I’m happy for them.”
The question coming in was whether or not the Vikings would be able to find enough answers offensively to advance. They scored 53 points in the win against Toutle Lake, but scored just 28 points in a 28-26 win over Forks on Tuesday.
Mossyrock made a concerted effort to run things through the paint in the first half, and the Vikings were able to take a 21-18 lead into the locker room at halftime.
They didn’t fully take control until late in the third, though, and the biggest momentum swing of the game came from beyond the arc. Barrows and Maci Rashoff hit back-to-back threes in the final 90 seconds of the third, turning a three-point lead to a nine-point lead in the final moments of the quarter.
It was a welcome sign for the Vikings, who hit just one of 18 threes in the win over Forks and didn’t make a three in the first half on Tuesday.
“We’re just streaky sometimes on that,” Nick Rashoff said. “Every game we’ve had on that, somebody finally sees one going in and it’s like the basket gets bigger and the floodgates open.”
Rashoff had already hit a three earlier in the third, snapping a personal streak of nearly 20 consecutive misses from deep, and Barrows pushed the lead to 10 with another three with five minutes left in the game.
“We didn’t ever let down,” Barrows said. “We just kept shooting … We didn't get in our heads at all. We knew our shots were gonna fall at some point, and they did.”
Down double-digits late, the Ravens began pressing, but Mossyrock’s stout defense stood tall in the final minutes. In their four district tournament games, the Vikings have allowed an average of just 33 points per game.
In the final seconds, the reality of the accomplishment set in, and the starters began celebrating as they exited the floor.
“We all just kind of just got chills and started screaming,” Barrows said. “It was really fun. I’m super proud of us for how we came out and played.”
Barrows finished with a team-high 11, Kendall Cournyer also hit double-figures with 10, and Chesney Schultz finished with nine. Taylor Schwartz tallied seven, and Rashoff’s pair of threes gave her six points.
Mossyrock (12-10) advances to the 2B District 4 Third-Place Game, where they’ll take on Napavine at W.F. West on Saturday afternoon before learning their state tournament fate on Sunday.
“All you can ask for is a shot,” Nick Rashoff said. “So hopefully we get a good matchup on that and just do our job … I’m excited, we get at least another week together to keep working. We get a chance and we’ll see what happens.”
